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A case study. Working with an SME on a fixed price contract “working with Business Law Online supports our growth and ensures we are fully protected when doing business with orgaisations far larger than ourselves. It is a relationship that works well for us and we are confident that it will continue to do so” Tony Martino MD Tollring The purpose of this case study is to showcase how Business Law Online’s legal services can help businesses manage their legal requirements, remain compliant with current laws and provide them with an accurate means of budgeting for their legal costs. The customer Tollring Tollring is a market leading software developer providing feature-rich, technologically advanced communications management solutions. Tollring develops innovative solutions that compliment business processes and facilitate regulatory compliance. Its comprehensive portfolio of cloud based and locally installed solutions focuses on service provider analytics, fraud management, cloud billing services, customer level call analytics and call recording applications. Tollring solutions have been successfully deployed to over 8,000 businesses in both the private and public sectors across the UK, Europe, USA and Australia, delivered via a number of global communications service providers, global OEMs and leading resellers in the Telecoms and IT Industries. The Challenge Tollring’s business growth meant that it was in a situation where it was becoming increasingly difficult for it to manage its legal documentation. The company’s leadership team had concerns whether its existing legal contracts and policies would adequately protect them in the event of dispute. As Tollring began to win contracts with larger organisations, the way it sold its products began to change, becoming more complicated. It soon became clear that it needed a legal practice whose lawyers could provide specialist commercial and corporate skills and a legal team that would work seamlesly with Tollring management, to allow them to quickly adapt to new go-to-market models and ensure that their internal controls were sufficient to enable them to mitigate trading risk. The company recognized that it required a library of legal documents for its sales channels and, in addition, bespoke agreements for complex OEM sales. As part of its expansion, Tollring began to develop a network of overseas resellers requiring contracts that would ensure Tollring remained in control. Additionally, as with all growing companies, Tollring needed to ensure its internal controls were in place, including matters such as its employment contracts and policies. The Discussion The company had been using a high street solicitor on an ad hoc basis. This meant they would have to instruct the solicitors individually, and in great depth, each time legal support was required. The solicitors practice, though capable, had no working knowledge either of Tollring’s business or the industry it was in. The process of finding the right legal expertise for their business was a challenge in itself. Whilst the high street solicitors lacked the experience and knowledge of the business and the industry, a city firm, though it had the capabilities, would prove too large and costly. It was a concern that, in the event of Tollring instructing a larger firm of lawyers, due to its size, Tollring may not get the level of customer service it 4 Newsletter Template | Feb 16 /05
needed with an inexperienced junior lawyer managing its workload. The additional risk of Tollring being subject to invisible and constantly escalating costs meant the company did not wish to pursue this route. Following a lengthy review of the legal services market, Tollring concluded that there seemed to be little legal support available for a medium sized organization such as Tollring. The Solution Tollring was introduced to Business Law Online by one of its service providers – it was agreed that Business Law Online would conduct a review of Tollring’s existing legal documentation and policies and make recommendations as to what was needed. As Tollring’s business was going through a transitional period, it required a legal firm that could be drawn upon as, and when needed. Business Law Online’s fixed price model meant that Tollring would have visibility of its legal costs, up front – the model works on a subscription basis, with clients paying a monthly fee over a 12-month contract period which simplifies budgeting. Business Law Online’s service level agreements mean that work is completed in a timely manner, with each client having a single point of contact. The Business Law Online lawyer would act as an extension of Tollring’s own workforce, as they would if the company had its own in-house legal counsel. Furthermore, Business Law Online’s ability to manage work internationally meant there would be no issue with sourcing legal support overseas and subsequently managing it – the single point of contact would coordinate all work, even internationally, with local lawyers being available for face to face meetings as required. This was a very attractive proposition to Tollring since its evolving business meant it needed scalable professional legal support both in the UK and overseas. The added benefit of the ability to budget in advance and spread its legal costs over the course of the financial year presented the solution that Tollring had been seeking. HR News From 1 April, the new National Living Wage of £7.20 for workers of 25 and over applies. From 6 April, tribunal compensation limits and a week’s pay increase. The upper limit on the compensatory award will be £78,962 and a week’s pay will be £479. There are other changes to Employment Tribunals including new rules on postponements, and penalties for employers who fail to pay amounts awarded against the or agreed through ACAS. The budget brought further changes: Termination payments of over £30,000 to be subject to employer NI contributions. As previously announced, the government will consult on extending Shared Parental Leave to Grandparents. The government is considering restricting some salary sacrifice benefits. Employers will receive money (10% of their apprentice levy) to put towards apprentice training. Tony Martino, Tollring’s Managing Director comments: Tony Martino Tollring Managing Director “As our business was growing and changing, we recognised that we needed more stringent legal controls, with watertight contracts that would protect us if required, especially as we expanded our products and services into new territories such as the USA and Australia. We considered the options, including employment of in-house counsel, a local solicitor or a city firm, however each posed its challenges such as overall cost, or apparent lack of industry experience. After discounting these various options, we made the decision to use Business Law Online who work with us on a fixed price model. We have our own point of contact who understands our business and has become an extension of our own team. Support is available outside of standard office hours, even internationally, so we can just pick up the phone whenever we have questions, which is hugely valuable to us. We feel that working with Business Law Online supports our business growth and ensures that we are fully protected when doing business with organisations far larger than ourselves. It is a relationship that works well for us and we are confident that it will continue to do so.” Newsletter Template | Feb 16 /05 5
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