SERVICES
There are three categories of service we offer.
Flexible In-House Counsel
A flexible, part-time in-house lawyer to deliver the legal function of a business without the need to be on the payroll.
In-house lawyers can offer a range of services, with hard and soft benefits; a list is included here.
This service is mainly for businesses who either have a regular, on-going need for legal advice or should be taking regular legal advice as part of the decision-making process. The service could be retained either on an on-going basis to meet BAU or for a specific project, for example considering moving the business on-line.
Charges: day rates with a commitment to a minimum number of days per month.
Unsure whether your business has reached that point? Contact us or set up a call via Calendly for a free consultation.
Ad-hoc Support
Like any other law firm, we can provide advice and assistance on a case-by-case basis. For example, a contract review or draft a set of terms and conditions for a website.
Charges: fixed fee basis and hourly basis on an exceptional basis.
If you would like fixed price for a piece of work, then please contact us or set up a call via Calendly a free quote.
Safe Hands Service
Where a business has only a single lawyer or small existing legal team, then the roller-coaster of workloads can be particularly impactful. We offer a safe-hands service to support the existing legal on a short-term basis; for example, undertake the BAU whilst the main lawyer is focussed on a project or even cover holiday absences or sick leave.
The key here is the initial onboarding and once done, then those services can be called upon as and when having the certainty that it is the same lawyer each time. Our recommendation is to be proactive and plan for the onboarding when workloads are quiet and in anticipation of busier periods.
Charges: day rates for a defined period.
The safe hands service is subject to availability and other client commitments but if you are interested in whether this is an option, please contact us or set up a call via Calendly for a free consultation.
Charges
Our charge out rate is £150 plus VAT per hour and the day-rates are discounted from that rate based on a 7hr day. Further discounts are provided depending on the number of days purchased.
Fixed fees are calculated by a multiple of the hourly rate with an estimate of the time.
When work is charged on an hourly basis, then an estimate will be provided and you will be kept up to date on the time accrued. Any time that goes past that estimate will be agreed in advance before it is incurred. The onus is upon us to obtain your consent otherwise you can assume the work will be caught within the estimate.
We charge in 15 min units which is just a minimum period of time (think call-our charge for a plumber!).
Types of businesses supported
Linkedin provides an overview of the past experience of Mustafa.
In summary, we can provide support for any business providing goods and services in a range of industries.
As an example of the types of clients we are working for or have worked for: telecoms industry, manufacturers, tech and software companies, language school, media company, public service providers.
There are some industries which are heavily regulated and for which we can only provide limited support. These will need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Also, there are certain types of services that we do not provide, for example we do not conduct litigation, conveyancing or provide advice and assistance in criminal or immigration matters.
Please contact us or set up a call for a free consultation via Calendly.
Service Delivery
Mustafa has a full and up to date practising certificate with the Law Society and is registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) as a freelance solicitor. For more on what freelance solicitors are, see here.
The services are general commercial advice and assistance and does not include services defined by SRA as “reserved activities” such as conveyancing, immigration or conducting litigation.
Professional indemnity insurance is in place and a copy can be provided upon request.
The legal services are provided via a limited company Musmus Limited trading under the name of “MM In-House Lawyer”. The SRA requires that there are certain notifications are made to potential clients, which are available here.
The flexible in-house counsel and safe hands services are delivered via a consultancy agreement, a copy of which will be made available when needed.
The ad-hoc support is delivered on the basis of our terms and conditions, a copy of which is available here.
Service Levels
We will deliver the services to the following standards:
- All services will be remote with meetings via Teams and/or Zoom at the first instance.
- Any in-person meetings will be agreed in advance and may be subject to additional charges.
- Emails, telephone and Teams will be the primarily form of communication – post will be the exception.
- Emails and calls will be answered in 24 hrs.
- For the Flexible In-House Counsel and Safe Hands Services, days of availability will be wholly in our discretion and where we do indicate a specified day of the week this will indicative and not exclusive.
- We will not hold any monies on behalf of clients and do not operate a client account.
- Where there is an estimate of fees, then we will agree any change in that estimate supported by reasons in advance of the fees being incurred.
- Where work is being charged on a time basis ie not a day rate or fixed fee, then a record of time will be kept and can be made available. Time will be recorded in units of 15 min.
- We will provide our own laptop and equipment. We will consider use of a client-specific laptop or other equipment only in exceptional circumstances.
- Any contracts that are drafted will be delivered in Word (docx) format based on Microsoft 365.
The above will be kept under review and updated from time to time especially if and when additional services are added.
Updated August 2024