Counsel that holds under pressure
Yarrow Quill takes on disputes and commercial decisions that carry consequence — with a written scope, a named point of contact and no work billed before you have agreed to it.
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01
Employment & workplace disputes
Advice for employees and small employers from the first written warning through to tribunal. Where a negotiated exit is the better outcome, that is said plainly at the outset rather than after three rounds of correspondence.
- Unfair dismissal
- Restrictive covenants
- Settlement agreements
- Grievance response
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02
Commercial contracts
Drafting and review of the agreements a small business actually signs, and recovery when the other side stops performing. Each review returns a marked-up document plus a short risk note in ordinary language.
- Supply & services terms
- Breach & recovery
- Terms of business
- Contractor agreements
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03
Property & lease disputes
Commercial and residential tenancy matters where the relationship still has to function afterwards. Dilapidations schedules and service-charge challenges are reviewed line by line before any correspondence is sent.
- Lease renewal
- Dilapidations
- Service charges
- Boundaries
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04
Wills, estates & probate
Straightforward wills, lasting powers of attorney and the administration of an estate for executors who would rather not learn the process under time pressure. Contested estates are taken selectively.
- Wills
- Powers of attorney
- Estate administration
- Executor advice
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05
Regulatory & licensing
Responses to regulator correspondence, licence applications and conditions, and representation at hearings for trades and hospitality operators. Deadlines are diarised for you and confirmed in writing.
- Premises licences
- Conditions & reviews
- Regulator enquiries
- Hearings
Four stages, nothing hidden between them
You should know what happens next at every point in a matter. This is the sequence every instruction follows, and what you receive at the end of each stage.
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Intake call
A twenty-minute conversation to hear the facts, identify the deadlines that already exist and say whether this is a matter worth pursuing.
- You receive
- A view on merits and urgency
- Needed from you
- The short version of events
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Review & written scope
Documents are read in full, the legal position is set out and the work is scoped. No time is charged on the matter until you accept the scope.
- You receive
- Scope letter and fee basis
- Needed from you
- Contracts, correspondence, dates
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Strategy & conduct
Correspondence, negotiation or filing proceeds on the agreed plan. You approve anything sent in your name and are told when the position shifts.
- You receive
- Fortnightly written updates
- Needed from you
- Decisions at marked points
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Resolution & handover
Settlement, judgment or completed advice, followed by a closing letter that records the outcome, any continuing obligations and the dates that still matter.
- You receive
- Closing letter and full file
- Needed from you
- Sign-off on final terms
Before the intake call
Ten minutes of preparation usually saves a week. Bring what you have; nothing needs to be complete or in order.
- A rough timeline of what happened, with dates where you are sure of them.
- The central document — contract, lease, letter of dismissal or notice.
- Any correspondence from the other side, including messages and emails.
- Any deadline already set by a court, tribunal, regulator or contract clause.
- The outcome you would accept, and the one you would not.
The person who answers is the person who acts
Imogen Rell founded Yarrow Quill after a career in disputes work at larger firms, where good matters were too often passed down a chain of people who had not read the file. Here the same solicitor takes the first call, writes the scope, conducts the correspondence and signs the closing letter.
They work best with clients who want the position stated plainly — including when the sensible answer is to settle, to withdraw, or to do nothing at all for another fortnight. Expect direct advice, written confirmation of anything agreed on a call, and no procedural surprises.
- Admitted
- Solicitor of the Senior Courts, qualified in England & Wales
- Focus
- Employment and commercial disputes, with a standing property and estates practice
- Approach
- Written scope before work begins; fortnightly updates; approval sought before anything is sent in your name
- Languages
- English, Welsh, conversational Portuguese
How the work is charged
Three bases, chosen to fit the matter rather than the firm. Whichever applies is confirmed in the scope letter, with an estimate and the point at which it would be revisited.
| Basis | How it is charged | Best suited to | Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed advice | One agreed figure for a defined piece of work, quoted after the documents are read. | Contract review, a single letter of claim, a will, licence application. | Document review, written advice, one follow-up call. |
| Staged dispute | The matter is broken into stages, each with its own estimate and a decision point before it starts. | Tribunal and court matters where the next step depends on the last. | Stage estimate, fortnightly updates, all correspondence and filings in that stage. |
| Retained advisory | A set monthly allowance of advisory time, reviewed each quarter and unused time not rolled over. | Small employers and operators with steady, low-volume questions. | Advisory calls, short document reviews, priority scheduling. |
Disbursements — court and tribunal fees, experts, searches — are always separate, itemised and approved by you in advance. If an estimate is going to be exceeded, you hear it before the work is done, not on the invoice.
Scope meetings are held in person or by video, whichever gets the documents in front of both of us sooner.
Asked before the first call
If your question is not here, put it in the enquiry form — it will be answered directly rather than deferred to the consultation.
What actually happens in the first consultation?
Twenty minutes, by phone or video. You describe what has happened, you are asked for the dates and documents that matter, and you get a candid view on merits, urgency and the realistic range of outcomes.
You leave that call knowing whether there is a matter worth running, roughly what it would involve, and what the next step costs. There is no obligation to instruct afterwards.
What should I bring, and what if my paperwork is incomplete?
Bring the central document and any correspondence from the other side, plus a rough timeline. Incomplete is normal and not a problem — part of the early work is identifying what is missing and where to obtain it.
Do not delay a call while you assemble a perfect file, particularly if a deadline is already running.
How quickly can a new matter be taken on?
First consultations are currently scheduled within five working days. Where a statutory or contractual deadline falls sooner than that, say so in your enquiry and it is triaged ahead of the queue.
Because this is a single-counsel practice, capacity is finite: if a matter cannot be given proper attention in the time available, that is said at intake rather than discovered later.
Will my matter end up in court?
Most do not. Negotiation, a well-drafted letter of claim or mediation resolves a large share of disputes, and proceedings are recommended only where the position genuinely improves by issuing.
When litigation is the right route, the cost, timetable and evidence burden are set out before anything is filed, so the decision is made with the full picture.
How are fees estimated, and what happens if they change?
Every estimate follows a reading of the documents, never a phone description alone. The scope letter records the basis, the estimate and the events that would cause it to be revisited — a counterclaim, a new party, a disclosure order.
If one of those events occurs, you receive a revised estimate and a decision point before further work is carried out.
Can you work alongside my accountant or existing adviser?
Yes, and it usually shortens the matter. With your written authority, information is shared directly with your accountant, HR adviser or agent so you are not relaying technical detail between professionals.
Where specialist counsel or an expert is needed, they are proposed in writing with the reason and cost before being instructed.
What if a claim is already underway with another firm?
A matter can be taken over mid-stream. The existing file is requested, the position and next deadlines are reviewed, and you are told honestly whether changing hands at this stage helps or simply adds cost.
Sometimes the honest answer is that you should stay where you are, and you will be told that at no charge rather than talked into a transfer.
Request a consultation
Send a short outline and you will have a reply with a proposed time, or a referral if the matter sits outside the practice areas above.
- Replies are sent by the solicitor who will handle the matter.
- The first conversation is twenty minutes and carries no fee.
- Nothing is charged until you accept a written scope.
- Urgent deadlines are triaged ahead of general enquiries.