Contract review

I review commercial contracts for UK businesses for a fixed fee of £450 plus VAT, with a written report and a call within three working days. I am Geoffrey Caesar, a solicitor of England and Wales admitted in 2008, working on commercial contracts since 2001. I am based in London and act for businesses across England and Wales.

The document is almost certainly drafted by the other side, in their favour, and you are being asked to sign it by Friday. You can read it yourself and hope, sign it and find out later, or spend £450 finding out exactly what you are agreeing to.

The clauses that cause trouble are rarely the ones people spot. Liability caps that do not cap the thing you are actually worried about. Termination rights that only run one way. Indemnities that survive the contract. An IP clause that quietly assigns your work product to your customer.

What it costs

• Standard review, £450 plus VAT. Up to 15 pages. Written report plus a 30 minute call. Three working days.
• Complex or priority review, £850 plus VAT. Longer or heavily negotiated documents, or 48 hour turnaround.
• NDA review or drafting, £195 plus VAT. Two working days.

I confirm which band applies, in writing, after I have seen the documents and before you commit to anything. A twenty page schedule of technical specification does not need lawyer time, and I will say so rather than charge you for page count.

What you get

• A written report in plain English, organised by what actually matters rather than by clause number
• A risk rating on each point, so you can see immediately what is a dealbreaker and what is merely untidy
• Specific replacement wording to ask for, so you can go back to the other side with something concrete rather than a general objection
• A view on what is normal market practice and what is the other side pushing their luck
• A 30 minute call to talk it through
• One round of follow-up questions by email, included

What is not included

• Negotiating directly with the other side, which I quote separately once I know who is on the other side
• Drafting a replacement contract from scratch
• Advice on the law of any jurisdiction other than England and Wales
• Tax, accounting or regulatory advice
• Disputes about a contract that is already signed

How long it takes

Three working days from payment for a standard review, one to two working days for a priority review, two working days for an NDA. If you have a deadline, put it in your first email and I will confirm a delivery date that meets it before you pay anything.

How to instruct me

1. Email me. Send any relevant documents, or three or four lines describing the situation and your deadline. You do not need to prepare a brief.
2. I confirm the scope, the price and the timetable. In writing, usually the same working day, and if a short call would help I will offer one at no charge. I then invoice you, and the work starts once the invoice is paid. Larger pieces of work can be split into milestone payments if that suits you better.
3. I deliver on the agreed date. 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. 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.

Who this is for

• You are signing something that matters to the business
• The other side is larger than you and sent their own paper
• You want a decision and a recommendation, not a lecture on contract law
• You have a deadline and need a date you can rely on

Questions I am often asked

How much does a contract review cost?

£450 plus VAT for a standard review of a document up to 15 pages, which includes a written report and a 30 minute call, delivered in three working days. Longer or more complex documents, and anything needing a 48 hour turnaround, are £850 plus VAT. An NDA is £195 plus VAT.

The price is fixed in writing before work starts, so the number I quote is the number you pay.

My contract is longer than 15 pages. What then?

Send it anyway. I will tell you which band it falls into before you commit to anything. Long documents are frequently simpler than short ones, and pages of technical schedules usually need very little lawyer time.

Why are you more expensive than a £150 online review?

Because it is a different thing. A £150 review is usually a checklist run over the document by a junior fee earner or a template engine. What you get here is a solicitor of eighteen years standing reading your contract in the context of your business and giving you a recommendation you can act on.

Can you negotiate with the other side for me?

Yes, quoted separately once I have seen the document. Many clients find they do not need it. Armed with a report that says exactly what to ask for and why, most people get most of it themselves, and it lands better coming from the business than from its lawyer.

What if the review says the contract is fine?

Then you sign it with confidence, which is worth the fee on its own. It happens reasonably often, and you get that answer in three working days rather than a list of manufactured problems to justify the invoice.

Do you use AI to do the review?

I use AI as a tool, in the same way I use precedent banks and research databases. It does not make the judgement calls and it does not decide what advice you get. I am accountable for every word of the report. That accountability is most of what you are paying for.

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

• Your own customer or supplier terms, from £1,500 plus VAT
• SaaS and technology contracts, from £2,000 plus VAT
• Legal health check, £1,500 plus VAT, if you want everything looked at

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