Our approach
The problem with counterparty paper
When another business sends you a contract, that contract has been written to protect them. The liability provisions, the IP clauses, the termination rights, the payment terms: all of it has been drafted by their lawyers with their interests in mind. That's not sinister, it's just how it works. The question is whether you sign it as it stands, or whether you push back.
Most SMEs receive contracts without any legal review at all. They either sign on the assumption that everything is standard, or they get stuck because they know something is wrong but can't identify exactly what. Both positions leave you exposed. A contract you've signed is enforceable whether you read it or not.
How we work with you
All contract review and negotiation work is done on a fixed fee, agreed before we start. The fee depends on the service level you choose and the complexity of the document, but you'll always know the cost upfront.
We offer two levels of service. A red flag review is a focused, fast assessment of the key risks in a contract: the clauses that matter most, what they mean in practice, and whether there's anything you shouldn't sign. It doesn't go clause by clause, which keeps it cost-effective and quick. It's the right choice when you need to know what you're getting into before you commit, and when the value of the contract doesn't justify a full review. A full review, markup and negotiation is exactly what it sounds like: a comprehensive review of the whole document, tracked changes with our proposed amendments, and negotiation of the key points with the other side's lawyers on your behalf.
We'll also tell you which points are worth negotiating and which aren't. Not every clause is moveable, and not every battle is worth the time and cost of fighting it. Knowing which is which is part of what you're paying for.
Who we work with
Growing businesses sign more agreements: knowing what's in them, and pushing back where it matters, is a core part of protecting the business. Clients who use this service most are founder-led agencies, tech businesses and high-growth companies that are regularly receiving contracts from clients, platforms, suppliers and partners.
We're particularly experienced with the types of contracts that digital and creative businesses encounter most often: enterprise client MSAs, SaaS subscription agreements, platform terms, supplier frameworks, and NDA variations that are more limiting than they first appear. We know what's standard in these markets and what isn't, which means we can give you a practical view rather than a theoretical one.
Pricing
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Fixed-fee project
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Available via subscription
Case Studies
Hear from our clients
Meet the team
Craig is a corporate and commercial solicitor at Tend Legal, working with founders, business owners and leadership teams as they build, grow and protect their businesses.
He advises on a wide range of matters: mergers and acquisitions, shareholder agreements, company structures, governance and commercial contracts of all kinds. Craig also has a particular interest in intellectual property, and regularly advises on trademark and copyright matters. His IP work has included a matter involving a Premier League and England international footballer, and advising on a copyright assignment connected to a well-known album cover.
Down-to-earth and easy to work with, Craig places a strong emphasis on clear communication and making sure clients feel confident about the decisions they're making. He works closely with agency and commercial clients, acting as an accessible part of their wider advisory team.
Outside of work, Craig is a keen football fan and enjoys spending time with his family.
Neelam is a corporate and commercial solicitor with a practical, no-fuss approach to helping businesses get things done.
On the commercial side, she works with agencies, tech companies and growing businesses on the contracts that underpin their operations: drafting, reviewing and negotiating agreements across a wide range of commercial arrangements. On the corporate side, she assists overseas businesses setting up in the UK and forming UK subsidiaries, and has experience of M&A transactions and investment rounds.
Before qualifying as a solicitor, Neelam had a career in legal technology, including as Director of Global Product at LegalZoom. She brings that perspective to everything she does: a deep understanding of what good legal service looks like from the client's side, and how to deliver it.
She's also unfailingly cheerful. Even on Mondays.
When Neelam isn't at her desk, she can often be found upcycling old furniture in her shed, discovering new eateries or testing out recipes on friends and family.
From the moment she got involved in her parents' businesses at a young age, Nicole knew she had a passion for helping businesses thrive.
A corporate and commercial solicitor, Nicole focuses on the work that matters most to growing businesses: M&A transactions, investment rounds, shareholder agreements and company secretarial support. She also helps clients navigate the commercial side: negotiating and reviewing contracts, advising on joint ventures, and being a steady pair of hands through transactions of all sizes.
Nicole is also working towards an MBA, which tells you something about her character and her love of business. Her advice is grounded in commercial reality, not just legal theory.
When she's not taking care of business, Nicole likes to read, run, play tennis and attend church.
Alistair co-founded Tend Legal with Shona on a simple idea: that small and medium-sized businesses deserve the same quality of legal advice as large companies, without the large firm experience.
As a solicitor with a broad commercial practice, he advises business owners on the full range of issues that come with running and growing a company. That means employment law: advising on settlement agreements, workforce decisions and the day-to-day employment questions that land on founders' desks. It means commercial work: negotiating and reviewing contracts, supplier agreements, and the commercial arrangements that keep a business running. And it means corporate transactions: from business sales and acquisitions to investment rounds, share structures and restructures.
Before co-founding Tend Legal, Alistair was a partner at Woodfords Solicitors in South West London, where he spent over a decade building a reputation for clear, commercial advice to SMEs. He is known for his calm approach, his ability to cut through complexity, and his willingness to give a straight answer.
When not working or acting as taxi driver to his three children, Alistair can be found riding bikes or skateboards, playing various instruments, or at church.
Frequently Asked Questions
The main factors are the value of the contract, the counterparty, and how much negotiating room you realistically have. A high-value, long-term contract with a large business that has its own legal team warrants a full review: the stakes are high and there's likely room to negotiate. A lower-value contract with a platform or marketplace that uses non-negotiable standard terms may only need a red flag review, because knowing the risks is useful even if you can't change them.
We'll ask you about these factors at the outset and recommend the right level of service. If a red flag review turns up something significant that warrants going further, we'll tell you and we can adjust the scope.
The areas we focus on first are the ones that carry the most financial and operational risk. Liability: how much you could owe if something goes wrong, and whether that exposure is capped at a sensible level. Intellectual property: who owns what, particularly if you're creating something. Termination: how easily the other side can end the relationship, and what happens to outstanding payments if they do. Payment terms: when you get paid, what triggers payment, and whether there are any rights to withhold or claw back.
We also look at the clauses that tend to get missed: auto-renewal provisions that can lock you in without notice, data protection obligations that sit with you rather than the counterparty, and restrictive covenants (non-competes, non-solicits) that can limit what you do after the relationship ends.
Often, yes. Understanding what you're agreeing to is valuable even when you can't change the terms. You may decide to proceed knowing the risks, or you may decide that the risk is too high and walk away. Either way, you're making an informed decision rather than an accidental one.
There's also a practical point: even apparently non-negotiable contracts sometimes have more flexibility than the other side initially suggests, particularly around liability caps, IP carve-outs and payment terms. We'll tell you where we think there's room to push.
A red flag review is typically turned around within two to three working days. A full review takes longer, depending on the length and complexity of the document, but we'll give you a realistic timeline when we take on the work. If you're under time pressure, tell us: we'll do what we can to accommodate a faster turnaround.
Speed is more manageable when we have the document early. The most difficult reviews are the ones that arrive the day before signing. If you can bring us in as soon as you receive the contract, we have more room to do the work properly.
For a red flag review, you'll receive a clear written summary of the key issues and our recommendations: what to push back on, what to accept, and what the implications are if you can't change a particular clause. You take it from there.
For a full review with negotiation, we handle the back-and-forth with the other side directly, reporting back to you at each stage. Nothing changes without your say-so. The process ends when you have a version you're comfortable signing, or when it becomes clear that the deal can't be done on acceptable terms.