At TM Legal Atelier®, I collaborate with my clients to craft bespoke legal solutions rather than relying on generic templates or a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. I believe that in business, prevention is better than cure, and this stems from my experience as a litigation and disputes lawyer earlier in my career (of more than 12 years), which gives me a unique insight into what can go wrong, and more importantly, how to prevent it.  

Unlike traditional legal services that often feel transactional, I take time to understand your unique business model, values, and goals before crafting agreements that truly reflect how you operate.  

I work exclusively with service-based business owners who, like me, value quality over shortcuts and understand that proper legal foundations are an investment in sustainable success. 

I work with service-based creatives, coaches, and consultants who value expertise and understand the importance of strategic legal planning. My ideal clients are business owners who appreciate quality craftsmanship, believe in doing things properly, and are ready to invest in legal foundations that support long-term success.  
 
You're likely a good fit if you're tired of cookie-cutter solutions, want contracts that actually reflect how your business operates and that integrate seamlessly into your processes and systems, and prefer working with professionals who take time to understand your unique needs.  
 
If you're looking for the cheapest option or want things done as quickly as possible, regardless of quality, we're probably not the right match. My clients value the peace of mind that comes from knowing their business is properly protected.

Bespoke legal solutions means every document I create is tailored specifically to your business (as opposed to generic templates).  
 
I start by understanding how you actually work with clients, deliver your services, handle payments, and manage boundaries, and what your pain points are. From there, I craft agreements that reflect your unique processes, protect your specific vulnerabilities, and support your particular business goals. For example, a creative agency's contract will look completely different from a business coach's agreement, even though both are service-based businesses.  
 
The language I use reflects how you communicate, the terms align with your delivery methods, and the protections address your industry-specific risks. This isn't about making contracts longer or more complicated, it's about making them more relevant and effective for your business reality.

I offer both fixed-fee packages and project-based pricing, depending on your needs. During our initial conversation, I'll provide a tailored proposal based on your specific requirements.  
 
My fixed fees for developing a tailored client service agreement, with advice and guidance and support with implementation, typically start at $2,495+GST. My core legal packages that include this agreement, plus website terms and conditions and a tailored compliant privacy policy typically start at $3,650+GST.  

I believe in transparent pricing; there are no surprises or unexpected invoices. Our payment options are either a single payment in advance into our trust account, or payment plans where needed, generally for a 3-month period.  

Your investment includes not just document creation, but strategic consultation, revision discussions and refinements, and implementation guidance. 
 

An Ask+Answer Session is an up to 1-hour strategic consultation designed to provide expert guidance on your specific legal questions. These sessions are perfect when you need targeted advice rather than full document creation. The investment is $770 + GST for up to one hour, and sessions take place via Zoom. You'll receive actionable advice, clear next steps, and often discover issues you didn't know existed.  

Book an Ask+Answer Session when you want expert insight without committing to a full project, need a second opinion on existing agreements, or want to understand your options before making decisions. 

The actual timing depends on several factors: how quickly you provide instructions and schedule our session to discuss the draft documents, the complexity of your business model, and how many rounds of refinement we need. I believe in working at a pace that ensures quality rather than rushing to meet arbitrary deadlines. Throughout the process, I keep you informed of progress and any factors that might affect timing. 

Our collaboration requires input from both of us, and the timing will depend on our combined availability. That said, if you are ready and available to move forward, my typical timeframe is 7 to 14 days from onboarding to draft delivery. From there, our session to discuss the drafts is usually scheduled for the following week, and I then make the revisions required so that I can provide you with your documents the following week. If there are further refinements required, we can discuss these as needed, and I can have these finalised within a few days.  
 
For fixed-fee matters, I work within an 8-week framework that begins when I deliver your draft documents, and this period allows for all revisions, discussions, and refinements required.  
 
Of course, if you need your documents urgently (which happens!) please let me know and I will let you know if I can prioritise our work together to meet any tight turnaround time.

Generic templates are the fast food of legal documents; cheap, quick, and usually inadequate for your specific needs. I see the problems they create regularly: unclear terms that don't reflect how you actually work, missing protections that leave you vulnerable, and language that confuses rather than clarifies.  
 
Templates can't account for your unique service delivery, payment processes, client relationships, or industry-specific risks. The cost of fixing template-related problems later almost always exceeds the investment in proper documents upfront. While templates might seem economical initially, they often create expensive headaches when you need protection most. Custom contracts aren't just about legal compliance, they're strategic business tools that set clear expectations, protect your interests, and create confidence for both you and your clients. I can honestly tell you that when a business contract is tailored properly and used well, it can be one the most powerful tools a business has.  
 
I often tell business owners that DIY is for Bunnings, not for your legals.

Absolutely. When I deliver your final documents, I provide implementation guidance to ensure you understand how to use them effectively. I'm available for questions as you start using your new agreements, and I can help troubleshoot any issues that arise during implementation. 
 
For ongoing needs, I offer various support options including annual contract reviews, updates when your business evolves, and additional documents as you grow. Many clients return for expanded contract suites (such as employment agreements or contractor agreements), new service offerings, or updated terms as their businesses develop.  

 I believe in building long-term relationships, not just delivering documents and disappearing. Your success with these legal foundations matters to me. 

Starting with proper legal foundations is actually the smartest time to invest in them. It's much easier to establish good practices from the beginning than to fix problems later. Early investment in quality legal documents helps you appear professional to potential clients, sets clear boundaries from your first engagement, and protects you as you grow.  

You don't need every possible document immediately. I can help you prioritise what's essential now and what can wait until later. Many successful business owners wish they'd invested in proper legal protection earlier rather than dealing with the stress and cost of problems that could have been prevented.  

Think of it as building your house on solid foundations rather than trying to retrofit them later. 

Our journey together typically begins with either a Complimentary Introduction Call or an Ask+Answer Session, depending on your needs. During this conversation, I learn about your business and understand your requirements, and from there I provide you with a tailored proposal.  
 
Once you accept the proposal, you'll receive our costs agreement and costs disclosure and details to make your investment in our trust account (or activate your payment plan if this is your preferred payment option). I then gather any further detailed information I need to begin crafting your bespoke documents, which will be with you within 7 to 14 days (unless arranged to be provided sooner, depending on your needs).  
 
Within the next 3-4 weeks, we will have had a Zoom session and discussed the drafts and any necessary revisions; I attend to revisions as required; we liaise in relation to any further refinements needed; and I provide you with your final, fully tailored documents ready for you to use, and I remain available for questions as you begin using them.  
 
Throughout the process, clear communication ensures you always know what's happening next.

Fractional in-house counsel is the modern alternative to ad hoc legal support, designed for growing businesses that are no longer well served by a "call a lawyer when something goes wrong" model, but aren't yet at the scale where a full-time General Counsel makes commercial sense.

In practice, it means a senior commercial lawyer is engaged on a part-time, retained basis to function as the business's in-house legal counsel, embedded in the business, available consistently, and across the full legal picture of the organisation. You get the General Counsel function, scaled to what you actually need right now, without the overhead of a full-time hire.

For my fractional clients, this typically means I'm reviewing and negotiating contracts before they're signed (not after a dispute arises), identifying legal risk in commercial decisions while there's still time to do something about it, supporting employment and contractor arrangements as the team grows, and providing a consistent legal voice in leadership conversations. The business owner stops carrying the legal risk of the organisation in their own head, because I'm already in the room and across it.

This model is built for businesses that have outgrown ad hoc legal support and understand that legal support is not a cost to be minimised, but an investment in the integrity and sustainability of the business itself. For the businesses that are ready for it, the difference is foundational.