How to Get Started
Retainer
Your in‑house, out‑sourced legal solution
What It Is
Monthly support, to run alongside you
From £775
+ VAT a month, fixed and agreed upfront, unchanged unless your requirements change
Priority
access, retainer clients come first, always
Get working
in one week, from first call. No lengthy onboarding.
What Is Included
Everything you need.
Nothing you don't.
The Retainer covers the full range of routine legal work a growing business generates. The scope is agreed at the start, and if something sits outside it, we tell you before we proceed, not after.
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Unlimited contract reviews Every contract that comes across your desk, customer agreements, supplier terms, NDAs, service agreements, reviewed and returned with clear recommendations.
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Document drafting Standard documents drafted from scratch: T&Cs, employment contracts, contractor agreements, offer letters, and routine commercial letters.
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Commercial and employment advice Questions answered as they arise, IR35, TUPE, settlement discussions, payment disputes, supplier issues. Straight advice, quickly.
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Quarterly legal review A proactive check-in every quarter to review your legal position, close out outstanding items, and flag anything that needs attention before it becomes a problem.
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Priority access and direct line One consistent point of contact. No call centre, no junior handoff. Your retainer adviser picks up and knows your business from day one.
A Retainer in Practice
What a typical month actually looks like
The value of a retainer is easier to show than to describe. Here is a representative month, anonymised, but representative of the kind of work a retainer covers.
Contract review
New supplier contract from procurement
A supplier sent their standard terms with an unusual indemnity clause that would have shifted significant liability. Reviewed, annotated, and returned with a redlined version within 24 hours.
Employment advice
Contractor status question from HR
HR flagged uncertainty about a long-term contractor's IR35 status ahead of a renewal. Advised on the assessment, recommended a process change, and drafted a revised engagement letter.
Proactive flag
Client spotted an issue before it became one
During routine review, noticed an incoming customer agreement contained a limitation of liability clause well below market standard. Client was alerted and renegotiated before signing.
Quarterly review
Three items closed, two new ones tracked
Quarterly legal review call: three outstanding items from the previous review closed out, two new items identified and added to the shared tracker with agreed timelines.
Document drafting
NDA needed quickly for an enterprise conversation
Sales team had a new enterprise prospect asking for an NDA before a detailed conversation. Bespoke NDA drafted, reviewed, and sent same day.
Monthly summary
What was handled, what is ongoing
End-of-month summary sent: everything handled during the month, open items with status, and two things to watch for in the month ahead. No surprises.
Who It Is For
When will the retainer work for you?
01
You're growing
Legal questions arrive frequently, and you don't want to engage a firm.
02
Investment
You need someone who knows you, your business and the documentation.
03
Proactivity
Reactive cover is not enough, and it's expensive.
04
Compliance
Obligations are mounting and you want them tracked and kept current, not left to chance.
1
Initial Call
30 minutes. We confirm the fit, understand your current legal setup, and agree what the retainer will cover. No preparation needed.
2
Scope and fee agreed in writing
You receive a clear written summary of what is covered, what is not, and the fixed monthly fee. Nothing starts until you have confirmed this in writing.
3
Retainer begins
Engagement letter countersigned, and you are covered from that point. We send an introductory document request to get up to speed on your existing contracts and structure.
International
Insured to advise across jurisdictions.
Your contracts rarely stop at one border. We are insured to advise on commercial agreements in jurisdictions around the world, so we can help wherever your business reaches.
Talk to us about a cross-border contract →Legal retainers, briefly answered
What is a legal retainer?
A legal retainer is an arrangement where a business pays a fixed monthly fee to keep a lawyer available for ongoing support, rather than paying by the hour each time something comes up. It buys availability and a lawyer who already knows your business, so the small questions get asked early rather than avoided.
What is a fractional general counsel?
A fractional general counsel is a senior lawyer who leads your legal function part-time, on a fixed fee, instead of as a full-time hire. Silva's retainer works this way - you get general counsel seniority and judgement, scaled to what your business actually needs each month.
How much does a legal retainer cost?
Far less than employing an in-house lawyer, whose all-in cost runs well into six figures. A retainer is a fixed monthly fee set against the level of support you need, so it stays predictable and budgetable. Tell us about your business and we will give you a straight figure.
Is a retainer better than paying by the hour?
For steady, ongoing legal needs, usually yes. Hourly billing quietly discourages you from asking, and rewards the work taking longer. A retainer fixes the cost in advance and makes asking free, so you use your lawyer early, before a problem becomes expensive rather than after.
How is a retainer different from calling a solicitor only when I need one?
Two things: familiarity and incentive. A retained adviser already knows your business, so you are not re-explaining it every time and paying for them to get up to speed. And because asking costs nothing extra, the small questions get raised early rather than left until they have grown into something expensive. Ad-hoc advice is reactive and starts cold each time; a retainer is proactive and already briefed.
Do I have to commit to a long contract?
No. A Silva retainer runs on a short, rolling basis - you are not locked into a long tie-in. The point is a relationship that flexes with your business, so you can scale the level of support up in a busy stretch and down in a quiet one, rather than signing away a year up front.
What if I don't use much legal support in a given month?
The fee is buying availability and a lawyer who knows your business, not a quota of hours to burn through. Quiet months are part of the model - they are what keeps the busy ones covered without a spike in cost. And a standing adviser tends to spot the things worth doing in the quiet months, before they become urgent in the loud ones.
Is my business too small for a retainer?
Rarely. A retainer earns its place the moment legal stops being a once-a-year event and becomes a steady trickle - a contract to check, a question to answer, a policy to update. For most growing businesses that point arrives well before they would ever justify hiring someone in-house, which is exactly the gap a retainer is built for. If you are not sure, tell us where you are and we will give you an honest answer.
Ready to talk?
Let's work out whether this is right for you
A Retainer is not right for every business at every stage. Get in touch and we will give you an honest answer. If Discovery Day is a better starting point, we will say so.
All Retainer engagements begin with a short qualifying exchange, by email or message. No obligation.