Insights
Everything, in one place
Blogs answer one question. Guides walk a whole subject start to finish. The glossary explains a term you have hit, and the questions are the ones we are actually asked. Search the lot, or filter by what you are after.
Do you actually want an EMI scheme?
Ten questions on whether options fit what you are trying to do, and whether your company qualifies. Names the alternative if EMI is not it.
Start the checkAre your terms and conditions doing their job?
Ten questions on when your terms get agreed, what they are silent about, and how long ago anyone read them. Ends with the gaps worth closing first.
Start the checkTerms of business, and what changes by profession
Accountants turn on scope and reliance, recruiters on what counts as an introduction, agencies on who owns the work. The clauses each profession is actually argued about - and the mistake which beats all of them.
ReadSection 431 elections, and when you actually need one
Fourteen days, two signatures, and no way back. When it happens automatically, when it does not, and why discounted EMI options are the trap.
ReadEMI valuation, and why there are two numbers
Actual market value sets the price your employees pay. Unrestricted market value sets how many options you can issue. Confusing them is the standard mistake.
ReadGood leaver, bad leaver, and who decides
Neither phrase means anything in law - they mean what your documents say. Where the line usually sits, and why board discretion causes more arguments than it settles.
ReadPhantom shares and unapproved options
What you use when EMI is not available, or the person you want to reward is not an employee. How each works, what the tax costs, and which objection each one actually solves.
ReadCan you use ChatGPT for legal advice?
The honest answer. What it is genuinely good for, where it will quietly ruin your day, and the two questions worth asking before you rely on any of it.
ReadAI in law firms: what is actually being used
Every firm has an AI announcement. Far fewer have anything running on a Tuesday afternoon. The four things genuinely in daily use, and what is still pilot theatre.
ReadAI for legal research: what these tools do and do not do
Three different things get sold under one name, and they fail in different ways. What grounding actually means, where the cost sits, and what to check before you buy.
ReadIs there such a thing as an AI lawyer?
Search the term and you find several companies called that. None of them is a lawyer. What the law reserves to authorised people, and how to decide whether your job is the ordinary kind.
ReadShareholder disputes: a guide for company owners
Why they start, what your percentage actually gives you, the remedies English law provides - and the honest arithmetic on where these things really end, which is almost never a courtroom.
ReadHow to sell a business: the seller's guide
What you are actually selling, getting your house in order before anyone looks, and the gap between the price you agree and the money that arrives. Written by the people who run the diligence for buyers.
ReadContract disputes: what to do when a contract goes wrong
Whether there has been a breach, how serious it is, what you can do about it and what you would actually recover - with the decision tree on one page, and the honest arithmetic on whether the fight is worth having.
ReadLegal due diligence when buying a company
What due diligence is, what it finds, and what to do with what it finds - written for the buyer. The five stages, an honest account of the failure modes, and how a data room gets reviewed in a day.
ReadHow to draft, negotiate and sign a commercial contract
The whole arc of a commercial contract - drafting, reviewing, negotiating and signing - in plain English. What each stage is for, what actually goes wrong, and where the real work sits.
ReadVarying and terminating a contract: changing it or ending it
Changing a contract and ending one are different jobs with different rules. Why variation needs consideration, why no-oral-modification clauses bite, and how the wrong termination route backfires.
ReadRepudiatory breach of contract: what it is and what to do
A repudiatory breach is serious enough to let you end the contract - but only if you are right. What counts, the choice it forces, and why calling it wrong makes you the one in breach.
ReadGrowth shares, explained
What you reach for when EMI is off the table. One idea does all the work: the new shareholder only gets a slice of what happens next.
ReadFrustration of contract: when performance becomes impossible
Frustration ends a contract when an event nobody caused makes performance impossible or radically different. The bar is very high - and harder or more expensive is not the same thing.
ReadEmployee share schemes, explained
EMI, CSOP, SIP, SAYE and unapproved options. Why the tax treatment is the whole argument, why options beat shares, and why the leaver clause matters more than you think.
ReadEmployee Ownership Trusts, explained
A genuinely tax-free exit, written into the legislation on purpose. The part deserving scrutiny isn't the tax - it's who actually writes the cheque.
ReadEMI vs CSOP
Framed as a choice, it's really a test. Nobody chooses CSOP - they arrive at it, having found the door to EMI closed. What actually separates them.
ReadHow a legal retainer works, and what the fee buys
A retainer turns legal support from a panic purchase into something you already have. What the fee actually buys, how it is structured, and when it is worth it.
ReadFractional general counsel: what it is, and when you need one
Senior in-house legal leadership, part-time and on a fixed fee. What a fractional GC does, what it costs, and when it beats both a hire and a law firm.
ReadCan you write your own contract?
Yes - no solicitor required. But "legally valid" and "actually protects you" are different things. Where DIY contracts and templates quietly cost you, and the sensible middle ground.
ReadWhat is a clause in a contract?
A clause is one numbered rule of the deal. The ones carrying the risk, what boilerplate really means, and why wording disputes are the expensive kind.
ReadWhat does jurisdiction actually mean?
Everyone has heard the word; few would define it on the spot. What jurisdiction means, the types worth knowing, and why one clause decides where disputes happen.
ReadInternational agreements: what changes when a contract crosses borders
Whose law, whose courts, and where a judgment can actually be enforced - the questions a cross-border contract must answer and a domestic one never asks.
ReadGoverning law vs jurisdiction: what's the difference?
One clause picks the rulebook, the other picks the referee. What each does, whether they can point at different countries, and what silence costs you.
ReadExclusive and non-exclusive jurisdiction clauses
One word in the back pages decides whether a dispute has one possible home or several. What each version does, and how to choose the right one.
ReadWhat commercial law solicitors do, and when a business doesn't need one
Commercial law covers a lot of ground. Here is what the work involves, and when a fixed-fee consultancy is the better call for a growing business.
ReadThe outsourced legal department: how it actually works
Legal process outsourcing sounds like something only big corporates do. Here is what an outsourced legal function actually looks like for a growing business.
ReadLegal advice for business owners: what you actually need, stage by stage
What legal support a business owner needs changes as the business grows. A stage-by-stage guide, including the honest truth about legal aid for businesses.
ReadConsultant solicitor, legal consultant, legal adviser: who does what?
The titles blur together and none of them tells you the whole story. Here is what each actually means, and the questions that matter more than the label.
ReadBefore you hire an in-house lawyer, read this
An in-house legal counsel is a big fixed cost for one generalist. Here is the alternative most growing businesses actually need, and when to choose it.
ReadWhy every law firm is suddenly talking about "tech"
Legal technology, tech lawyers, AI in law - the terms are everywhere. Here is what actually changes for your legal work, and what is just noise.
ReadContract reviews: when to bring in outside help (and when you don't need to)
Not every contract needs a solicitor. Some absolutely do. Here is how to tell the difference, and what a proper contract review actually involves.
ReadWhat actually happens when a commercial contract breaks down
A supplier stops delivering. A client stops paying. Here is what breach of contract actually means in practice, and the order in which to deal with it.
ReadSolicitor or legal consultant? What UK business owners actually need
Business solicitor, business lawyer, legal consultant - the search terms all point at the same problem. Here is how to work out which kind of legal support actually fits.
ReadThe legal foundations under good financial advice for business owners
Good financial advice tends to assume the legal basics are already sorted. Often they're not. Here is what to have in place before you build on top of it.
ReadDo you need an in-house lawyer, or something more flexible?
An in-house lawyer is a real commitment, salary, benefits, notice period, before they've answered a single question. Here is what to weigh up before you hire one.
ReadWhat to expect from a Legal Discovery Day
The Legal Discovery Day is a structured advisory session designed to give you a clear picture of your legal position in a single day. Here is what happens, in what order, and what you leave with.
ReadWhat is an EMI share option scheme?
HMRC's Enterprise Management Incentive scheme is one of the most tax-efficient ways to reward key employees in an SME. Here is what it is, who qualifies, and what the process actually looks like.
ReadFive AI tools worth knowing for law firms in 2026
Not all AI tools are built the same, and most reviews are written by people who have not actually used them in a legal context. Here is an honest assessment of five tools worth evaluating this year.
ReadCommercial contract basics every founder should know
Founders sign contracts all the time without reading them properly. This guide covers the five clauses to look for in any commercial agreement, and what to do if you find a problem.
ReadGetting started with AI in your legal practice
Most law firms know they should be doing something with AI. Few know where to start. This is a practical guide to the first three steps, without the hype and without the risk of getting it wrong.
ReadHow to run an AI implementation that actually works
Most AI implementations fail not because the technology is wrong but because the brief was too vague and the scope was too large. Here is the framework we use with every client.
ReadCommon questions
The questions we are actually asked, answered straight - about how Silva works, what things cost, and what a legal consultancy can and cannot do for you.
ReadLegal and business glossary
Every term we use, in plain English - from consideration and indemnity to unfair prejudice and wrongful trading. Searchable, and written for people who are not lawyers.
ReadFrom insight to action
Reading is a start. When you are ready to act, we are here, legal advice and AI consultancy under one roof.