Consultancy and contractor agreements

I draft consultancy and contractor agreements for UK businesses for a fixed fee of £595 plus VAT, delivered in five working days, and a reusable template set for £850 plus VAT. I am Geoffrey Caesar, a solicitor of England and Wales admitted in 2008, based in London and 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 plus VAT. Drafted for your business. Five working days.

Template set for repeat use, £850 plus VAT. One master agreement plus a short-form schedule you can reuse for every engagement. Five working days.

Review of an agreement sent to you, £450 plus VAT. 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.

Buying online is the same engagement as instructing me by email: the scope is what this page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A clear, express assignment of intellectual property to your business
• Confidentiality provisions that actually bite
• Restrictive covenants drafted to be enforceable rather than merely aggressive
• Clear treatment of status, so the arrangement is not accidentally something else
• Payment, deliverables and termination provisions that match how you actually 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
• Disputes with a contractor you have already engaged
• 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. Buy the service online, or email me. Every service has a buy now button. Pay by card, accept the Terms of Service, and you have instructed me. If you would rather ask something first, or what you need is not on the list, email me and I will confirm the scope and a fixed price in writing, usually the same working day, and invoice you.
2. Send me the documents. I email you within four working hours of payment to confirm what I need, usually the document in Word format and a few lines of background. If a call would help I will offer one at no charge.
3. I deliver on the stated turnaround. Counted from the day I have what I need. With a call or a follow-up exchange included, so you are not paying again to understand the advice.

Why instruct me directly

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. Buy online or email me, send the documents, get the 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.

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 plus VAT 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 £850 plus VAT. Reviewing an agreement someone has sent you is £450 plus VAT, 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.

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.
• Based in London, 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, £950 plus VAT
• Contract review, £450 plus VAT

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