Business Services

Retained Corporate Legal Counsel

Someone reads the contract before it is signed, not after it goes wrong

Business Services

Someone reads the contract before it is signed, not after it goes wrong

Businesses that engage lawyers matter by matter meet them at the point where the facts are already fixed: the contract is signed, the documents that should exist do not, and what remains is defending what happened. A retainer changes the timing. It means a named lawyer who already knows the business reads agreements before signature, answers the questions each department raises during the week, reviews employment paperwork before it becomes a labour claim, and flags which situations are about to grow. For a company with recurring counterparties and a settled workforce, the arithmetic usually favours it, because the loss from one loosely drafted agreement tends to exceed a year of advice.

What we cover

Day-to-day legal questions answered as the business runs

Contract review before signature, and tightening the templates used repeatedly

Employment documents and the HR processes built on them

Company registry filings and the meetings that have to accompany them

Demand letters and negotiation with counterparties

An annual risk review, with the findings ranked rather than listed

Questions answered quickly rarely become disputes

A large share of commercial disputes begin as a small question nobody could answer that day: a customer asking to amend one clause before transferring funds, an employee resigning and then claiming compensation, a supplier writing to allege breach. With no one to ask, the business decides on instinct and often concedes a position it did not know it held. A channel that returns an answer within the day changes outcomes by more than its cost suggests.

Continuity is what makes early warning possible

A lawyer engaged occasionally starts each matter by learning the business again. An adviser who has seen the same contract set for a year notices what is changing: which counterparty has begun paying later than usual, where the standard agreement no longer covers a service the company recently launched, and which growing headcount now requires documents the company does not have. That kind of warning comes from continuity rather than from brilliance.

Start with the three documents used every day

Nothing needs to be rebuilt in the first month. Most companies close their principal exposure through three sets: the template sent to customers, the employment document set, and the process for collecting when a customer does not pay. Those three cover most of what sends a mid-sized business to court. Shareholding structure, governance and investor readiness can wait until the business is at that stage.

Scope is what makes a retainer work or fail

The disagreements that end retainer relationships are predictable and few: whether drafting a new agreement from scratch is routine or separate, whether attending negotiations off-site is included, where filings with authorities sit, and how a matter is treated once it becomes litigation. We set those out at the start, along with a named responsible lawyer and separate response windows for routine and urgent matters, because being unreachable on the day an answer is needed is what actually causes companies to change advisers.

Talk to us about this

Initial consultation. Tell us what your business needs and we'll map the steps and a quote.

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Frequently asked questions about Retained Corporate Legal Counsel

7 questions answered

Per-matter work starts after the problem exists. A retainer lets you ask before the decision — usually far cheaper than fixing it afterwards.

It is, if you sign contracts often, carry trade receivables, or employ staff — those three are where most of the cases we see begin.

Litigation is quoted separately from the retainer, always before work starts — and the lawyer who already knows your business briefs the litigation team.

Timing. Per-matter work begins once the problem exists, which is the point at which the fewest options remain. A retainer means the question can be asked before the decision. The two are not alternatives — many clients keep a retainer for day-to-day work and agree litigation separately if a dispute arises.

Size is the wrong test. What matters is how many commitments the business has already made: employees who need work rules, customers billed after delivery, and a template sent out repeatedly. A business selling for cash with no permanent staff can reasonably keep instructing per matter.

Group counsel usually needs a Thai counterpart rather than a replacement, because the documents that will be examined here have to work under Thai law and in Thai. The efficient arrangement is generally group counsel setting policy and a Thai adviser handling what has to be locally correct, with a clear line between the two so nothing sits in the gap.

It should be agreed at the start rather than at the end. What you should receive is your original file, a list of open matters with their key dates, and revocation of any powers of attorney. Written in advance this costs nothing, and it is always awkward when it was not.