Service · Monthly Arrangement
Legal counsel that fits alongside
how your company actually works.
For companies whose legal questions are frequent but individually small — a named adviser available each month, with clear scope and a fee set in advance.
Back to Home Speak with UsWhat this retainer actually delivers
A company of thirty staff encounters legal questions on a near-weekly basis — contracts that need a second reading, an employment situation that requires a careful word, a supplier agreement where the terms are unusual. Most of these questions are small. But without someone to ask, small questions become larger ones.
The Corporate Legal Retainer provides a named adviser who knows your company and can respond to those questions as they arise, within a stated timeframe and a fixed monthly fee.
You work with one adviser who understands your company's context, not a different person each time.
Ordinary queries receive a response within the period agreed at the outset. You know what to expect.
Every three months, a written summary of matters raised, patterns observed and anything worth noting going forward.
When legal questions go unanswered for too long
Many companies manage their legal questions informally — someone in management makes a judgment call, or the question is set aside until it seems more urgent. This works, until it doesn't.
The contract clause that nobody flagged. The employment handling that felt reasonable at the time but wasn't. The supplier dispute that could have been resolved with a letter in the first week but took six months once it escalated.
Companies of twenty to two hundred staff are at a particular point: large enough that legal questions arise regularly, but not yet at a scale where an in-house legal function makes sense. The retainer fills that space.
Plain language pair
Retainer
An arrangement where a client pays a regular fee to keep a professional available for questions and work within an agreed scope, rather than engaging them each time from scratch.
Plain language pair
Scope of work
The specific tasks and categories of question that are covered by the fee. What falls outside scope is stated clearly at the start — there are no unexpected bills for questions that turn out to be "extra."
How this retainer is structured
Hours per month
The arrangement is built around a set number of hours each month. Unused hours carry forward for one period — you are not penalised for quiet months.
Categories covered
Contract questions, employment queries, early-stage customer disputes and document review before signature. The scope is agreed when the arrangement begins.
How questions reach us
By email or telephone, as suits the situation. There is no formal ticketing process — a question is a question, and it is answered.
The retainer is suited to companies whose questions are frequent but individually modest — the kind where a short answer from someone who understands the area prevents the problem from growing. It is not positioned as a substitute for specialist advice when a matter becomes complex; where that point is reached, it is noted plainly.
What the arrangement feels like in practice
Setting it up
We confirm scope, hours and response times. You receive a written summary of what is included and what falls outside the arrangement.
Raising a question
You contact your adviser directly. No intermediary, no queue. The question is reviewed and answered within the agreed timeframe.
Ongoing familiarity
Over time, your adviser builds a picture of how your company operates — its contracts, its usual counterparties, its recurring situations.
Quarterly review
A written summary every three months. Matters raised, patterns worth noting, anything that might benefit from attention in the period ahead.
A fixed monthly fee, with no surprises
The retainer is priced at ¥43,000 per month. This covers the agreed hours, the response commitment, access to your named adviser, and the quarterly summary.
Unused hours in a given month carry forward to the following period. If a question falls outside the agreed scope — which would be unusual — that is noted in advance, not discovered in an invoice.
The arrangement can be reviewed at the end of any three-month period. If the scope needs adjusting as your company grows or changes, that conversation is straightforward.
What is included
Named adviser with knowledge of your company
Contract review, employment queries and early dispute handling
Document review before signature
Stated response times for ordinary queries
Quarterly written summary of matters and observations
What to expect, and over what timeframe
A retainer works best when it is used steadily — not saved for moments of concern, but treated as an ordinary part of how the company operates. Questions answered early tend to stay small.
In the first month, the focus is on understanding your company's existing contracts, usual situations and any outstanding questions. By the second or third month, the adviser is responding from an informed position rather than starting fresh each time.
The quarterly summary serves a different purpose: it is not a list of what happened, but a reflection on what the pattern suggests. If certain contract terms are repeatedly causing questions, that is worth noting and addressing at the source.
Timing reference
The arrangement can be continued, adjusted or concluded at the end of any three-month period.
What we commit to
The scope of the arrangement, the response times and the monthly fee are confirmed in writing before work begins. Nothing is added to the fee without prior discussion.
If a question falls outside the retainer scope — which is not common — we say so plainly and discuss whether to handle it separately. There are no surprises after the fact.
If you write to ask whether the retainer might suit your company, that conversation carries no obligation. We will describe what is included honestly, and if it is not the right fit, we will say so.
Commitments stated in advance
Scope confirmed in writing at the start
Fee fixed for the agreed period
Out-of-scope questions flagged before being handled separately
Initial enquiry carries no obligation
How to begin
Write to us
Describe your company briefly — size, main activity, the kinds of legal questions that arise. No formal preparation needed.
Scope discussion
We confirm what the retainer will cover, the response commitment and the monthly fee. This is provided in writing before anything proceeds.
Arrangement begins
Your adviser is introduced, and you can begin sending questions. The first month is also when we learn about your existing contracts and usual situations.
Ready to discuss whether this arrangement suits your company?
Write to us with a brief description of your company and the kinds of questions you encounter. We will respond with an honest view of whether and how the retainer would work for you.
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