Before you call the lawyer: the brief that saves you fees

Good lawyers are worth every cent. What isn't worth paying for is an hour of their time spent working out what you're actually asking them.

We see it often. A founder has a deal, a partnership or an investor conversation coming up. They book a lawyer, arrive with a pile of emails and a rough idea, and spend the first meeting, at professional rates, explaining the business from scratch. Then they do it again with the accountant.

We're not lawyers, and we don't give legal advice. What we do is prepare the brief, so qualified counsel can give the advice quickly and well.

What a good brief covers

The commercial deal, in plain words. Before anyone drafts a term sheet or heads of terms, write down what each side is giving and getting, what happens if it goes well, and what happens if it doesn't. If you can't explain it in a page, the lawyer can't paper it in a day.

The scope of work. For any partnership or supplier arrangement: what's being delivered, by when, what counts as done, and who signs off. Most disputes start with a scope nobody wrote down.

Who owns what. Intellectual property catches out more small businesses than almost anything else. Who wrote the code? Who owns the brand, the content, the data? Were contractors' rights ever assigned? These are questions to answer before an investor asks them.

The rules you operate under. A simple map of the regulations, licences and approvals that apply to your business, and where you stand on each. Not a legal opinion, just a clear list your adviser can check and correct.

The funding picture. If there's an investment round or a grant involved, the documents that go with it: the financial model, the use of funds, the milestones you're committing to.

Why it saves money

Professional advisers price by time and risk. A clear brief reduces both. The adviser spends their hours on the questions only they can answer, spots the real risks faster and produces documents that match the deal you actually have.

It also makes you a better client. Advisers do their best work for people who know what they want, and they remember them.

Why it matters more as you grow

Small businesses often manage without this, until they can't. The first serious investor, the first acquisition approach or the first big contract all arrive with a list of questions, usually with a deadline. Businesses that have done the groundwork answer in days. Businesses that haven't lose weeks, and sometimes the deal.

Getting ready doesn't need a roster of expensive specialists on retainer. It needs someone to pull the commercial picture together, ask the awkward questions early and hand your advisers a brief they can act on.

We prepare the brief. Qualified counsel gives the advice. You get better advice, sooner, for less.

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