The service
Oakens supports client engagement, case organisation and matter progression across agreed legal practice areas. Regulated work and professional decisions remain with the authorised legal provider responsible for them.
What a case pack may contain
- client and matter details;
- a factual summary and dated chronology;
- the parties and organisations involved;
- an index of documents and supporting information;
- urgency and potential limitation indicators;
- missing facts, inconsistencies and questions requiring clarification;
- a concise matter summary.
Professional independence
The receiving firm retains complete control of conflict and identity checks, legal merits, capacity and vulnerability considerations, client onboarding, advice, limitation analysis, funding, conduct of the matter and regulatory obligations. A referral is an invitation to review; it is not an instruction and Oakens does not promise acceptance to the enquirer.
Commercial basis
Where agreed in writing, Oakens is paid for genuine case-support and management services. The basis and amount of payment must be reasonable for the work actually performed, documented with the participating firm and compliant with all applicable professional and regulatory requirements.
Oakens is not paid merely for introducing or referring a person. Personal injury arrangements must comply with the statutory prohibition on referral fees, and the participating firm must be able to evidence that any payment is for genuine services rather than a disguised referral fee.
The payment is not a deduction from the client’s compensation. It does not include damages or compensation, disbursements or VAT. The instructed solicitor remains responsible for explaining the client’s own costs and funding arrangements.
Governance and case management
Case criteria, data handling, consent, document format, status reporting and commercial terms should be documented for each participating firm. Oakens can align case-support processes to the firm’s agreed requirements while keeping regulated legal decisions with the authorised provider.