Consultancy and contractor agreements

I draft consultancy and contractor agreements for UK businesses for a fixed fee of £595, delivered in five working days, and a reusable template set for £895. I am Geoffrey Caesar, a solicitor of England and Wales admitted in 2008, acting for businesses across England and Wales.

Most businesses treat contractor paperwork as an administrative formality. It is where two of the most expensive problems in a small company start: intellectual property that does not belong to you, and a contractor who leaves with your client list.

Without an express written assignment, a contractor generally owns the copyright in what they create for you. Not your business. Them. That surfaces when you sell the company, raise investment, or try to stop them reusing the work elsewhere.

What it costs

Consultancy or contractor agreement, £595. Drafted for your business. Five working days.

Template set for repeat use, £895. One master agreement plus a short-form schedule you can reuse for every engagement. Five working days.

Review of an agreement sent to you, £495. You are the contractor and want to know what you are signing. Returned marked up with the changes to ask for and an explanation. Three working days.

If you engage contractors regularly, the template set is much better value. The legal work happens once and the marginal cost of the next contractor is a ten minute form fill.

Email me at geoffrey@caesar.co.uk with what you need and any documents, and I will confirm the scope and the fee in writing, usually the same working day.

What you get

• A clear, express assignment of intellectual property to your business
• Confidentiality provisions that protect your business information
• Restrictive covenants drafted at a scope a court will uphold
• Clear treatment of status, so the arrangement is not accidentally something else
• Payment, deliverables and termination provisions that match how you work
• A reusable structure, so the next engagement costs you nothing

What is not included

• Employment status determinations and off-payroll working assessments, which need your accountant
• Tax advice
• Advice on a dispute with a contractor you have already engaged, which I quote separately
• Immigration and right to work compliance

How long it takes

Five working days from payment for a single agreement, and the same for the template set in most cases.

How to instruct me

1. Email me. Send me what you need, with any documents, in whatever format you have them.
2. I confirm the scope and the fee. Usually the same working day, in writing. If a call would help before you decide, I will offer one at no charge. Once you confirm, I complete my checks and send my invoice.
3. I start work as soon as payment is received. I will be in touch if I need anything further, and I deliver on the stated turnaround, counted from the day I have everything I need.

Why instruct me directly

You deal with one senior lawyer from first email to final document. The work is done personally, the contact is direct, and the price is published before you ever get in touch.

• Senior attention as standard. I handle your matter throughout. 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.
• Onboarding that takes one email. Email me, send the documents, get the work. There is no client portal to register with; the checks I need to run happen quickly in the background.
• Stated turnarounds, met. Most work is delivered in three to five working days, stated up front, and priority turnaround is there when the clock is against you.
• 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.

Who this is for

• You engage contractors, freelancers or consultants and have nothing in writing
• Your contractors create anything you would want to own
• You are preparing for investment or a sale and IP ownership will be checked
• You are the contractor and have been sent something to sign

Questions I am often asked

How much does a consultancy agreement cost?

£595 for an agreement drafted for your business, delivered in five working days. A reusable template set, being one master agreement plus a short-form schedule for each engagement, is £895. Reviewing an agreement someone has sent you is £495, returned as a mark-up.

Who owns the work a contractor produces?

Without an express written assignment, generally the contractor does, not you. This surprises almost everybody. Paying an invoice does not transfer copyright. It is the single most common reason contractor paperwork causes problems later.

We use contractors constantly. Do we need one each time?

No, and that is what the template set is for. One properly drafted master agreement plus a short schedule for each engagement means the legal work is done once.

What about IR35 and off-payroll working?

The contract matters but is not determinative on its own, and status is ultimately a tax question. I draft the agreement so that it reflects a genuine consultancy relationship, and I will flag anything in it that points the other way. Your accountant should make the status call.

How long should restrictive covenants last?

Long enough to protect the business and no longer. Restrictions that go too far are unenforceable in their entirety, and a court will not rewrite an unreasonable restriction into a reasonable one. Twelve months that holds up is worth considerably more than three years that does not.

Can I use the same agreement for a contractor overseas?

Usually as a starting point, with English law and jurisdiction. Some countries treat long-term contractors as employees regardless of what the contract says, so for anything sustained I will flag where local advice is needed.

What if questions come up afterwards?

They usually do. A contractor asks for a change, a client queries the arrangement, or you want to know whether a particular engagement fits it. If it is a point on the document I have just delivered, ask, and I will tell you whether it falls within the fee. For anything new, email me and I will tell you which fixed-fee service fits, or quote a fixed fee if none does.

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.
• 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.

Related services

• Shareholders agreements, £995
• Contract review, £495

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