Commercial contract solicitor for UK businesses

I am Geoffrey Caesar, a solicitor of England and Wales and an SRA-regulated freelance solicitor. I advise owner-managed businesses and entrepreneurs on commercial and corporate matters: contracts, shareholders agreements, employment documents for employers, technology and SaaS terms, data protection, intellectual property and AI. I am based in London and act for businesses across England and Wales. Fixed fee legal services starting at £195 plus VAT, with every price published on this site and agreed in writing before I start. I do not hold client money.

The simplest way to think about it is that you get your own in-house lawyer, on a pay as you go basis. Most owner-managed businesses need a lawyer more often than they use one, because instructing a firm for every question is slow and expensive enough that people quietly stop asking. That is usually how problems accumulate.

So use me as and when you need to, at a fixed price agreed before I start, or take a monthly retainer if you would rather have ongoing support in place. Either way you deal with me directly.

The published prices cover the services people ask for most often. If what you need is not on the list, tell me what it is and I will quote a fixed fee for it. There is no charge for scoping the work, and no charge for an initial call to talk it through. See all prices.

What I do, and what it costs

Contracts and commercial

• Contract review, standard: £450 plus VAT, three working days
• Contract review, complex or priority: £850 plus VAT, one to two working days
• NDA review or drafting: £195 plus VAT, two working days
• Customer or supplier terms and conditions: £1,500 to £2,500 plus VAT, ten working days
• SaaS, reseller or technology agreement: £2,000 to £3,500 plus VAT, ten working days
• Consultancy or contractor agreement: £750 plus VAT, five working days

Corporate and ownership

• Shareholders agreement: £2,750 to £4,500 plus VAT, fifteen working days
• Founders pack: £6,500 plus VAT, twenty working days

Employment, for employers

• Employment contract: £750 plus VAT, five working days
• Settlement agreement: £750 plus VAT, three working days
• Settlement agreement template: £1,200 plus VAT
• Senior or director service agreement: £1,500 plus VAT
• Settlement agreement with negotiation: £1,500 plus VAT
• Staff handbook and core policies: £1,750 plus VAT, ten working days

Data protection, IP and AI

• Data processing agreement and privacy terms: £950 plus VAT, five working days
• AI provisions or AI supplier review: £850 plus VAT
• AI use policy and contract provisions: £1,500 plus VAT, ten working days

Ongoing support

• Legal health check: £1,500 plus VAT, fifteen working days
• Ongoing retainer: from £250 plus VAT a month

All fees exclude VAT. Every price is confirmed in writing before work starts. See the full price list and how each service works.

Why this is better value than a law firm

A law firm has premises, partners, support staff, marketing and a compliance department, and every hour it bills has to carry a share of all of it. I have none of that. You are paying for the lawyer and nothing else.

• Senior attention as standard. The person who reads your contract is the person you emailed. Nothing is delegated to a trainee.
• In-house and private practice experience. I know what a clause does to a business six months later, not just what it says.
• No onboarding process. Email, scope, fixed price, invoice, work. There is no client portal to register with and no forms to complete.
• Better value for the same expertise. Without a firm's overheads, senior time costs less, which is why fixed fees at this level are possible at all.
• Fixed prices, published. You know the number before you commit. I publish them because cost uncertainty is the main reason businesses do not take advice they need.

How to instruct me

1. Email me. Send any relevant documents, or a few lines about the situation.
2. I confirm the scope, the price and the timetable, usually the same working day, with a free initial call if it would help. I then invoice you, and the work starts once it is paid.
3. I deliver on the agreed date, with a call or follow-up included.

When people usually get in touch

• A contract has landed and it needs signing this week
• They are taking on a co-founder, an investor or a key employee with equity
• A customer has rejected their terms, or sent a fifty page set of their own
• They are selling into a much larger company for the first time
• They are launching a SaaS or AI product and the paperwork has not caught up
• Nobody has ever looked at their contracts as a whole

What I focus on

I am authorised to provide all legal services, and I concentrate on the documents a business runs on: drafting, reviewing, advising on and negotiating contracts and other commercial, corporate and employment documents. That is where twenty-five years of experience counts for most.

Employment work is for employers. I do not hold client money.

Common questions

How much do you charge?

Fees are fixed and published. Contract review is £450 plus VAT, a consultancy agreement is £750 plus VAT, terms and conditions start at £1,500 plus VAT and a shareholders agreement starts at £2,750 plus VAT. The full list is on the services page.

I publish prices because cost uncertainty is the main reason businesses do not take advice they need. It is a commercial decision, not a regulatory requirement.

Where are you based and who do you act for?

I am based in London and act for businesses across England and Wales. Almost all of the work is done remotely, by email and telephone, which is faster for you and cheaper than meetings.

Are you a law firm?

No. I am an SRA-regulated freelance solicitor, practising in my own name and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, authorised to provide all legal services. That is the point: you get senior experience without paying for a firm's premises, support staff and compliance department, and without its onboarding process.

Two differences worth knowing. My professional indemnity insurance is not on the SRA's minimum terms and conditions; alternative arrangements are in place and I will give you details on request. And I do not hold client money.

How quickly can you start?

Usually within a day or two of the invoice being paid, and priority turnaround is available on most services. Put your deadline in the first email and I will confirm a delivery date that meets it.

About me

I am Geoffrey Caesar. I have worked on commercial contracts since 2001, first in industry and then in private practice, so I have sat on both sides of the table: as the in-house lawyer who has to live with the contract, and as the external adviser who drafts it.

• Solicitor of England and Wales, admitted 2008. SRA ID 483394.
• Practising as an SRA-regulated freelance solicitor under regulation 10.2(b) of the SRA Authorisation of Individuals Regulations. Practice SRA number 666497.
• Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and authorised to provide all legal services, including reserved legal activities.
• Called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 2005.
• Working on commercial contracts since 2001, in-house and in private practice.
• Based in London, acting for businesses across England and Wales.
• Professional indemnity insurance in place with a limit of £1,000,000 for each claim, with defence costs in addition. Details on request.
• I do not hold client money.

Two things you should know about instructing a freelance solicitor rather than a law firm. My professional indemnity insurance is not on the SRA's minimum terms and conditions; alternative arrangements are in place instead, and I will give you the details on request. And you can still apply to the SRA Compensation Fund for losses caused by dishonesty or a failure to account for money. Everything else, including the Code of Conduct, the SRA Principles and the Legal Ombudsman, applies to me exactly as it applies to any other solicitor.

Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.