Solicitors · Clerkenwell, London EC1

The letter you were dreading writing, written properly.

Six solicitors, four practice areas, and a fee agreed in writing before anybody opens a file. We take the work we can do well and say so when it is not us.

—Established

—Solicitors

—Practice areas

—Hours to first reply

The terrace on the street where the office is

What we do

Four things, and we say no to the rest.

Residential property

Purchases, sales, transfers of equity and lease extensions. We do our own searches rather than waiting on a panel, which is usually where the fortnight goes.

Fixed fee from £950 plus disbursements

Employment

Settlement agreements, unfair dismissal, discrimination claims, and the letter before a claim that often ends it. Employees and small employers both — never the two sides of the same matter.

Settlement agreements from £450, often paid by the employer

Wills, probate and lasting powers

A will that says what you meant, a power of attorney that the bank will actually accept, and probate handled from the death certificate to the final distribution.

Single will £350 · mirror wills £550 · probate quoted on the estate

Civil disputes

Contract and money claims up to £100,000, landlord and tenant, and professional negligence. We will tell you when the claim is worth less than the cost of bringing it.

Hourly, capped by agreement at each stage

Fees

What it costs, before you ring.

The matter

How complicated

When you need it

These are the ranges we quote most weeks. The written quote comes after a fifteen-minute call, and it is the one that binds us.

Indicative

—

How it runs

Four steps, and you hear from us at each one.

Week 0

The call

Fifteen minutes, free, and we run a conflict check before anything else. If we cannot act, we say so on that call.

Week 0

The engagement letter

Scope, fee, who does the work and what would change the number. Nothing starts until it comes back signed.

Weeks 1–6

The work

One solicitor, named, who answers their own email. An update every Friday whether or not anything has moved.

The end

The bill

The figure from the engagement letter. If it has to change, you are told before the work that changes it is done.

The firm

Small on purpose,
and staying that way.

Two partners and four solicitors above a bookbinder on St John Street. We have turned down the merger twice, because the reason clients stay is that they can ring the person doing the work.

Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Professional indemnity cover with a UK insurer, details on request.

Enquiry

Tell us what happened.

Two or three lines is enough to know whether we are the right firm. We reply inside two working days, and the first call costs nothing.