As a seasoned UK lawyer, I can assure you there are certain legal tasks that SMEs should handle themselves rather than delegating to their external legal advisers. This will not only save you money but also spare your lawyer from rolling their eyes (again). Here Ross Meadows, Partner at Oury Clark highlights nine legal matters you should tackle on your own:
- Company Name and Trademark Searches
Before you dive into registering a company or trademark, you can conduct preliminary searches using online 
databases to ensure your company and brand name isn’t already in use. This helps you narrow down options and saves your lawyer’s time for the actual registration process and handling any legal complexities that may arise including rebranding or a new brand. Remember, if you can Google it, so can you do a basic search.
- Basic Contract Templates
Creating a template for simple contracts, such as NDAs, doesn’t always need the legal finesse of an experienced lawyer. Your legal advisor should review these templates to ensure they are correct, but the initial creation and routine use can be managed internally with a regular review from your lawyer. This keeps your lawyer focused on bespoke contracts that require their expertise.
- Routine Company Filings
Your lawyer is brilliant at handling complex corporate restructures, but routine filings with Companies House, like annual returns, can often be managed more efficiently without a lawyer. These tasks are straightforward. Use an external cosec support function that will be more cost effective, freeing up your lawyer for more intricate legal work.
- Corporate/Commercial Negotiations
Whether it is selling/buying a company, raising capital, or commercial leases, you may want to have the initial discussions with the buyer/seller/investor/landlord without using lawyers as they can get a bit too technical at an early stage and cost you money. You should involve your lawyer once matters get more formal and on paper. For example, even though heads of terms are not binding, they can be persuasive, and buyers/sellers/investors/landlords are not unknown for slipping in cunning catch-out provisions which you might not pick up alone. Have the heads of terms reviewed by your lawyer before signing.
- GDPR Compliance Checks
Whilst your lawyer should be utilised for creating a compliance framework/tools, conducting regular GDPR compliance checks can often be managed by your internal compliance team. They can perform routine audits and ensure that your data protection practices are up to date. Your legal adviser should be involved in significant compliance issues or if there are major changes in the law. After all, reading the GDPR guidelines isn’t rocket science—it’s just slightly more interesting.
- Small Claims Litigation
For minor disputes that fall under the small claims threshold (usually not more than £10K), you can often handle these yourself through the small claims court. The process is designed to be user-friendly, allowing individuals and businesses to represent themselves. Reserve your lawyer’s expertise for more substantial litigation matters. Think of it as the legal equivalent of DIY—without the need for power tools.
- Immigration Form Filling
While navigating UK immigration laws for employees can be complex, many forms, such as Sponsor License visa applications, come with detailed instructions. You can fill out these forms yourself, using your lawyer’s expertise to review the completed documents and ensure compliance with all legal requirements. If you can follow a recipe, you can follow a form guide.
- Internal Dispute Resolution
Using your lawyer as a sounding board is fine but involving them directly in minor internal disputes with your staff or team can be overkill. Handle these issues yourself or via your HR department or management team. Sure, your lawyer may sense check your approach, but their time is better spent advising on significant legal matters rather than mediating office squabbles. Remember, your lawyer isn’t a referee—there’s no need for them to blow the whistle every time someone moves the cheese in the office fridge.
- Electronic Signing
A majority of legal contracts are subject to electronic signatures. Although signing is the culmination of the legal process, and sure, you can speak to your lawyer to ensure you understand how the documents need to be signed (simple contract or as a deed?) and by who, but you may not want to pay your lawyers’ rates to get them to do the administrative task that is organising electronic signing.
By handling routine legal tasks yourself, you can streamline your operations and ensure that your legal adviser is available when you truly need their specialised knowledge. Just remember, while it’s great to be self-sufficient, always involve your lawyer in significant legal matters to avoid costly mistakes down the road as delegating the wrong tasks can lead to a workplace comedy of errors, where the punchline is usually a frantic phone call to a professional who actually knows what they’re doing.
