Version 3.3 - 13 November 2026

Terms of Business

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These Terms apply to all work Silva Lex Ltd does for you. Each piece of work is described in a quote or scope email. The quote or scope email and these Terms together are our contract with you. If you are an individual instructing us for purposes outside your trade, business or profession, Appendix 1 also applies and takes priority over anything inconsistent in these Terms.

1. Who we are

1.1 We are Silva Lex Ltd, trading as Silva, a company registered in England and Wales (number 15582690) with our registered office at 37 West Sunniside, Sunderland, England, SR1 1BU. We are a legal advisory and consultancy company.

1.2 We are not a firm of solicitors or barristers. We are not authorised or regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board or any other regulator under the Legal Services Act 2007. This means:

(a) we do not carry out reserved legal activities, such as conducting litigation, appearing in court, preparing reserved instruments or probate work;

(b) you are not covered by the Legal Ombudsman or any compensation fund;

(c) legal advice privilege is unlikely to attach to our communications with you. Litigation privilege may apply where litigation is reasonably in contemplation, and we will tell you when we think it does; and

(d) our people may hold legal qualifications, but they do not act as practising solicitors or barristers when working for you.

1.3 Where a step needs a regulated lawyer, we will tell you and can help you instruct one (clause 7).

1.4 We hold professional indemnity insurance for our services with a limit of £2 million.

2. Words we use

2.1 In these Terms:

(a) "Your Materials" means the documents, data and information you give us;

(b) "Deliverables" means the advice, documents and other work product we produce for you and deliver to you;

(c) "AI Platforms" means artificial intelligence models and services provided by others, including AI features built into software we use;

(d) "Silva Tools" means everything we create, build, configure or adapt in order to do our work, in any form. It includes skills, plugins, prompts and prompt libraries, agents, workflows, automations, APIs, integrations and code, and our templates, precedents, playbooks, checklists, methods and know-how. It includes every improvement to, and every bespoke version of, any of them, even where created or adapted for you or in the course of your work; and

(e) "AI Output" means anything generated by an AI Platform or a Silva Tool.

3. Our contract with you

3.1 The contract is made up of these Terms, the quote or scope email for the work, and any appendix which applies. If the quote or scope email expressly changes a provision of these Terms, the quote or scope email applies for that work. Otherwise these Terms apply.

3.2 You accept these Terms by confirming acceptance through our onboarding process, by signing them, or by instructing us to do work after we have sent them to you. The version you accepted applies to that work. The current version is always at silvalex.co.uk/terms.

3.3 If more than one person or company instructs us on a matter, each of you is jointly and severally responsible for our fees and for complying with these Terms, and we may take instructions from any of you.

3.4 Unless Appendix 1 applies, you confirm you are instructing us in the course of a business.

4. Our work

4.1 We will do the work described in the quote or scope email and nothing more. If you ask for something outside that scope, or your instructions change so more work is needed, we will tell you before we start and charge for it at our hourly rates (clause 5) unless we agree a further quote.

4.2 We will carry out our work with reasonable care and skill. We advise on the law of England and Wales only. Clause 8 explains how we handle work with an international element.

4.3 We rely on the information, documents and instructions you give us, and you confirm they are and will remain complete and accurate throughout our work. Our advice is given on that basis. If something is particular to you or your business and we would not know it unless you told us, you need to tell us.

4.4 There is work we do not do. In particular we do not give accountancy, tax, regulatory or compliance advice, we do not advise on the law of any other country, we do not conduct litigation, we do not hold money for you or anyone else, and we do not file documents at Companies House or any other registry on your behalf. A fuller list is at silvalex.co.uk/wecannothelp. If you are unsure, please ask.

4.5 Our advice is for you only. Nobody else may rely on it, and we accept no responsibility to anyone other than you unless we agree otherwise in writing. The Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 does not apply to our contract.

4.6 Decisions are yours. We will not make decisions for you, sign anything on your behalf, or commit you to anything. Where we draft or negotiate, you decide what to accept. Where we make a suggestion or state an assumption, as distinct from giving advice, you should weigh it yourself and not rely on it as advice.

4.7 You will have a named point of contact. If that person changes, we will tell you promptly.

4.8 We may use consultants and subcontractors to help deliver our work. We remain responsible for their work unless you engage them yourself under a separate written agreement.

5. Fees, expenses and payments in advance

5.1 We charge in one of three ways: a quote for scoped work, our hourly rates, or a retainer (clause 6). The quote or scope email tells you which applies.

5.2 A quote is our fixed price for the work described in it. Anything outside that description is charged at our hourly rates, and we will tell you before we start it. An estimate is different. It is our best indication of likely cost on the information we have at the time, it may change, and you should not rely on it as a quote.

5.3 Our hourly rates are those agreed with you in writing. Where none have been agreed, they are (excluding VAT):

5.4 Time is recorded in units of six minutes (one tenth of an hour). Rates may change on 30 days' written notice. A change does not affect a quote already given.

5.5 Expenses we incur for you, such as travel, courier, search or registry fees, are charged at cost. Counsel's and other professionals' fees are dealt with in clause 7. We may ask you to pay expenses before we incur them.

5.6 We may ask and invoice for a payment in advance before starting or continuing work. Any payment in advance is a prepayment of our fees and expenses and is held by us as our own money, not as client money. We will apply it against our invoices as or after they fall due. We do not hold money on trust for you or for anyone else.

5.7 VAT is added to all fees and expenses at the applicable rate.

5.8 We verify the identity of our clients and, where appropriate, people connected with them. We may ask you for identity documents and information about the source of funds used to pay us. We may decline to act, or stop acting, if we are not satisfied with the answers.

6. Retainers

6.1 A retainer is a monthly subscription for ongoing support. Its scope, fee, start date and end date are set out in the relevant retainer quote. Unless the retainer quote says otherwise, the minimum term is 24 months.

6.2 Retainer fees are payable monthly in advance. If you pay 12 months in one sum, we will reduce the fee for that period by 5%.

6.3 A retainer includes:

(a) access to your point of contact by email, and by phone during our usual working hours;

(b) general legal guidance on day-to-day questions;

(c) a small number of shorter standard documents from our library, adapted for your branding and licensed for use in your own business (clause 11). We choose which documents are available and may change the selection;

(d) high-level red-flag reviews of contracts before you sign them, giving a practical view of the main risks. This is not a clause-by-clause review; and

(e) initial guidance on disputes, including your legal position and strategy.

6.4 A retainer does not include, and we charge at our hourly rates for, negotiations, detailed redrafting, bespoke or transactional documents, mediation preparation and attendance, settlement negotiations, debt recovery, and anything listed in clause 4.4. Where a question needs detailed or extensive advice, we will tell you and agree the fee before going further.

6.5 Retainers run on a reasonable use basis. Our reasonable use policy is at silvalex.co.uk/reasonable-use and forms part of these Terms. We decide, acting reasonably, what is reasonable use, and we will tell you if a request or instruction falls outside the policy. We are not expected to work outside our usual working hours, on public holidays or during holiday periods, and we will tell you in advance when your point of contact is unavailable.

6.6 We may review the retainer fee if the reasonable use policy is exceeded, your instructions change materially, or your business changes in size or nature in a way which affects the work. We will give you 30 days' notice of any change.

7. Counsel and other professionals

7.1 Some matters need a barrister, a solicitor, a lawyer qualified in another country, an accountant, a consultant or another adviser or professional. Where we think so, we will tell you and, if you agree, we will help you find, instruct and manage them.

7.2 Where we instruct another professional, we do so as your agent. You are their client. Their fees are your responsibility and will either be invoiced to you directly or passed through to you by us at cost. They or we may ask you to pay their fees in advance.

7.3 We are not responsible for the advice or work of any other professional, and their advice is given to you, not to us.

8. International work

8.1 We advise only on the law of England and Wales. We may review, comment on, amend and negotiate contracts governed by other laws, but we do that on the basis of our experience and the position under the law of England and Wales. We do not advise on the effect of any other country's law, draft documents from scratch under another country's law, or advise on litigation, regulatory, employment, tax or intellectual property registration matters in any other country.

8.2 Where your matter has an international element, including a foreign governing law or jurisdiction clause, you should consider taking advice in each relevant country. We can help you arrange it. Unless it is within the agreed scope, obtaining that advice is your responsibility. Our full statement on international work is at silvalex.co.uk/international and forms part of these Terms. Before we give advice with an international element, we may ask you to reconfirm your agreement to that statement and to any further reasonable conditions.

8.3 We cannot act where you are based in the same country or jurisdiction whose law governs the contract or matter you are asking about, unless that is England and Wales. Where this applies you will need a lawyer in that country. Anything we say about such a matter is not advice, must not be relied on, and is given without liability.

9. Confidentiality, data and your files

9.1 We will keep your information confidential and use it only for your work and as clause 10.4 allows. We may share it with professionals instructed under clause 7, with service providers (including AI Platforms) under terms which protect confidentiality, with our insurers and advisers, and where the law or a regulator requires. Information already public, already known to us, or which you have agreed we may share is not confidential or restricted. You will keep our advice, documents and know-how confidential and will not share them outside your business except as the work requires.

9.2 We process personal data as a controller under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our Privacy Notice at silvalex.co.uk/privacy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with (including the AI Platforms we use) and your rights.

9.3 We may record calls and meetings to make notes and summaries. We will tell you when a call is being recorded. Where other people join a call, you are responsible for telling them unless we have done so.

9.4 We work on and keep our file for your matter in digital form, and keep it for seven years after the work ends, then delete it. Please do not send us original documents. If you do, you are responsible for keeping copies and we are not responsible for their loss or damage. Once our invoices are paid in full, we will give you access to download your digital file for a reasonable period. We may withhold access to your file while any invoice is unpaid.

10. Artificial intelligence

10.1 We use AI Platforms and Silva Tools in our work, including for research, document review, analysis and drafting. The AI Platforms we use are described in our Privacy Notice and may change without notice. Our AI Policy at silvalex.co.uk/ai-policy explains how we use them. Except as set out in clause 10.5, we review AI Output before it reaches you, and we remain responsible for our advice.

10.2 You agree we may use Your Materials with AI Platforms and Silva Tools. We only use AI Platforms whose terms protect the confidentiality of your information and confirm they do not use it to train their models.

10.3 We are not obliged to use any AI Platform or Silva Tool, to keep any prompt or AI Output, to disclose any prompt or Silva Tool, or to explain how any AI Output was produced. AI can make mistakes and we do not guarantee the performance of any AI Platform.

10.4 We may use what we learn from your work to improve our processes and Silva Tools. We will not include your confidential information in anything we provide to anyone else, and clause 9.1 continues to apply.

10.5 You may ask us to have AI carry out a task and for us to sense-check the result, rather than reviewing it fully ourselves. Where you do, we will agree the level of review with you in writing. That work is not our advice and you are responsible for checking it before you rely on it. Our only responsibility for it is to carry out the agreed check with reasonable care and skill, and we are not liable for the content of the AI Output or for any reliance on it beyond that.

11. Intellectual property

11.1 You own Your Materials. You give us permission to use them to do your work and as clause 10 allows.

11.2 We own the Silva Tools and all intellectual property rights in them. This applies even where a Silva Tool was created, adapted or improved for you, during your work or at your suggestion, and whether or not you paid for that work. Nothing in these Terms transfers any Silva Tool, or any right in one, to you.

11.3 We own the intellectual property rights in the Deliverables and in any AI Output. Once our fees for the work are paid, you have a non-exclusive licence to use the Deliverables for the purpose they were produced for and in your own business. Where a Deliverable contains or is built from a Silva Tool, your licence covers the Deliverable only.

11.4 You may not:

(a) sell, license, share or distribute any Silva Tool or Deliverable, or use one for anyone else's benefit, except where sharing a Deliverable is part of its purpose (for example, sending a contract to the other side);

(b) copy, extract or reverse engineer any Silva Tool, or try to work out the prompts or methods behind a Deliverable; or

(c) use any Silva Tool or Deliverable to build or train a product or service offered to others.

11.5 We license some Silva Tools separately. If you would like to use one yourself, you need a separate written licence from us.

12. Invoices and payment

12.1 We may invoice you at the end of a piece of work, at intervals during it, or in advance. Invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date. Where we invoice in advance, work starts when cleared funds arrive.

12.2 If you believe a Deliverable does not match the agreed scope, tell us in writing within 14 days of the invoice date, saying what is missing or wrong, and pay the rest of the invoice on time.

12.3 If we agree the Deliverable does not match the agreed scope, we will put it right within 28 days and the amount you held back becomes payable once we have. If we do not agree, the amount you held back remains payable under clause 12.1.

12.4 You are treated as having accepted a Deliverable, and may no longer hold back payment for it, when the first of these happens:

(a) 14 days pass from the invoice date without you raising a concern under clause 12.2;

(b) you use or rely on the Deliverable; or

(c) we put right the concern you raised.

12.5 If an invoice is not paid on time, we may charge interest and fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, we may stop work on any of your matters until it is paid in full, and we may charge for time spent recovering the debt at our hourly rates.

13. Ending the relationship

13.1 Where you do not have a retainer, either of us may end this contract on one month's written notice.

13.2 A retainer runs for the term in the retainer quote, or for 24 months if the retainer quote does not give one. You may not end it early unless we are in material breach and have not put it right within 30 days of your written notice asking us to. We may end a retainer on one month's written notice for any reason.

13.3 We may end this contract immediately, by notice to you, if you do not pay an invoice on time, if information you give us is false or misleading, or if you ask us to do something which is illegal, which is unprofessional (judged by the standards of the legal profession, whether or not those standards formally apply to us), or which could damage our reputation or expose us to risk. We may also decline to act, or stop acting, if a conflict of interest exists or arises which we cannot manage, or if we cannot verify your identity or the source of your funds.

13.4 When this contract ends for any reason, you will pay for the work done and expenses committed up to that date. We will send a final invoice, payable within 14 days. Clause 9.4 applies to your file.

13.5 Clauses 4.5, 7.3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 16 continue after this contract ends.

14. Our liability

14.1 Nothing in these Terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else which cannot be limited at law.

14.2 Subject to clause 14.1, our total liability to you for each matter on which you instruct us, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty or otherwise, is limited to the greater of:

(a) any payment actually made to you or to us by our insurers for the purpose of settling a valid claim by you relating to that matter; and

(b) the total fees paid by you to us in the 12 months before the claim is first notified to us in writing.

14.3 We are not liable for loss of profit, revenue, business, opportunity or goodwill, or for any indirect or consequential loss.

14.4 We are not liable for loss caused by inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information or instructions, by the acts or omissions of anyone we did not engage and contract with directly, by events outside our reasonable control, by matters within clause 7.3 or clause 8.3, or by anyone treating our work as advice on the law of another country.

14.5 Any claim against us must be brought within three years of the later of the act or omission you complain of and the date you ought reasonably to have known of it, and in any event within six years of that act or omission.

14.6 If you have agreed a limit on another adviser's liability for the same matter, our liability will not increase as a result.

14.7 Your contract is with Silva Lex Ltd, a limited company. Our directors, employees and consultants have no personal liability to you and you agree not to bring a claim against any of them personally. If you do, you will indemnify us and them against the cost of dealing with it.

15. Complaints

15.1 If you are unhappy with our work or service, tell your point of contact first. If that does not resolve it, write to us at info@silvalex.co.uk. We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days and respond substantively within 20 working days. Our complaints policy is at silvalex.co.uk/complaints.

15.2 Because we are not regulated under the Legal Services Act 2007, there is no external ombudsman for complaints.

16. Notices and general

16.1 Notices in writing under these Terms may be given by email to info@silvalex.co.uk or to your main point of contact. We may give notice to you at the email address you normally use with us. Formal legal notices may not be given by email. A formal legal notice is a letter of claim or any document in legal proceedings, and must be sent by post to the registered office or main address of the person receiving it.

16.2 We may update these Terms by giving you notice. The current version is at silvalex.co.uk/terms. Changes apply to work you instruct after we notify you of them and, for retainers, 30 days after notice.

16.3 These Terms and the quote, estimate or scope email for the work are the whole agreement between us for that work and replace any earlier terms. Any change to a quote, estimate or scope email must be agreed in writing.

16.4 Neither of us may transfer this contract without the other's written consent. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership or agency between us except as set out in clause 7.2.

16.5 Documents may be signed electronically.

16.6 If any part of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.

16.7 This contract is governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute.

Appendix 1 - If you are a consumer

A1 When this Appendix applies. This Appendix applies if you are an individual instructing us wholly or mainly for purposes outside your trade, business, craft or profession. Where it conflicts with the rest of these Terms, this Appendix applies.

A2 Your right to cancel. You may cancel our contract within 14 days of the day it is made, without giving a reason. To cancel, tell us in writing at info@silvalex.co.uk or by post to our registered office. You may use the cancellation form at the end of this Appendix, but you do not have to.

A3 Starting work within the 14 days. If you ask us to start work within the cancellation period and then cancel, you must pay a proportionate amount for the work done up to the point you cancel. If we complete the work within the cancellation period at your express request, you acknowledge you will lose the right to cancel once the work is complete.

A4 Your statutory rights. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 we must carry out our services with reasonable care and skill. Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any right you have under that Act or any other law which cannot be limited or excluded.

A5 Changes to these Terms for consumers. In place of the corresponding provisions in the main Terms:

(a) clauses 6.1 and 13.2: you may end a retainer at any time on one month's written notice, and a minimum term does not apply;

(b) clause 5.6: we will refund any payment in advance not used when the work ends;

(c) clause 12.5: interest on late payment is charged at 4% a year above the Bank of England base rate, and we will give you seven days' written notice before stopping work for non-payment;

(d) clause 13.3: we will give you reasonable written notice before ending the contract, except where the law prevents us continuing;

(e) clause 14.5 and the indemnity in clause 14.7 do not apply;

(f) clause 16.2: we will give you 30 days' notice of any change to these Terms and you may end the contract before the change takes effect; and

(g) clause 16.7: if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you may also bring a claim in the courts where you live.

Cancellation form

Complete and return this form only if you wish to cancel your contract with us.

To

Silva Lex Ltd, 37 West Sunniside, Sunderland, SR1 1BU

info@silvalex.co.uk

I give notice that I cancel my contract for the supply of the following service.

Service

Ordered on

Your name

Your address

Signature (only if you send this form on paper)

Date

Reasonable Use Policy

Version id reasonable-use-v1.0. SHA-256 362ed9c26b64a090a1263c90bc363bb0444ee9725064bfa2ed11ee59febb7fa9.

Permanent URL for this version: /legal/reasonable-use/v1.0/. Download PDF.

Silva Lex Ltd - Reasonable Use Policy

Version 1.0 - last updated 13 November 2026

This policy applies to clients with a Silva retainer. It forms part of our Terms of Business at silvalex.co.uk/terms (clause 6.5). Words with capital letters have the meanings given in our Terms of Business.

1. Why we have this policy

   1. A retainer gives you ongoing access to legal support for a fixed monthly fee. That works because most clients use their retainer in a broadly steady way over time. This policy explains how we decide whether use is reasonable and what happens if it is not.

   2. There is no fixed number of hours, questions or documents. Every business is different, and the same level of use can be reasonable for one client and not for another, or reasonable in one month and not over several.

2. How we judge reasonable use

   1. We look at the overall pattern of your use, not a single request or a single week. We take into account:

      1. how much you have asked of us, and how often, over recent months;
      2. the size and complexity of each request;
      3. how quickly you need answers;
      4. whether the request is within the scope of your retainer (clauses 6.3 and 6.4 of our Terms of Business);
      5. your retainer fee and what we discussed when we agreed it;
      6. changes in the size or nature of your business; and
      7. any other factor which affects the time and resources we need to give you.

   2. We decide, acting reasonably, what is reasonable use. The examples below show how we approach it. They are not limits or promises.

3. Examples of use we would usually treat as reasonable

   1. For example:

      1. a busy spell after a quiet one, such as several contracts to review in a fortnight when we have not heard from you for a few months;
      2. regular short questions by email about day-to-day issues;
      3. a red-flag review of a supplier's or customer's terms before you sign; and
      4. a quick view on a letter or email you have received from an employee, customer or supplier.

4. Examples of use we may treat as not reasonable

   1. For example:

      1. a consistently high volume of requests, month after month, well beyond what we discussed when the retainer was agreed;
      2. frequent requests for same-day or urgent answers where the matter is not genuinely urgent;
      3. asking for work outside the retainer, such as negotiations, detailed redrafting or transactional documents, as if it were included;
      4. breaking a larger piece of work into a series of smaller questions;
      5. asking us to review the same issue, document or strategy again after it has moved on or been negotiated (a further review is not an included red-flag review);
      6. using the retainer for another business, for a group company not named in the retainer quote, or for anyone else's benefit; and
      7. expecting work outside our usual working hours.

5. Contacting us and response times

   1. You can email your point of contact at any time and call during our usual working hours. We respond as soon as we reasonably can and prioritise genuinely urgent matters where we are able to. We do not guarantee a response time unless your retainer quote says otherwise.

   2. We will tell you in advance when your point of contact is unavailable.

6. What happens if use goes beyond what is reasonable

   1. If we think a request, or your use overall, goes beyond what is reasonable, we will tell you. We may then do one or more of the following:

      1. agree a quote for the work, or charge it at our hourly rates, before we start;
      2. schedule non-urgent work for a later date;
      3. review your retainer fee on 30 days' notice (clause 6.6 of our Terms of Business); or
      4. where the pattern continues or we consider your behaviour to be affecting our relationship or ability to provide our services (to you or other clients), end the retainer on one month's notice (clause 13.2 of our Terms of Business). This does not affect our or your right to terminate under the Terms of Business.

   2. A retainer pays for ongoing access to our support, not a bank of time. Use you do not make in one month does not carry forward to the next.

7. Changes to this policy

   1. We may update this policy. The current version is always at silvalex.co.uk/reasonable-use.

Version 2.0 - last updated 10 November 2026

Privacy Notice

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Permanent URL for this version: /legal/privacy/2026-11-10/. Download PDF.

This notice explains how Silva Lex Ltd collects and uses personal data, who we share it with, how long we keep it and your rights. It applies to visitors to our website, people who contact us or use our chat assistant, our clients and the people who work for them, and other people whose data we handle in the course of our work.

1. Who we are

1.1 Silva Lex Ltd, trading as Silva, is a legal advisory and consultancy company registered in England and Wales (number 15582690). Our registered office is 37 West Sunniside, Sunderland, England, SR1 1BU.

1.2 We are the controller of the personal data described in this notice. We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under registration number ZB878159.

1.3 For any question about this notice or your data, email info@silvalex.co.uk or write to our registered office.

2. Whose data we handle

2.1 This notice covers:

(a) website visitors and people who send us an enquiry, sign up to our newsletter or use Elena, our website chat assistant;

(b) our clients, and the directors, employees and other people who instruct us or deal with us on a client's behalf;

(c) other people involved in our clients' matters, such as counterparties, employees, opposing parties, witnesses and their advisers;

(d) people whose details we find in public sources when carrying out research for a client;

(e) people at businesses we may contact about our services; and

(f) barristers, solicitors and other professionals we work with.

3. What we collect

3.1 Depending on how you deal with us, we may collect:

(a) identity and contact details, such as your name, job title, employer, email address, phone number and postal address;

(b) information you give us in an enquiry, chat, email, call or meeting, including recordings, transcripts and notes of calls and meetings;

(c) identity verification information, such as identity documents and the results of identity checks;

(d) information about a matter, which may include employment, financial, contractual and dispute details;

(e) billing and payment details;

(f) marketing preferences; and

(g) technical information about your visit to our website, such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you visit and how long you stay. Our Cookie Policy at silvalex.co.uk/cookies has more detail.

3.2 Some matters involve special category data (for example, health information in an employment matter) or information about criminal allegations or convictions. We only handle this where it is needed for the matter.

4. Where we get it

4.1 We collect most personal data from you directly. We also receive it:

(a) from our clients, where you are involved in their matter;

(b) from public sources, such as Companies House, HM Land Registry, the Insolvency Register, court records, the press and published business profiles; and

(c) from other professionals working on a matter.

5. Why we use it and our lawful basis

5.1 We use personal data for the purposes below. Under the UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis for each.

(a) To provide our services, manage our relationship with clients and take payment. Lawful basis: performance of our contract with you or, where you act for a client, our legitimate interest in serving that client.

(b) To handle other people's data in a client's matter, including research from public sources. Lawful basis: our and our client's legitimate interests in obtaining advice and establishing, exercising or defending legal rights.

(c) To verify identity, prevent fraud and meet our legal and insurance obligations. Lawful basis: legal obligation and our legitimate interests.

(d) To respond to enquiries and chat messages. Lawful basis: steps taken at your request before a contract, or our legitimate interests.

(e) To send our newsletter and updates about our services. Lawful basis: consent, or our legitimate interests where you are a client or a business contact. You can opt out at any time.

(f) To run, secure and improve our website, services, processes and internal tools. Lawful basis: our legitimate interests. Where we use what we learn from our work to improve our processes, we do not disclose your confidential information to anyone else.

(g) To record calls and meetings for notes and summaries. Lawful basis: our legitimate interests in keeping an accurate record. We will tell you when a call is being recorded.

5.2 We use special category data where it is needed to establish, exercise or defend legal claims or to obtain legal advice, or with your explicit consent. We use criminal offence data on the same legal claims basis, under Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 2018.

5.3 Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have weighed them against your rights. You can ask us for more detail and you can object (clause 10).

5.4 We do not sell personal data. We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing which have a legal or similarly significant effect on you.

6. Artificial intelligence

6.1 We use artificial intelligence in our work, including for research, document review, analysis, drafting, call notes and summaries. This includes Claude, provided by Anthropic, other AI services, AI features built into the business software we use, and AI tools we build and run ourselves, some of which run on our own hardware.

6.2 Elena, our website chat assistant, uses Claude. Your messages are processed by Anthropic to generate replies, and we store conversations and summaries in our own systems.

6.3 We only use AI services under business terms which protect the confidentiality of the information and do not allow the provider to use it to train its models. Our people review AI output before it is used in advice. Our AI Policy at silvalex.co.uk/ai-policy explains how we use AI.

7. Who we share it with

7.1 We share personal data with service providers who handle it for us under contract, including providers of:

(a) email, document storage and office software;

(b) AI services (clause 6);

(c) call recording and transcription;

(d) client and matter management;

(e) website forms, chat and hosting;

(f) email marketing; and

(g) accounting and invoicing.

7.2 We also share personal data, where needed, with:

(a) barristers, solicitors, overseas lawyers, accountants and other professionals working on a matter;

(b) the other side of a matter and their advisers, as part of our work;

(c) our insurers, brokers and professional advisers;

(d) courts, regulators, the police or other authorities where the law requires it; and

(e) a buyer of, or successor to, our business.

8. International transfers

8.1 Some of our service providers, including Anthropic and other AI and software providers, are based in or store data in the United States or elsewhere outside the UK.

8.2 Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we make sure it is protected by one of the safeguards UK law allows: a UK adequacy decision (including the UK-US data bridge for certified US organisations), the International Data Transfer Agreement, or the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses. You can ask us for details of the safeguard used.

9. How long we keep it

9.1 We keep personal data only as long as we need it:

(a) enquiries which do not lead to an engagement: 12 months from last contact;

(b) Elena conversations and summaries: 12 months from the conversation;

(c) business contacts and prospective client records: two years from last contact, unless they become a client;

(d) client files, including call recordings, transcripts and notes: seven years after the work ends;

(e) identity verification records: five years after the end of our relationship;

(f) accounting and invoicing records: six years after the end of the financial year they relate to;

(g) marketing preferences: until you unsubscribe, after which we keep only enough to make sure we do not contact you again; and

(h) website analytics: as set out in our Cookie Policy.

9.2 We may keep data longer where the law requires it or where it is needed for an actual or likely legal claim.

10. Your rights

10.1 You have the right to:

(a) access the personal data we hold about you;

(b) have inaccurate data corrected;

(c) have your data erased;

(d) restrict how we use your data;

(e) receive your data in a portable format;

(f) object to our use of your data where we rely on legitimate interests, and at any time to direct marketing; and

(g) withdraw your consent, where we rely on it.

10.2 Some rights are limited. For example, we may not have to provide data which is subject to legal professional privilege, or where giving it would harm a client's legal claim or another person's rights. Where a right is limited, we will tell you unless the law prevents it.

10.3 To use any of these rights, email info@silvalex.co.uk. We will respond within one month, or tell you within that time if we need longer.

11. Complaints

11.1 If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, please complain to us first at info@silvalex.co.uk. We will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days, look into it without undue delay and tell you the outcome.

11.2 You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

12. Changes to this notice

12.1 We review this notice regularly and may update it. The current version is always at silvalex.co.uk/privacy, with the date it was last updated.

Cookie Policy

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Silva Lex Ltd - Cookie Policy

Version 2.0 - last updated 13 November 2026

This policy explains the cookies and similar technologies used on silvalex.co.uk, why we use them and how you can control them. It should be read with our Privacy Notice at silvalex.co.uk/privacy.

1. What cookies are

   1. Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. Similar technologies, such as your browser's local storage, work in a similar way. In this policy we call them all "cookies".

   2. Some cookies are essential for a website to work. Others help the site owner understand how the site is used, or allow third parties to provide features such as forms. We only use non-essential cookies with your consent.

2. Your choices

   1. When you first visit the site, our banner lets you choose "Essential only" or "Accept all". We only set non-essential cookies if you choose "Accept all".

   2. You can change your choice at any time using the "Cookie settings" link at the bottom of every page. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, although parts of the site may not then work properly.

3. Essential cookies

   1. These are needed for the site to work and to keep it secure. They do not need your consent.

      1. Cloudflare security cookies (such as __cf_bm), set by Cloudflare, which hosts and protects our site, to tell people from automated traffic. They last up to 30 minutes, or longer where a security check is completed.
      2. silva-cookie-consent, stored in your browser's local storage, which remembers your cookie choice so we do not ask again. It stays until you clear it.

4. Functional cookies

   1. These remember choices you make so the site works the way you expect. They contain no personal data and are never sent to us.

      1. silva-elena-teaser-seen, stored in local storage, which remembers that you have seen the introduction to Elena, our chat assistant, so it is not shown again.
      2. A display preference on our Silva AI pages, stored in local storage, which remembers whether you chose light or dark mode.

5. Analytics cookies

   1. These help us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it.

      1. Microsoft Clarity: records how visitors move around and interact with pages, including clicks and scrolling, so we can see which content is useful and where pages do not work well. It sets cookies such as _clck and _clsk, which last up to one year. Clarity only runs if you choose "Accept all". Microsoft's privacy statement is at privacy.microsoft.com.
      2. Cloudflare Web Analytics: counts visits and page views in aggregate. It does not use cookies or identify individual visitors.

6. Third-party content

   1. Some pages include content provided by others, which may set their own cookies under their own policies.

      1. Our contact form is provided by Jotform and appears within the page. Jotform may set cookies to make the form work.
      2. Our newsletter sign-up form sends your details to Brevo, our email marketing provider. How Brevo handles your data is explained in our Privacy Notice.
      3. Fonts on our site are loaded from Google Fonts. Google receives your device's IP address to deliver them but does not set cookies.

7. Changes to this policy

   1. We review this policy regularly and will update it if the cookies we use change. The current version is always at silvalex.co.uk/cookies.

   2. If you have a question about this policy, email info@silvalex.co.uk.

What we cannot help with

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What we do not do

Some work is never in scope. Where it is needed, we can manage that workstream alongside a barrister, law firm or other provider that you engage directly.

Our signed T&Cs govern what we do. We may decline or stop any work at our discretion.

Version 1.0 - last updated 10 November 2026

AI Policy

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Permanent URL for this version: /legal/ai-policy/2026-11-10/. Download PDF.

This policy explains how Silva uses artificial intelligence in our work and on our website. It sits alongside our Terms of Business at silvalex.co.uk/terms and our Privacy Notice at silvalex.co.uk/privacy. It explains our approach and does not change either of them. Words with capital letters have the meanings given in our Terms of Business.

1. Our approach

1.1 We use AI because it makes our work faster, more thorough and better value for clients. We use it as a tool, not as a substitute for legal judgement.

1.2 A person is responsible for every piece of advice we give. AI helps us research, review and draft, but we decide what we advise. Except as set out in this policy, we remain responsible for our advice whether or not AI was used to produce it.

2. What we use AI for

2.1 We use AI Platforms and Silva Tools for tasks including:

(a) legal and factual research;

(b) reviewing contracts and other documents and identifying risks;

(c) first drafts of documents, letters and emails;

(d) summaries, chronologies and comparisons of documents;

(e) recording calls and meetings, and producing notes and summaries of them;

(f) research from public records, such as Companies House; and

(g) running our business, including internal processes, planning, updates, sales, marketing and administration.

2.2 We use Claude, provided by Anthropic, other AI services, AI features built into the business software we use, and Silva Tools we build ourselves, including skills, plugins, agents and workflows. Some of our tools run on our own hardware, so information processed by that internal hardware does not leave our systems.

3. What we do not use AI for

3.1 We do not:

(a) let AI make decisions for you or about your matter;

(b) send you advice produced by AI without a person reviewing it first, unless you have approved or requested it (clause 3.2);

(c) use AI to make decisions about individuals which have a legal or similarly significant effect on them; or

(d) use any AI service which we have explicitly allowed to train its models on your information.

3.2 You may ask us to have AI carry out a task and for us to sense-check the result, rather than reviewing it fully ourselves. Where you do, we will agree the level of review with you in writing. That work is not our advice, you are responsible for checking it before you rely on it, and our responsibility is limited to carrying out the agreed check, as set out in clause 10.5 of our Terms of Business.

4. Confidentiality and your data

4.1 We only use AI services under business terms which protect the confidentiality of your information. We keep the settings which stop providers training on our data switched off, and we check them when we add a service or a provider changes its terms.

4.2 We limit access to our AI services to the people working on your matter, and we keep the amount of personal data we put into them to what the task needs.

4.3 Some AI services are based in or store data outside the UK. Our Privacy Notice at silvalex.co.uk/privacy explains the safeguards we use.

5. Accuracy and checking

5.1 AI can be wrong. It can misread documents, miss points and produce statements, cases or references which do not exist. We check AI output before we rely on it.

5.2 We check cases, statutes and other legal authority we cite against a primary source.

5.3 We do not guarantee the performance of any AI Platform. Our responsibility to you is set out in our Terms of Business.

6. Openness

6.1 AI is part of how we work on every matter. We do not label each document or email to show where AI was used, but you can ask us at any time how we used AI on your work.

6.2 Where we send you something generated by AI without full review, such as an automated call summary, we will say so.

6.3 We will tell you when a call or meeting is being recorded or transcribed.

7. If you do not want us to use AI

7.1 If you do not want us to use AI on your matter, or want to limit how we use it, tell us before the work starts. We will tell you whether we can work that way and how it affects the timing and fees. Because AI is built into the software we use, we cannot promise no AI will be involved at all.

8. Elena, our website assistant

8.1 Elena is an AI chat assistant on our website, powered by Claude. Elena can answer general questions about Silva and our services and help you get in touch.

8.2 Elena does not give legal advice and can make mistakes. Nothing Elena says creates a client relationship or should be relied on. Please do not share confidential or sensitive information with Elena.

8.3 Our Privacy Notice at silvalex.co.uk/privacy explains how we handle Elena conversations.

9. Silva Tools

9.1 We build our own Silva Tools to deliver our work. We own them, including any version adapted for a client, as set out in our Terms of Business. Silva AI, our AI consultancy, licenses some tools and provides AI training under separate terms.

10. Keeping this policy up to date

10.1 We review this policy regularly as AI and the law around it develop. The current version is always at silvalex.co.uk/ai-policy.

10.2 If you have a question about this policy, email info@silvalex.co.uk.

Website Terms of Use

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Silva Lex Ltd - Website Terms of Use

Version 2.0 - last updated 13 November 2026

1. About these terms

   1. These terms set the rules for using silvalex.co.uk (the "site"). By using the site you accept them. If you do not agree, please do not use the site.

   2. These terms cover the site only. If you instruct us, our Terms of Business at silvalex.co.uk/terms govern our work for you.

2. Who we are

   1. The site is operated by Silva Lex Ltd, trading as Silva ("we", "us"), a company registered in England and Wales (number 15582690) with its registered office at 37 West Sunniside, Sunderland, England, SR1 1BU. Our company information is at silvalex.co.uk/company-information.

   2. We are a legal advisory and consultancy company. We are not a firm of solicitors and are not authorised or regulated under the Legal Services Act 2007.

   3. You can contact us at info@silvalex.co.uk.

3. No legal advice and no client relationship

   1. Everything on the site, including our insights, guides, tools and anything Elena says, is general information only. It is not legal advice and you must not rely on it. Take advice on your own circumstances before acting, or deciding not to act, on anything on the site.

   2. Using the site, contacting us, sending us an enquiry or chatting with Elena does not make you our client. We only act for you once we have agreed to do so in writing and you have accepted our Terms of Business.

   3. Please do not send us confidential or sensitive information until we have agreed to act for you.

   4. We try to keep the site accurate and up to date, but the law changes and we do not promise the content is accurate, complete or current. Some content on the site is prepared with the help of AI and reviewed by us.

4. Elena, our chat assistant

   1. Elena is an AI assistant which answers general questions about Silva and helps you get in touch. Elena does not give legal advice and can make mistakes. Our AI Policy at silvalex.co.uk/ai-policy and Privacy Notice at silvalex.co.uk/privacy explain how it works and how we handle conversations.

5. Using the site

   1. The site is free to use. We may change, suspend or withdraw any part of it at any time and do not promise it will always be available or free from errors.

   2. You may use the site only for lawful purposes. You must not:

      1. use it in a way which breaks the law or is fraudulent;
      2. try to gain unauthorised access to the site, its servers or any connected system;
      3. introduce viruses or other harmful material, or attack the site in any way;
      4. use automated tools to copy, scrape or extract content from the site, or use any of it to train or develop AI systems, without our written permission; or
      5. copy, republish or sell any part of the site except as these terms allow.

6. Our content

   1. We own, or are licensed to use, all intellectual property rights in the site and its content. All rights are reserved, including the right to permit or refuse text and data mining.

   2. You may view the site, print or download extracts for your own reference, and share links to it. You must not change any content or use it for commercial purposes without our written permission, and you must always acknowledge Silva as the source.

7. Links

   1. Links to other websites are for information only. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for them.

   2. You may link to our home page fairly and lawfully, but not in a way which suggests any association with or endorsement by us where none exists. We may withdraw permission to link at any time.

8. Our liability

   1. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else which cannot be limited at law.

   2. The site is provided free of charge and as it is. To the fullest extent the law allows, we exclude all terms, conditions and warranties which might otherwise apply to it, and we are not liable for any loss or damage arising from using, or being unable to use, the site, or from relying on any of its content.

   3. We are not liable for any virus or other harmful material which reaches your device or data through the site or any site linked to it.

   4. If, despite clauses 8.2 and 8.3, we are found liable to you in connection with the site, our total liability is limited to £100.

9. Privacy and cookies

   1. Our Privacy Notice at silvalex.co.uk/privacy explains how we use personal data, and our Cookie Policy at silvalex.co.uk/cookies explains the cookies we use and how to manage them.

10. Changes to these terms

    1. We may update these terms by changing this page. The version on the site when you use it applies, so please check it from time to time.

11. Governing law

    1. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. If you are a consumer living elsewhere in the UK, you may also bring a claim in your home courts.

Complaints Policy

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Permanent URL for this version: /legal/complaints/v1.0/. Download PDF.

Silva Lex Ltd - Complaints Policy

Version 1.0 - last updated 13 November 2026

We want every client to be happy with our work and our service. If something has gone wrong, we want to know so we can put it right. This policy explains how to complain and what we will do. It applies to complaints about our work or service and to complaints about how we handle personal data. It sits alongside our Terms of Business at silvalex.co.uk/terms (clause 15) and our Privacy Notice at silvalex.co.uk/privacy.

1. How to complain

   1. Please raise your concern with your point of contact first. Many issues can be sorted out quickly that way.

   2. If that does not resolve it, or you would rather not raise it with them, make a formal complaint in writing by email to info@silvalex.co.uk or by post to Silva Lex Ltd, 37 West Sunniside, Sunderland, England, SR1 1BU.

   3. It helps if you tell us:

      1. your name and, if you are complaining on behalf of a business, its name;
      2. the matter your complaint relates to;
      3. what went wrong and when; and
      4. what you would like us to do to put it right.

   4. A complaint does not end your instructions or our contract. If you want to end the contract, please tell us so separately.

2. What we will do

   1. We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days.

   2. A director of Silva will look into it. We will review the file and the relevant correspondence and may ask you for more information.

   3. We will give you our response in writing within 20 working days of receiving your complaint. If we need longer, we will tell you why and when you can expect our response, and keep you updated.

   4. Our response will explain what we found and, where we agree something went wrong, what we will do about it. Depending on the circumstances, we may apologise, correct or redo work, or reduce or refund part of our fees. We decide what is appropriate.

3. Complaints about personal data

   1. If your complaint is about how we handle your personal data, we will acknowledge it within the time in clause 2.1, which is well within the 30 days the law requires, look into it without undue delay and tell you the outcome.

   2. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

4. If you are still not satisfied

   1. Silva is not a firm of solicitors and is not regulated under the Legal Services Act 2007, so the Legal Ombudsman cannot consider complaints about us and there is no other ombudsman for our services.

   2. If you are a consumer and we cannot resolve your complaint, CEDR is a certified alternative dispute resolution provider for services of this kind. We are not obliged to use alternative dispute resolution and do not currently agree to do so. We will confirm this in our final response.

   3. Nothing in this policy affects your legal rights.

5. Fees during a complaint

   1. Making a complaint does not change when our invoices are due. If your complaint concerns an invoice, clause 12 of our Terms of Business explains how to query it and pay the undisputed amount.

6. How we handle complaints

   1. We treat every complaint fairly and in confidence, and making a complaint will not affect how we treat you.

   2. We keep a record of complaints and use them to improve our service. We keep complaint records in line with our Privacy Notice.

   3. We expect complaints to be made courteously. If a complainant is abusive or makes repeated complaints about a matter we have already dealt with, we may limit or stop further correspondence about it and will say so in writing.

7. Changes to this policy

   1. We may update this policy. The current version is always at silvalex.co.uk/complaints.