Proactive legal planning

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.

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.

Jackie has spent twenty years working on 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 more than 500 people serving 100,000 clients, and her work there was recognised in legal services, technology, innovation and dispute resolution. She holds a PhD, awarded with distinction, and has been named among the top five women in legal technology.

At Lawyerly she is responsible for the firm's strategic direction. Her starting point has not changed in two decades: the law should work for the people who use it, rather than the other way round. That view shapes how Lawyerly is run, from how services are priced to how matters are staffed.

Willem co-founded Lawyerly after twenty years of running and advising businesses, most of which were spent as a client of law firms rather than a member of one. He had seen how legal advice tends to arrive: late, priced by the hour, and detached from the commercial decision that prompted it. Lawyerly grew out of a conviction that it could be done differently.

He read law and marketing at university and later completed MIT Sloan's executive programme in artificial intelligence and business strategy. His career before Lawyerly took in two advertising agencies, which he led through the industry's move to digital, several years in digital publishing, and a period in international development, working on programmes across South East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

At Lawyerly he is responsible for growth and for the client experience, ensuring our clients receive the legal support they need. 

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.