OUT-LAW In-House FAQ
What is it?
OUT-LAW In-House is a service designed to meet the day-to-day
legal needs of your business. A team of lawyers will be appointed
to do your work to meet your exact requirements. You will benefit
from having certainty in your legal spend.
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How much will this cost?
We will agree a monthly fee to suit your budget.
The rate will depend on what you need from us. If you are a
small company, you are unlikely to need a high volume of intensive
advice every month, so that will be reflected in the monthly fee
that you agree with us. Likewise, a large company with an existing
in-house legal team may only need limited advice in one area or at
certain times when resources are stretched. Anticipated demand will
determine the fee.
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What if our legal requirements turn out to
be less than we anticipated?
With your agreement, we can revise what you pay at any time to
suit your needs. We do not tie you in to paying a fixed fee for a
minimum period. The feeing arrangement is intended to be mutually
beneficial.
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What if our legal requirements turn out to
be more than we anticipated?
There may be certain times when you need more help from us– e.g.
if you get involved in litigation. If a matter is outside the scope
of your normal OUT-LAW In-House fee, we will agree an appropriate
fee with you. You will benefit from discounted rates as an OUT-LAW
In-House customer.
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Is our work done by lawyers from OUT-LAW or
Pinsent Masons?
They are the same. OUT-LAW is a separate brand of Pinsent
Masons, but the people involved are the same.
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Who will do the work?
Pinsent Masons has more than 450 lawyers in the
UK
specialising in
IT
, intellectual property, employment,
property, corporate and tax law. Its
IT
law team alone
has more than 100 lawyers, putting it among the largest and most
highly respected of its kind in the
UK
.
With OUT-LAW In-House we want you to form a close working
relationship with some of the individuals in our team, who you can
call for help at any time. We also want to give you the confidence
that you can get access to as many of our lawyers as you need when
you need them.
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Is this any different from using other
external lawyers?
Yes. Normally lawyers charge by the hour, which is a barrier to
picking up the phone and asking the lawyer a question. It also
makes it difficult to budget for legal expenses. OUT-LAW In-House
adds some certainty to your legal budget. And because we can plan
resources we can offer discounted rates.
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How will OUT-LAW In-House help in-house
lawyers?
For those that have an in-house team, we give additional,
specialist resource at the times when it is required.
Demand for legal advice may not be constant. OUT-LAW In-House
allows you to spread the cost but draw down advice as and when you
need it.
With small in-house teams, the individuals are forced to advise
on a broad range of issues. An advantage of OUT-LAW In-House is
that you get access to the individuals best able to suit your
needs, be they
IT
, employment, corporate, intellectual
property, outsourcing, etc.
OUT-LAW In-House allows you to iron out peaks and troughs in
demand without adding to your head count. It allows legal managers
to manage their legal spend and it provides professional support in
areas where they might not have particular expertise.
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Is this an on-line service?
There are on-line aspects, but the service is adaptable to the
manner with which you are most comfortable. Usually we communicate
through a mixture of face-to-face meeting, email, telephone and
letter.
You will have the option of accessing an In-House Extranet which
is tailored to your needs. This gives you secure, 24/7 access to a
range of documentation that will be prepared for your business. For
example, you might want an employment contract on your extranet
that allows you to amend name and salary details when you recruit a
new member of staff – all of which you can do without our
involvement.
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Contacts
Main OUT-LAW In-House page
