RM Clayton

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Opening August 2026. Specialist commercial & property disputes law firm led by Chris Clayton, Solicitor-Advocate & Accredited Mediator. Perspective. Clarity.

Practical, strategic legal advice for businesses and individuals. Resolution.

16/10/2026

As a business owner, are you personally liable for your business’ debts?

It depends on the structure of your business.

Always happy to talk things through if you’re facing an issue.

15/10/2026

As a solicitor my job is not to write angry letters on your behalf to make you feel better.

That’s easy, but it’s not effective.

When I write to an opponent, I’m not just writing to an opponent.

I’m writing to the judge.

I’m painting you as the reasonable person in the room. My letters show that you’re engaging with the issues but that you’re also trying to find a way through the problem.

If I’m writing to somebody who isn’t represented, I’m also writing to Chat GPT. My letters will be fed into the AI Bots and I want those bots to tell your opponent that they’ve got a problem that needs to be dealt with.

I’m your advocate, I’m here to resolve your problem - I’m not a hired gun to shout really really loud and impress people for a cheap point.

Don’t get me wrong - don’t confuse that with weakness. I’ll dance with anybody.

My involvement in your crisis, is all about finding solutions to problems. It is no more complicated than that.

Why make it worse with unnecessarily aggressive correspondence?

14/10/2026

What do you do if the defence to your claim is very weak?

Watch here to find out - I’m dealing with the issue right now.

It cuts two ways - if you’re defending a weak claim, the same tactics are open to you.

If you need help navigating the litigation process - it’s what I do.

13/10/2026

I’ve been ranked again as the 28th most influential independent lawyer over on LinkedIn.

The content is highly niche, and the people I direct it to don’t need it every day, nobody wants a disputes lawyer.

But you never know - you may see something today that you don’t need for weeks or months.

I see that from clients all the time - “I saw your post on [such and such] and wonder if you can help” - the post might have been months old.

I’ll keep doing what I’m doing ☺️

11/10/2026

Can you agree a contract on WhatsApp?

Got to be careful with words, even informally.

In the case I mention here, there was hundreds of thousands of pounds riding on the decision - and it probably didn’t go the way you’d think it would.

09/10/2026

Does a contract have to be signed to be enforceable?

Watch to find out.

08/10/2026

Why is my firm called RM Clayton?

Watch along, it’s actually quite nice

03/10/2026

You have to be careful with things like this.

If your contract doesn’t allow you to impose a charge for late payment, it may not be valid.

Your contract will need to give you the right to impose a charge.

If it doesn’t, something like this is a unilateral change and risks being unenforceable.

There’s no agreement unless acceptance is communicated.

There’s no consideration.

There’s no information what the charge is, so it could be an unenforceable penalty.

For all of those reasons, there’s a very real risk this will not be enforceable.

Now - cashflow is the lifeblood of any business, particularly small businesses. The need to be paid on time is critical because it impacts everything. Staff salaries, tax liabilities, third party supplier liabilities - it’s a real problem for every business, no matter the size.

The way to address is this review your contracts. Sharpen your payment terms, write into the contract the right to recover a late charge, or the right to charge interest. Refuse to continue offering services if invoices are unpaid.

Those are simple, practical - legally enforceable - steps you can take to make sure your terms bite a bit harder on late payers.

Prevention is better than cure. If you’d like me to cast my eye over your terms, give me a shout.

29/09/2026

📍 I may be based up north in Cumbria, but my clients are across the country.

The south coast, London, the Midlands, Yorkshire, Cumbria and the North East. I’ve even got clients overseas.

So this one is for those of you seeing my content miles away from my postcode.

⏱️ My hourly rate is lower than you might pay in London. That isn’t because the legal advice is worth less. The law is the same wherever your solicitor sits. A higher hourly rate doesn’t unlock some hidden legal magic.

💻 I don’t carry expensive office costs or have a team of 50 or 100 people to support. I’ve built a lean, tech-focused practice, and that is reflected in my hourly rate.

📲 If you’re based somewhere expensive and concerned about the cost of legal advice, it may be worth having a conversation.

The initial chat is free, with no obligation. You haven’t got anything to lose.

25/09/2026

Always nice to receive such strong feedback.

What I like about this one is this client felt I was working with them, that they’d want me in their corner.

That’s how I position the business - I work with you.

I advise on the law and the options and within that framework we’ll together and craft the strategy together.

A lot of lawyers will tell you what the law says, give you a range of options and then say ‘tell me what you want to do’.

I much prefer that collaborative approach.

Address

1 Broad View
Carlisle
CA56LY

Website

https://rmclayton.co.uk/

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