I’ve been asked a couple of time recently by prospective clients whether I can act for them when they’ve been given a compromise agreement by their employers, usually following redundancy. The answer is almost always yes. Why does the question get asked? Well, often HR departments will, as a service to their departing employees, provide a list of solicitors that will be able to advise on the agreements, because it is a requirement of every properly drafted compromise agreement that an independent solicitor review and explain it and sign a certificate at the end of the document to say they have done so. Indeed, my firm is on many such lists. The employer will usually offer to pay a contribution towards the cost of that advice and in many cases that contribution will cover all the solicitor’s fees in advising on the document. Many people think that they are only allowed to use the law firms on the list provided by HR, but this is not the case.