How we work
Senior legal counsel, embedded in your business.
Ongoing counsel for a fixed monthly fee, or hourly instruction for a single matter. Either way, you work with senior commercial lawyers — and a relationship built on understanding your business, not billing by the task.
How our engagements work
Most clients work with us on an ongoing basis. Some need us for a single matter. Both receive the same senior counsel. Here is how each works.
Ongoing Counsel
A fixed monthly fee — one clear cost, agreed in advance, so cost is never a reason to hesitate before picking up the phone.
Consistent senior counsel — a lawyer who knows your business and stays with it, in your meetings and across your decisions.
Time that flexes — unused hours roll over (up to twice your monthly allocation) and the arrangement scales as your needs change.
Involved early — risks identified while they are still small.
Hourly Instruction
For a single matter — a contract, a review, or a specific piece of advice, handled properly without an ongoing commitment.
A rate agreed upfront — confirmed in an initial conversation before any work begins.
The same standard of counsel — the same senior commercial lawyers our ongoing clients work with.
A natural starting point — many clients begin with a single matter and most stay.
Working with i3legal
01. A conversation first
Before anything is agreed, we talk. We want to understand your business, your current legal exposure, and what you are likely to need in the months ahead. No obligation, no pressure.
02. A plan that fits
Based on that conversation we agree the right level of support: the number of hours each month (or the scope of a single matter), and clear pricing. Everything transparent.
03. Senior counsel, embedded
You work with senior commercial lawyers who take the time to understand your business properly. Available when you need them and integrated into your team.
04. A relationship that evolves
As your business changes, the service adjusts with you — more support when you need it, less when you don’t. The focus is always on what your business actually requires.
Alongside specialist counsel
No single adviser should claim to do everything. Where a matter needs litigation or highly regulated work, we arrange the right specialists and stay involved throughout, so you keep the context and continuity you are paying for.
Frequently asked questions
Can we switch between an ongoing arrangement and hourly instruction?
Yes. Many clients start with a single matter and move to an ongoing arrangement as the relationship develops — or the other way round. The arrangement should fit the business, not the other way around.
What happens if we need more time than agreed in a given month?
We’ll flag it as early as possible — you’ll never discover it from an invoice. Additional time is agreed and billed transparently at your arrangement’s rate. Unused hours roll over, up to twice your monthly allocation.
What kind of work do you handle?
Commercial contracts, SaaS and managed service agreements, construction and renewable energy contracts, employment, mergers and acquisitions, fintech and regulated technology, governance and data protection. Where a matter involves litigation or highly regulated activity, we work alongside specialist counsel rather than handing you off.
Which jurisdictions do you cover?
We are based in the UK and work primarily under English law, with substantial experience supporting cross-border work — European subsidiary set-ups, international joint ventures and US-facing expansion — alongside local counsel where needed.
How quickly can we start?
Usually within days of agreeing terms. The first weeks of an ongoing engagement are deliberately front-loaded: reviewing your key contracts, understanding your risk position, and meeting the people your counsel will be working with.
How do you handle confidentiality?
The same way an in-house lawyer would. Everything we learn about your business stays inside the engagement — which is also why you won’t find our clients’ matters described on this website.
A final word
Good legal counsel should not feel like a cost centre. It should feel like an advantage. That is the relationship we build.