Strategic Legal Advisory
Retained advisory for businesses and professionals — risk assessment, dispute strategy and second opinions.
Overview
Not every instruction is a case. A good deal of the chamber's work is advisory: assessing exposure before a decision is taken, choosing between forums when a dispute is unavoidable, or giving a second opinion on a matter already running elsewhere. This is where the years spent inside corporate legal departments are most directly useful.
Matters ordinarily handled
- Legal risk assessment before a commercial decision
- Dispute strategy — forum, sequencing and cost
- Second opinions on matters already in progress
- Retained advisory for businesses and professionals
- Regulatory and compliance advisory
- Internal policy and contract framework review
How a matter usually proceeds
- Understanding the commercial context and what the client actually needs decided
- Review of the documents and the position under the law
- A written opinion setting out options with their consequences
- Discussion of the practical and cost implications of each
- Implementation support where instructed
This is the ordinary course. Any particular matter may take a different one.
Questions clients ask
Can a second opinion be given on a matter another advocate is conducting?
Yes, and it is a common instruction. Professional courtesy requires that the position be disclosed, and the chamber will not interfere with an existing engagement.
Do you accept retained advisory arrangements?
Yes, for businesses and professionals who need legal input available as decisions are taken rather than only when disputes arise.
Is advisory work charged differently from litigation?
Fees are discussed and recorded in writing before any engagement. They are not published on this website, as the rules do not permit it.