Case Study

Legal support to a busy in-house legal department
Unipart Group

Unipart Group is a leading provider  of manufacturing, logistics and consultancy services.  Privately owned and with large domestic and international operations, the corporate in-house legal team advises on a diverse range of matters.  In 2014 Unipart’s senior lawyers were increasingly involved in major projects which were occupying a large amount of their time and they realised they needed interim legal support to assist with day to day advice across the business.  They had a clear requirement for someone who could hit the ground running with a level of experience that meant they could work relatively autonomously so they turned to Ortolan Legal.

Within a week of the initial request Ortolan made available an experienced corporate/commercial lawyer (20+ years PQE) from their team who based himself at Unipart’s offices for three days per week.  We agreed a fixed fee which provided Unipart with budgetary certainty and transparency and the other specialist lawyers in the Ortolan team were available to support in their areas of expertise when required.  The engagement lasted for over one and a half years and as well as dealing with countless contractual matters, we also advised on acquisitions and joint ventures.  These included the formation of The Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, a joint venture between Unipart and Coventry University and the establishment of Metlase Ltd, a joint venture between Unipart and Rolls-Royce Plc.

  • Unipart did not have to spend time bringing our lawyers up to speed with their business.  Our pre-existing relationship with them meant we were already familiar with their operations and knew many of their senior management team.
  • According to Unipart’s Head of Legal, Richard Collins, it was a great benefit to have an experienced lawyer working with their team who didn’t require additional supervision or hand-holding.
  • Where advice was needed in other areas such as employment, property, litigation and insolvency law, Ortolan’s experts in these fields were immediately available to provide support.
  • Our experience of working within businesses allowed Ortolan to deliver commercially focussed advice offering constructive and workable solutions to divisional MDs, FDs and other members of the senior management team.
  • We were able to quickly integrate with both the in-house legal team and the Unipart management avoiding the need for time-consuming and costly handover briefings.
  • Unipart achieved the support they needed at a cost which was far lower than it would have been had they outsourced the work to conventional commercial law firms.
Get in Touch

If you would like to know more about Ortolan Legal and how we can help you reduce your ongoing recruitment costs, get in touch!

Email us now

   Or call 020 3743 0600

Unipart Group has used Ortolan Legal’s services to supplement our in-house legal team for a number of years. We keep coming back to them because their unique combination of experienced, high quality lawyers at extremely cost-effective rates sets them apart from other law firms. It also has to be said that their team are personable, highly commercial and very responsive. I would recommend them without reservation.

Richard Collins, Group Legal Director Unipart
See All
Receive news & updates from Ortolan Legal

Meet the Team

  • Nick Benson Nick Benson I qualified as a commercial and corporate solicitor…
  • Liz Delgado Liz Delgado I qualified as a solicitor in 1995 after studying…
  • Carrie Beaumont Carrie Beaumont I qualified as an Employment specialist in 2008. I…