Commercial Legal Audit

Herrington Carmichael is a full service law firm offering legal advice to UK and international businesses as well as individuals and families.
/
/
/
Commercial Legal Audit

Legal Audit

In the fast-paced business environment, a company may experience challenges which could ultimately lead to legal risk. This may be caused by a number of different factors, including not having the right contracts in place, not following best practice when it comes to use of your terms and conditions or not having or following the necessary legal policies.

The result could end up exposing the company to financial risk such as fines for non-compliance, damages for breach of contract or damages claims. We, at Herrington Carmichael LLP, (recently named as one of The Times’ Best Law Firms 2023) offer legal advice to UK and international businesses as well as individuals and have experienced commercial and compliance lawyers that provide a combination of legal expertise and pragmatic commercial awareness. With our wealth of experience and specialists in these areas of law, we are pleased to offer a new product to existing and new clients alike: a commercial legal audit as a solution to the risks identified above.

Outsourcing a commercial legal audit to a specialist firm of solicitors is a cost-effective mechanism for a business to review its core contracts and policies, without the business having to allocate vast resources and time to conduct the audit itself.

We can help your business by conducting a commercial legal audit on your behalf. If you would like to discuss this further or would like more information, please contact us to speak to a member of our Commercial Team

What’s included in our legal audit?

  • Scheduling an introductory call to understand your business in more detail.
  • Issuing a questionnaire to be completed by you to identify key areas to address.
  • Reviewing completed questionnaire and supporting documentation.
  • Further call to answer queries identified in questionnaire.
  • Advising, preparing and drafting a high-level report on the findings of the audit.
  • Full retainer and scope will be provided on request.

What are the benefits of a Commercial Audit?

Cost savings Make savings by reviewing terms of your key contracts and reviewing or streamlining certain policies. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Improve business By identifying legal blind spots and implementing workarounds leads to smart working.

Reduce risk Identify legal risk in a business, then actions can be implemented to reduce exposure to financial risk such as fines for non-compliance, damages for breach or damages from claimants.

Key contact

Mark Chapman PNG
Mark Chapman
General Counsel, Head of Commercial & Regulatory

What our clients say about us

Shennind was incredibly clear and thorough throughout; he took the time to properly understand how my app works before advising, which made a real difference given how specific and safeguarding-sensitive my situation was. The advice note he produced was detailed, practical, and gave me genuine confidence in the decisions I was making. I'd recommend him without hesitation.

Holly Banfield
Founder, Twinquility

Commercial specialist Mark Chapman ‘has strong technical knowledge and deals expeditiously with requests’ and ‘takes the time to understand clients’ businesses and shape his advice and support in a way that works for the client.

Mark Chapman is extremely thorough and has a good eye for detail, but advises with a very good balance of technical legal advice and commercial/practical suggestions.

The partner in charge, Mark Chapman, was exceptional. Our issues were unique and we had to change direction several times, but the team always responded well, bringing in the new specialist skills as needed. I think that is the standout quality; adaptability.

Mark Chapman is our go to contact for all regulatory matters. With strong technical knowledge and an unwavering eye for detail, Mark has a great ability to balance legal advice alongside commercial considerations, helping us to take a pragmatic approach to negotiations.

The team quickly grasped the legal challenge we presented them with. They responded with speed, professionalism and a detailed overview of the options available.

Mark quickly got to grips with our complex and extensive business division. What impressed me most was Mark’s innovative and commercial solutions and his ability to see the bigger picture.

Mark Chapman is extremely commercial and approachable. His previous in-house experience is clear and a real asset to his in-house clients.

Mark and Cesare in the Corporate & Commercial Department have been invaluable – they’re knowledgeable, personable and always deliver projects on time and within budget. They’ve become a seamless extension to our business and feel part of the team.

We have had the privilege of working with Cesare McArdle, Partner for Corporate and Commercial, whose dedicated expertise in construction law has been invaluable to our members. Beyond delivering clear and practical legal advice, Cesare consistently goes above and beyond by proactively reaching out to offer guidance and support. Notably, he has organised and delivered seminars for our members and delivered an information sheet at no additional cost, helping them navigate complex legal issues. We have received numerous testimonials praising his in-depth knowledge and the practical impact of his advice, particularly in improving contract management, which has enabled many of our members to deliver projects on time and maintain profitability. His proactive, client-focused approach and willingness to share his expertise make him a standout figure compared to competitors.

Working with Cesare and the team at Herrington Carmichael on a recent commercial contract has been a very positive experience for us at Ecrebo. The team were professional, knowledgeable and able to pick up on specific nuances relative to our business very quickly. We are pleased with the end result and would recommend the team at HC.

My experience of working with Cesare and his team has been a pleasure, the advice was clear, precise and commercially astute and the draft contracts etc were delivered to a very tight programme. We appreciated the attention to detail whilst always being mindful of the agreed budget.

Insights

Get valuable insights from our articles.

Explore the future of finance with this fintech concept image showcasing digital innovation and technology in the financial sector.
The UK remains one of the world’s leading fintech hubs, attracting ambitious founders, innovative technology businesses and significant investor interest….
AdobeStock_2036022047
As digital assets become an increasingly important part of the financial services landscape, businesses are facing growing pressure to ensure…
Steel robotic hand pointing to a signature line on a contract while a human hand holds a pen, symbolizing artificial intelligence in business and decision making, AI-generated image
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way businesses operate, from automating internal processes and enhancing customer service to supporting decision-making…

Meet our experts

Dedicated professionals ready to assist you.

Mark Chapman PNG
General Counsel, Head of Commercial & Regulatory
Cesare McArdle PNG
Partner
Rhian Hazeldene PNG
Solicitor
Siddhartha Saxena PNG
Senior Paralegal

Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to your most pressing questions about our services and processes.

A commercial legal audit is an effective review of certain key contracts as well as certain policies to ensure that not only are your contracts adequately protected but also to ensure that you have the right procedures in place to make sure those contracts are working for you. The audit consists of advising on certain elements of key contracts and policies as well as ways of incorporating a business’ standard terms and conditions. The review is done from a commercial law perspective and all advice is based on English law.

  • An effective review of contracts and policies to provide sufficient legal protection within your contracts and procedures.
  • Effective legal advice tailored to your circumstances.
  • Greater education to businesses.
  • Provides greater confidence to businesses to operate effectively and with confidence.

The fixed fee will be dependent on the size of the business and scale of the audit. We provide the above service on a fixed-fee basis, up to the point of providing you with the report referred to above.

Besides conducting a commercial legal audit, a business can also reduce their exposure to risk by implementing good corporate governance systems or strategies such as integrated business management systems, routine internal audits, training management system or risk management. Some of these systems can be implemented internally and others may require external specialists.

In the area of risk management, in-house legal teams are doing more to identify and mitigate legal risk however, on the downside, these teams may not have the experience or specialism in certain areas of law or may be biased by the interests of their employer compared to specialist firms of solicitors. If your business does not have an in-house legal team, or a legal team with specialism in risk management, there are specialist firms of solicitors that will be able to assist a business to identify and manage existing legal risk.

The audit will NOT include a review of intellectual property. We can conduct a separate review of your current intellectual property rights to protect your brand and logos and provide a report on recommendations to protect your IP rights which we can provide a fee proposal for if required.