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Frequently Asked Questions
Most of these are about cost, conflicts, and what happens to information sent before an engagement exists. They are worth answering in public.
A partner in the relevant practice reads the request, usually the same working day. Before anyone can discuss your matter substantively, we run a conflicts check against the parties you have identified, which typically takes one to two business days. If the firm is clear to act, a partner will contact you to arrange an initial conversation.
Yes. The initial conversation — usually thirty to forty-five minutes — is not charged. Its purpose is to establish what you need, whether we are the right firm for it, and what the work would cost. If we are not the right firm, we will say so and, where we can, suggest who might be.
No. Please describe the matter in general terms and name the parties involved so we can run a conflicts check, but do not send documents or confidential detail until we have confirmed we are able to act. Information sent before an attorney–client relationship exists may not be treated as confidential.
Yes, in defined circumstances. Our private client practice acts for families and individuals on succession, governance, and philanthropy, and our employment practice acts for senior executives on transitions and disputes. We do not have a general consumer practice.
Most matters are charged on an hourly basis against an agreed estimate, with a written scope and a cap or a review point where the work is capable of definition. Transactional matters are frequently handled on a fixed or capped fee. We do not take contingency arrangements in commercial disputes, and we will tell you at the outset if we think a matter is uneconomic to pursue.
Yes, and before rather than afterward. Every engagement letter identifies the partner responsible for cost reporting and the interval at which you will receive it. If the scope changes in a way that will move the estimate, we tell you when it changes, not when the invoice is issued.
The partner you meet remains responsible for the matter throughout, and will be on it at the end as well as at the beginning. Work is delegated where a more junior lawyer can do it properly and more economically, and the engagement letter identifies the team and their rates before the work begins.
Where the scope can be defined, yes. Fund formations, most acquisitions, governance reviews, and defined advisory pieces are frequently handled on a fixed or capped basis. Contentious matters are harder to fix, because the other side controls a substantial part of the work, but we will agree stage-based caps where the stages are predictable.
We check the parties you identify against every current and former client of the firm across all four offices. The firm operates a single conflicts database rather than one per office. Where a conflict exists we will tell you promptly, and we will not disclose why, since that information belongs to another client.
No. In employment matters we act either for the employer or for the executive, never both, and never in the same matter or in related matters. We also decline conflicts that we could technically accept with consent where doing so would compromise the quality of advice either client receives.
Frequently. We are often instructed alongside in-house teams and other firms, particularly on cross-border matters where local law capability is required. We instruct local counsel jointly with the client rather than sequentially, so that the client sees the advice as it is given.
We advise on the law of the United States, England and Wales, and Singapore from our own offices. For other jurisdictions we work with local counsel we have used before, and we will tell you who they are, what they cost, and why we have selected them.
No. Everything published here, including the insights articles, is general information written for a broad audience. It is not advice, it is not a substitute for advice on your circumstances, and it should not be relied on as either.
Still unanswered
If what you need to know is not here, write to the firm and say so. We would rather answer a question in a paragraph than have you guess at the answer.