Independent legal advice
Independent legal advice
Focused advice from a qualified solicitor before you enter into a guarantee, a security arrangement or another document that requires independent advice.
Common situations
Why clients get in touch
Almost everyone who contacts us has been told by someone else that they need this. If your situation is not listed, it is still worth asking.
- A personal guarantee for company borrowing
- A director's or shareholder's guarantee
- A mortgage, remortgage or bridging facility
- An occupier consent or deed of consent
- Security given over property for someone else's debt
- A lender's certificate of independent legal advice
- Guarantor documentation for a commercial lease
- A request from another solicitor that you take your own advice
Services
Where independent advice is most often required
- 01
Personal guarantees
If a lender has asked you to guarantee a company's borrowing personally, independent advice explains what you are agreeing to, what triggers a claim against you and what you would be liable for.
- 02
Mortgage and property finance
Lenders and conveyancers often require someone in a property transaction to be advised by a solicitor who is not acting on the purchase or the refinance. This is that separate advice.
- 03
Occupier consent
If you live in a property that is being mortgaged but you are not the borrower, the lender will usually ask you to sign a consent postponing any rights you have. You are entitled to understand what that means before you sign.
- 04
Business guarantees
Commercial transactions often require someone outside the borrowing company to stand behind it, or to put up an asset as security. Independent advice makes the extent of that commitment clear before it is given.
- 05
Other documents
Independent advice is required in more situations than most people expect. If someone has told you to take it and you are not sure which category you fall into, this is the route to use.
The appointment
What actually happens
An independent legal advice appointment is short, structured and entirely about you understanding the document in front of you.
- 01
Identity and conflict checks
We verify who you are and confirm that we do not act for anyone else connected with the transaction. Advice is not independent if it is not.
- 02
The document, read properly
The document is read in advance, alongside whatever it is secured against or attached to, so the appointment is spent on what it means rather than on reading it for the first time.
- 03
A private meeting
Where independence requires it, the person or organisation benefiting from the document is not present. That is not a formality: it is the point of the exercise.
- 04
Legal effect and material risks
We explain what you are committing to, what would have to happen for a claim to be made against you, and what would be at risk if it were.
- 05
Your questions
There is time to ask what a clause means for your own circumstances, without a meter running down.
- 06
Signature and certification
If you decide to proceed and the requirements are met, you sign and we complete the certificate. If you decide not to, the advice stands on its own.
Preparation
Before you book
- The document you have been asked to sign
- The agreement or facility it relates to
- Any written instructions from the lender, conveyancer or transaction solicitor
- The certificate template, if one has been provided
- Photographic identification and proof of address
- Your deadline, and who is chasing it
Questions
Common questions
- What makes advice 'independent'?
- The solicitor giving it acts for you alone, with no interest in whether the transaction completes. That is why the solicitor acting on the purchase, the lending or for the company cannot give it.
- How long does an appointment take?
- Most appointments run between thirty and sixty minutes, depending on the document and how many questions you have. Complex security packages take longer and we will say so in advance.
- Can the appointment be held by video?
- For many matters, yes. It depends on identity verification, the document, and whether the party requiring the advice accepts a remote process. We confirm this before you book rather than afterwards.
- Do I have to sign at the end of the appointment?
- No. The purpose is to make sure the decision is informed. Whether you sign is yours to decide, and we do not certify a signature that has not been given.
- Will you tell me whether I should sign?
- We will tell you what the document does, what the risks are and how they apply to your circumstances. Whether the commercial bargain is one you want is your decision, though we will be direct if something looks unusual.
- Can you advise two guarantors together?
- Sometimes, where interests are aligned and no conflict arises. Where they are not, each person needs separate advice and we will say so before booking.
Send the document and we will confirm whether we can assist.
Include any instructions you have been given by the lender or the other solicitor. That is usually the fastest way to a straight answer.