About Geoffrey Caesar, solicitor

I am Geoffrey Caesar, a solicitor of England and Wales. I began working on commercial contracts in 2001 as a graduate trainee in an engineering firm, was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 2005, and was admitted to the roll of solicitors in 2008. I have practised as a solicitor ever since.

That route matters more than it sounds. Starting in-house, in a business that had to live with the contracts it signed, teaches you things private practice does not. You learn which clauses cause arguments eighteen months later, which ones nobody ever looks at again, and how much of a commercial negotiation is really about sequencing rather than drafting. I have since spent many years in private practice as well, so I have seen the same problems from both sides of the table.

What I do

Corporate and commercial work: commercial contracts of most kinds, shareholders agreements and founder arrangements, employment documents for employers, SaaS and technology agreements, data protection, intellectual property, and increasingly the contractual questions thrown up by artificial intelligence. I also write about the commercial legal world as well as practising in it.

I act for owner-managed businesses, founders and SMEs, mostly in technology, professional services, engineering and manufacturing. I am based in London and act for businesses across England and Wales.

Why I work this way

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 I work

• Fixed fees, agreed in writing before anything starts
• Plain English, with a recommendation rather than a list of possibilities
• Stated turnaround times, and I meet them
• Direct contact with me, not with a team you have never met
• A straight answer, quickly, on what you actually need

Credentials

• Solicitor of England and Wales, admitted 2008. SRA ID 483394.
• SRA-regulated freelance solicitor under regulation 10.2(b) of the SRA Authorisation of Individuals Regulations. Practice SRA number 666497.
• Authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to provide all legal services, including reserved legal activities.
• Called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 2005, after the BVC.
• 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, £1,000,000 for each claim with defence costs in addition. Not on the SRA's minimum terms and conditions; alternative arrangements are in place. Details on request.
• I do not hold client money.

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.

Questions I am often asked

Are you a law firm?

No. I am a solicitor practising in my own name, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. My individual SRA ID is 483394 and my freelance practice number is 666497.

What is an SRA-regulated freelance solicitor?

It is a solicitor authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to practise on their own account, in their own name, without the practice itself being authorised as a firm. I practise under regulation 10.2(b) of the SRA Authorisation of Individuals Regulations, which requires at least three years since admission, practice in my own name, no employees, direct engagement by clients, and adequate and appropriate professional indemnity insurance.

The Code of Conduct, the SRA Principles and the Legal Ombudsman all apply to me exactly as they apply to any other solicitor. The differences are that my insurance is not on the SRA's minimum terms and conditions, and that I do not hold client money.

Do you hold client money?

No. My fees are paid directly to me, and the only money I ever hold is on account of my own costs and disbursements. Anything else, including completion monies on a sale or a lease, passes directly between the parties or through the other side's solicitors.

You can still apply to the SRA Compensation Fund for losses caused by dishonesty or a failure to account for money.

Why should I instruct you rather than a law firm?

You get senior experience without paying for the overheads that come with a firm, and without its onboarding process. The person who reads your contract is the person you emailed, and the price is fixed and known before you commit.

How long have you been doing this?

I have worked on commercial contracts since 2001 and practised as a solicitor since 2008.

Writing

I publish regularly on commercial law, contracts and the effect of AI on legal practice. It is the best way to see how I think before instructing me. Read the newsletter.

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