Mark Walter, practice group leader in commercial litigation at the firm, coined the idea after he realised how accountants welcomed prompt and efficient access to legal advice from Slater and Gordon’s commercial litigation team.
“Accountants are busy people, so when it comes to getting legal advice, whether it’s just a quick question or for a broader problem they or their clients may be facing – it needs to be easily accessible, practical and direct,” he said.
“We wanted to remove the barriers for easier communication with accountants. Direct Access is designed to give our fellow professionals easy and effective point of access to Slater and Gordon.”
Our senior litigators will make themselves available to have a discussion. The program has a dedicated and exclusive-use phone number. When an accountant calls the line, someone will answer immediately and establish the caller’s needs and find the most appropriate senior lawyer in the team to talk to them immediately or as quickly as possible.
All this can be done with your client present in order to ascertain all the details accurately.
“To make the call meaningful, we needed to tap into the experience of the litigators. So our senior litigators will make themselves available to have a discussion as soon as possible,” said Walter.
“The purpose of the initial discussion is really to work through with the accountant the potential legal issues and guide them through their range of options, whether there is a real issue or not, or whether there’s other strategic steps that can be taken in the meantime.”
The initial consultation is free with no obligation. “It’s for people, individuals or SMEs who need high-quality, heavyhitting legal advice, without the goldplated bill.”
For free initial legal guidance, login via your IPA member portal: bit.ly/1JraEap
