Counsel for decisions that can’t be undone.
A small practice built around the parts of law people actually get stuck on: a contract that no longer protects you, a dismissal that doesn’t sit right, a separation, a lease, an estate. You get a scope in writing, a figure before work starts, and one person who knows the file.
- First call
- Thirty minutes, no charge, and no obligation to instruct us afterwards.
- Before any work
- A written scope setting out what we will do, what we won’t, and what it costs.
- Through the matter
- One named solicitor on your file from the first call to the last letter.
Where matters are discussedConsultations are held in person or by video call, whichever gets us talking sooner. Nothing you say in a first call commits you to instructing the practice.
Six areas, handled properly rather than twenty handled thinly
If a matter sits outside this list we will say so on the first call and point you toward someone who does it every week. That is faster for you than us learning on your file.
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01
Employment disputes
Dismissal and redundancy challenges, grievances that have stalled, restrictive covenants, and settlement agreements you have been asked to sign quickly.
Employees & managersFirst step: we read the contract, the policy and the correspondence, then tell you whether there is a claim worth running and what the deadlines are.
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02
Commercial contracts
Supply and service agreements, partnership terms, contractor arrangements, and the renegotiation of terms that have quietly stopped reflecting how you trade.
Owner-managed businessesFirst step: a plain-language risk read of the document you already have, marked up so you can see which clauses actually bite.
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03
Property & leasehold
Commercial lease negotiation and renewal, dilapidations, boundary and access disputes, and the conditions buried in a sale pack that change what you are buying.
Landlords, tenants, buyersFirst step: a review of the lease or title documents with the obligations and break provisions set out as dates, not clauses.
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04
Family & separation
Separation and divorce, financial arrangements, child arrangements, and cohabitation agreements for couples who are not married but share property.
Individuals & parentsFirst step: an honest conversation about whether your matter can be resolved by agreement before it needs a court, and what each route costs.
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05
Wills & estates
Wills, lasting powers of attorney, estate administration, and advice for executors who have inherited a role they did not ask for and cannot easily refuse.
Families & executorsFirst step: a short questionnaire about assets, dependants and intentions, so the drafting appointment is one meeting rather than three.
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06
Dispute resolution
Unpaid invoices, contract breaches, professional negligence and neighbour disputes — resolved by negotiation or mediation wherever that is realistic.
Businesses & individualsFirst step: a view on the commercial value of the dispute. If the cost of winning exceeds what you recover, we will tell you before you spend.
The practice
A deliberately small file list
Current & Rowe was set up to do the opposite of volume work. Ines Rowe takes a limited number of matters at a time, which is the only reliable way to answer an email the same week and to know a file well enough to spot the problem you didn’t ask about.
Most clients arrive part-way through something: a letter has already been sent, a contract has already been signed, a conversation has already gone badly. The first job is usually to work out where you actually stand, not where you wish you stood. That assessment is given straight, even when it is not the answer you were hoping for.
- ContactOne named solicitor throughout. No case-handler hand-offs between stages.
- AdviceConfirmed in writing after every substantive call, so you are never working from memory.
- LanguageLetters you can read once and understand. Legal terms explained the first time they appear.
- ConflictsChecked before the first consultation, not after you have told us the details.
Five stages, and what each one asks of you
Legal work stalls most often because a document is sitting in someone’s inbox. Knowing what you will be asked for, and when, keeps a matter moving.
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First call
Thirty minutes. You describe what has happened; we tell you whether it is a legal problem, a commercial one, or both, and whether there is a deadline you need to know about today. Bring dates and names if you have them.
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Scope and figure
Within two working days you get a written scope: the work proposed, the fee basis, what is excluded, and what we need from you. Nothing is charged until you accept it.
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Documents and facts
We ask for a specific list rather than “everything you have”. Contracts, correspondence, policies, statements — whatever the matter actually turns on. This is the stage clients can speed up most.
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Position and strategy
A written assessment of where you stand, the realistic outcomes, and a recommended route. If settlement is the sensible answer, that is what the advice will say.
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Resolution
Negotiation, drafting, mediation or proceedings, depending on the route agreed. You are updated at each step and told in advance when the next cost falls due.
Three fee bases, chosen before the work, not after
The fee basis is set out in your written scope. If the matter changes shape, we tell you what that does to the figure before the extra work is done.
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Fixed fee
Defined pieces of workWills, powers of attorney, contract reviews, settlement agreement advice, lease reviews. The scope is known at the outset, so the price can be too.
One figure, quoted in the scope. Payable on completion of the work.
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Staged fee
Matters with clear phasesSeparations, estate administration and negotiated disputes, where the end point depends on how the other side responds. Each stage is priced and approved separately.
Stage-by-stage. You decide at the end of each whether to continue.
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Hourly rate
Open-ended or reactive workLive litigation and ongoing advisory work where the volume genuinely cannot be predicted. Used least often, and always with an agreed ceiling.
Billed monthly in six-minute units, with a cap you set in advance.
Included in every scope
- The initial thirty-minute consultation
- Written confirmation of advice after substantive calls
- Correspondence with the other side within the agreed stage
- A closing letter summarising the outcome and any dates you must still meet
Charged separately, always flagged first
- Court and tribunal fees, and any barrister’s fees
- Experts, searches and official copies
- Work outside the agreed scope, quoted before it starts
- Travel to hearings or site visits beyond the local area
The things worth knowing before you call
Will the first call cost me anything?
No. The first thirty minutes are free and carry no obligation. It is a scoping conversation: you explain the situation, we tell you whether we can help, whether there is a deadline, and roughly what the work would involve. If we are not the right practice for it, we will say so in that call rather than taking the matter on.
What should I have ready?
A rough timeline with dates is more useful than a pile of paperwork. Beyond that: any contract, lease or policy at the centre of the matter, the most recent correspondence from the other side, and anything with a deadline printed on it.
Do not spend hours assembling documents before the first call. We will send you a specific list afterwards, and it is usually shorter than people expect.
My matter is urgent — is there a deadline I might already have missed?
Possibly. Employment claims, lease break clauses, appeal windows and limitation periods all run on fixed timetables, and some are much shorter than people assume. If you think a date is close, say so when you submit the form and mark the matter urgent; urgent enquiries are triaged ahead of general ones.
Can I move a matter that another solicitor has already started?
Yes, and it is more common than you would think. We will need your existing solicitor’s file, which they are generally obliged to release once their fees to date are settled. Before taking a transfer we will tell you honestly whether changing hands at this point helps or simply adds cost and delay.
Is what I say in the first call confidential?
Yes. Everything discussed is treated as confidential whether or not you go on to instruct the practice. A conflict check is run before the consultation, so we will not be hearing your side of a matter where we already act for someone on the other side.
What happens if the other side settles halfway through?
You pay for the work actually done to that point and nothing further. On a staged fee that means the completed stages only; on a fixed fee the position is set out in your scope before you accept it. Settling early is frequently the best commercial outcome, and the advice will never push you past that point to extend a file.
No charge, no obligation
Tell us what has happened
A few lines is enough. We read every enquiry ourselves and reply with either a consultation time or a straight answer that this is not a matter we should take on.
Enquiries are answered within two working days. Mark the matter urgent if a deadline is close and it will be looked at the same day.
Please don’t attach documents at this stage or include anything you would not want sitting in an inbox — a short summary is all we need to assess the matter. Submitting this form does not create a solicitor–client relationship.