About Me

I started my professional career as a Commercial Solicitor but then decided to go into business on my own account.  Why?

The easy answer would be that I woke up one day and thought if my advice was so good, maybe I should try taking it. So I did and ended up as Managing Director of a £60M turnover company employing over 1500 people.

True - but it's not the whole story.

As a Solicitor I often had the feeling I wasn’t permitted to meet business clients’ needs. Too often I felt like a very expensive, richly embroidered, ‘worry blanket’. They wanted to talk about strategy, forward planning, the 'what-ifs' of their business dealings. All I could do was warn them of the legal implications.  When it came to practical encouragement, like Sir Humphrey, 'I couldn't possibly comment.'

They knew their businesses better than anyone and they knew enough about the law to get a good way down that road too. But, beyond that, they felt that going to a Solicitor was their only option. In truth they were a long way off needing a lawyer but, in those days, the territory of the Legal and Business Affairs Adviser had hardly been mapped out.

So I became a Director and spent a good many years on the receiving end of advice from Solicitors, Accountants and other worthy professionals - careful, cautious and selective.  And that's when I became convinced of the value of personal advice in Legal and Business Affairs.  When the opportunity arose, I started Smarterconsulting - to meet the fundamental needs of business professionals:

  • They need a legal adviser who is as approachable, as practical and as commercially focussed as they are themselves
  • They need a business adviser who understands them and their objectives and won't hide behind professional protocol when the gloves come off
  • They need the flexibility of an adviser who will work on specific projects or be available on an ongoing basis at a realistic price  
  • They need, crucially, advice that recognises its own limitations and knows exactly when the situation calls for a full-on legal presence

I hope you agree with my commonsense approach. If so, take a look at the services I offer by clicking on the links below:

Virtual Company Secretary 

Business Adviser

Legal Adviser

Then I suggest you Contact Me to arrange a no-charge initial meeting so I can see how I can start to help you