Not every dispute needs Mercer & Stone.
We'd rather tell you honestly whether we're the right firm before you instruct us than let a mismatched engagement become clear six months in.
We're probably right for you if:
- You're a FTSE 100 corporate, financial institution, sovereign wealth fund, or private equity house
- The matter genuinely warrants senior partner attention, not just a competent associate
- You value discretion over visibility, and would rather a matter never make the press at all
- You want a lawyer who will tell you not to litigate, when that's the right advice
- You're comfortable with one office and direct partner access, rather than a global brand name
We're probably not right for you if:
- You're an individual or a small or medium-sized business — we don't act for either, regardless of matter size
- You need a firm with offices in multiple jurisdictions, rather than co-counsel relationships coordinated from London
- You're looking for the lowest hourly rate rather than the right seniority for the matter
- You want a firm that will pursue every available claim regardless of whether it serves your underlying objective
- You need full-service coverage — corporate, real estate conveyancing, employment — under one roof
If we do work together.
A partner leads every matter from the first call to the final outcome — not just at the pitch stage. You will always know which partner is accountable for your matter, and they will always be reachable directly.
We will tell you early, and plainly, if we think litigation isn't the right course — even if that means a shorter engagement than either of us expected at the outset. We would rather be trusted with the next dispute than maximise the fee on this one.
We do not issue press releases about client matters, and we will not discuss your matter's existence, let alone its substance, without your explicit agreement — including internally, beyond the team working on it.
Direct, if not always simple.
Given the scale of the matters we act on, most engagements run on standard commercial hourly terms, agreed and scoped before work begins. We can discuss alternative fee structures where appropriate for a specific matter, but we would rather have that conversation directly than publish a rate card that doesn't reflect how these matters actually get costed.