A new type of legal company for growing businesses

David is a corporate and commercial solicitor whose practice spans complex commercial contracts, regulatory compliance, ESG, and crisis management across multiple jurisdictions. Qualified in 2014, he spent over 17 years in-house at one of the world's largest hospitality groups, rising to Senior Counsel for EMEA and advising the business through its transition from private equity ownership to public listing and the spin-off of three separately listed entities.

As Senior Solicitor and Legal Services Director at Lawyerly, David brings the depth of big-company legal practice directly to scaling SMEs. He simplifies complex commercial arrangements, builds legal frameworks that grow with the business, and steers clients through the regulatory and reputational pressures that come with scale. His in-house grounding means he reads commercial context as fluently as legal risk, delivering the rigour of a global legal function without the overhead of a traditional firm.

James is a commercial and corporate solicitor whose practice centres on commercial contracts, technology and intellectual property, and disputes, sharpened by a keen commercial sense for how the law plays out in business reality. He has practised at Pinsent Masons, EY Law, and across a range of in-house roles, leading on SaaS and software licensing negotiations, M&A due diligence, and commercial litigation alongside international stakeholders on high-value, complex matters.

As Commercial Solicitor at Lawyerly, James brings that range to SMEs that need serious commercial advice without the complexity of a traditional firm relationship. He negotiates and manages contracts, advises on technology and IP, and helps clients pre-empt the disputes that derail growth. His particular fluency in contract management and technology law means he can tighten commercial frameworks and reduce legal risk as businesses scale.

Jackie has spent 20 years rethinking how legal services reach the people and businesses that need them. Before co-founding Lawyerly, she built and led one of Africa's largest alternative legal organisations, growing it to over 300 people and earning recognition across legal service, technology, innovation, and dispute resolution. She holds a PhD, awarded with the Top Achiever distinction, and has been named one of the top five women in legal tech.

As Co-Founder of Lawyerly, Jackie sets the strategic direction. Her work is guided by a single conviction: the law should work for people, not the other way around. Two decades of designing legal models that put commercial reality and client need ahead of legal tradition keep Lawyerly's service practical, human, and valuable for the businesses it works with.

Willem began his career with a foundation in law before moving into business and communication. He led two advertising agencies through significant digital change and spent years as a digital publisher before moving into the international development sector, working on programmes across South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

At Lawyerly, he brings a marketer's instinct for clarity and a strategist's eye for how organisations grow. His training spans AI business strategy at MIT alongside formal studies in law and marketing, which means he thinks carefully about how legal services need to evolve to meet the real needs of modern businesses.

Jan began his career in law before broadening into corporate strategy and technology. He holds a Master's in Corporate Law and an MBA, and later completed a Master's in Applied Data Science, driven by a conviction that the legal profession could do far more with the data it generates. That combination of legal, commercial, and analytical training has shaped a career spent rethinking how legal services are designed and delivered, with a particular focus on projects that use data and digital tools to improve legal processes.

As Director at Lawyerly, Jan brings data analytics, financial management, and strategy to the firm. His blend of legal grounding, commercial instinct, and technical fluency means Lawyerly's growth is guided by someone who understands the practice as deeply as the business behind it.

Ashrelle is a commercial solicitor who built her practice at Browne Jacobson LLP, a leading UK national law firm, advising private and public sector clients on contracts, IP, and procurement. Her experience extends into real estate, clinical negligence, employment, and government infrastructure, giving her a breadth few solicitors at her level can offer.

As Commercial Solicitor at Lawyerly, Ashrelle focuses on practical commercial advice for growing businesses, building the long-term client relationships that turn legal counsel into trusted partnership. She is as comfortable reviewing a software agreement as steering a complex procurement, and her employment expertise lets her advise on the people-side issues that sit alongside the commercial ones, keeping clients covered across the full picture of their business as it scales.

Carel has spent over a decade in alternative legal services, focused on building commercial models that make quality legal support genuinely accessible.

As CEO of a major legal services company, he developed the product and partnership frameworks that allowed the business to scale, while keeping client experience at the centre. His background spans financial planning, business development and strategic partnerships.

At Lawyerly, he brings that commercial and operational depth to how we structure our service and build long-term client relationships.

Sandiswa has over a decade of experience in the legal sector, progressing from legal assistant to paralegal across multiple practice areas at a large legal firm. She also worked as a training coordinator, mentoring new talent through the practical realities of legal work. She holds a National Diploma in Paralegal Studies.

At Lawyerly, Sandiswa is the first point of contact for many of our clients, and the reason so many of them feel well looked after from day one. She understands how legal processes work from the inside, which means she can explain things clearly, move things forward and make sure nothing gets missed.