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Litigation and disputes · Litigation fee-earner, disputes partner, client-facing associate

Weigh a Part 36 offer and plan the response

The defendant in a contract claim has made an offer described as a Part 36 offer twelve days before the costs and case management conference. The analysis checks whether it complies, what the relevant period does, and what happens on each of the three possible answers.

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Agents
Research, Litigation & Disputes
First draft
A validity answer in chat within a minute, then a client-facing note on the consequences the same day.

The problem

An offer that does not comply carries none of the automatic consequences, and treating it as though it does leads to advice that is wrong in both directions. Clients need the costs picture as numbers against outcomes, not as a description of a rule, and they need it before the relevant period expires.

  1. Step 01 of 05

    Record the offer and the clock

    The offer letter, the costs budget and the current schedule of costs go on the matter, with the end of the relevant period recorded as a key date.

    Matters · Project Halcyon · SPA warranties and disclosureOpen

    Project Halcyon: SPA warranties and disclosure

    Buy-side warranty review, disclosure analysis and cited due-diligence grid.

    Client
    Halcyon Bidco Ltd
    Reference
    WC-2026-0412
    Practice area
    Corporate / M&A
    Jurisdiction
    England and Wales
    Responsible partner
    E. Vance
    No conflict check on file.

    Chat, on this matter

    Compare warranties with the disclosure letter.

    Three high-priority exceptions require action: the unregistered charge, the change-of-control right and the tribunal claim.

    Send a message… (@ to mention tools)BalancedPrepare for
    1. 25 Aug

      Disclosure exceptions matrix

      Chat

    2. 21 Aug

      Disclosure exceptions matrix

      Run · completed · 560 credits

    3. 18 Aug

      Project Halcyon: Disclosure Letter

      Document · indexed

    4. 16 Aug

      Project Halcyon: Share Purchase Agreement

      Document · indexed

    5. 4 Aug

      Matter opened

      Opened

  2. Step 02 of 05

    Test compliance first

    A chat question on whether the letter satisfies the formal requirements returns the four elements it meets and the one it does not clearly address.

    Matters · 14 Rowan Court, Flat 9 · ResearchSources ranked
    Matter: 14 Rowan CourtEngland and WalesResearch Agent
     
    Prepare for: Court-Ready · Deliver as: Word

    Where we looked

    • 1Your documentsLease, demand, correspondence
    • 2Primary law3 statutes, 1 judgment
    • 3Regulators and the recordNothing needed
    • 4Web searchOff for this question

    Authorities · 4

    • 1

      Law of Property Act 1925, s 146

      c 20
      not yet checked
    • 2

      Housing Act 1996, s 81

      c 52
      not yet checked
    • 3

      Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, s 168

      c 15
      not yet checked
    • 4

      Escalus Properties Ltd v Robinson

      [1996] QB 231 (CA)
      not yet checked

  3. Step 03 of 05

    Model the outcomes

    Prepare for: Client Update, Deliver as: PDF. The run sets out accepting inside the period, accepting late, and going to trial and beating or failing to beat the offer, with the costs position for each.

    Agents · Contract Agent · New runMatter: Northgate · senior associate hire

    Agent

    Jurisdiction

    Prepare for

    Deliver as

    Instruction

    What should the agent look for?

    Documents

    Drop a contract, or pick one from the matter

    Also on the matter

    • Offer_letter_v3.pdf2 pages
    • Staff_handbook_2025.docx61 pages
    • Board_minute_14_Aug.pdf3 pages
    Platform model · zero data retention · audit register on

  4. Step 04 of 05

    Read the client note

    Plain English, the numbers in a table, and a clear statement that the costs consequences depend on the offer being a valid one.

    Agents · Contract Agent · Employment Contract Compliance ReviewCompleted
    6 items need your confirmation14 authorities · Where we looked

    Senior Associate Employment Contract: English Law Review

    Summary

    1. 1.

      Clause 9(c), non-competeHigh

      The 12-month prohibition on working for any law firm anywhere in the UK, Ireland or EU, in any capacity, is almost certainly wider than reasonably necessary and therefore unlikely to be enforceable.

      Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32
    2. 2.

      Clause 11, data and monitoringHigh

      Blanket contractual consent is not an adequate basis for general employment processing, special-category data or unrestricted monitoring.

      UK GDPR, Arts 6 and 9
    3. 3.

      Clause 4, holiday carry-overHigh

      The unconditional five-day cap conflicts with mandatory carry-over rights where sickness, statutory leave or employer failure prevents leave being taken.

      Working Time Regulations 1998, regs 13 to 13A

  5. Step 05 of 05

    Share and diarise

    The note goes to the client on a passcode link with a seven-day expiry, and the action items include diarising the expiry date and requesting clarification of the offer.

    Client sharing · Employment Contract Compliance Review

    What travels

    Protection

    Six-digit passcode4 8 2 · 9 1 7
    Expires in
    share.legalaispace.com/s/k7Qm…

    View log · also written to the audit register

    1. Opened

      client@halcyon-bidco.example
      Today 09:14

    2. Downloaded memo.docx

      client@halcyon-bidco.example
      Today 09:15

    3. Failed passcode attempt

      unknown
      Yesterday 17:40

    4. Link created · expires in 7 days

      E. Vance
      Yesterday 16:02

    The reader sees your firm's name, the sections you chose, and nothing else. No sign-in, no account, no way back into the workspace.

What comes back

A document, not a transcript.

  • A compliance assessment against the formal requirements, naming the element the letter does not clearly address.
  • The costs position modelled for accepting in time, accepting late, and each trial outcome.
  • A client note in plain English with the numbers in a table and the conditional nature of the consequences stated.
  • Action items covering the clarification request and the diary entry for the relevant period.

Authorities it checks

  • Civil Procedure Rules, Part 36
  • Civil Procedure Rules, Part 44
Every source it may cite

What it does not do

  • It does not accept, reject or make an offer, and it sends nothing to the other side.
  • It does not predict what the court will award; the outcomes are modelled on the client's own figures.
  • It does not replace advice on prospects, which is a separate question the note points to.

Related

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