A Fresh Start with a Critical Business Review
Rebranding is a big step for any business. It’s more than just a name change, it’s an opportunity to refine your identity and ensure your brand truly represents what you offer, In some cases a re-brand is a necessary legal move. But for us here, the transition to McKenzie Legal & HR also forced us to take a step back and review all of our own business contracts, policies, and legal protections.
The Story Behind Our Rebrand
When we first launched, we operated as McKenzie Legal, focusing on debt recovery, contract drafting, and legal support for businesses. As our services expanded to include HR and Employment Law support, we rebranded to McKenzie Consultancy & Legal to reflect this growth.
However, when we applied to trademark our name, we hit an unexpected roadblock. A large American company opposed our use of the word consultancy. We had two choices: engage in a lengthy and costly legal battle or use this as an opportunity to refine our brand and reassess our business operations.
Instead of fighting, we chose to evolve. But this legal challenge also made us take a long, hard look at our own business structure, contracts, and policies, just as we advise our clients to do.
Why Every Business Needs to Regularly Review Their Contracts & Policies
This experience reinforced the importance of regular contract and policy reviews. Here’s how we approached it and why your business should do the same:
- Ensuring Legal Protection & Brand Security
One of the biggest lessons from our rebrand was the need to protect our brand before launching a name or making business changes. Had we trademarked our name earlier, we might have avoided this issue altogether.
✅ Takeaway for Your Business: If you have a brand, trademark it early to prevent disputes later. If you rely on contracts to protect your business, review them annually to ensure they reflect current laws and best practices.
- Strengthening Our Client Contracts & Terms of Business
As we updated our business name and focus, we took the time to go through all our client contracts, service agreements, and terms of business to ensure they were fully aligned with our new branding and the services we now offer.
✅ Takeaway for Your Business: Regularly update your terms and conditions, contracts, and supplier agreements to reflect changes in your business and the legal landscape. If you haven’t reviewed them in the last year, it’s time to do so.
- Reviewing Employment Policies & HR Documents
As a provider of HR support, we know how crucial it is for businesses to keep their employment contracts, handbooks, and policies up to date. With our own rebrand, we made sure that all internal policies reflected our new identity and future growth plans.
✅ Takeaway for Your Business: If your business has grown, changed, or evolved, your employment policies and contracts may need updating. Make sure they comply with the latest employment laws and company structure.
- Updating Data Protection & Compliance Policies
A rebrand also means revisiting your privacy policies, website terms, and GDPR compliance to ensure that all business documents reflect the new company structure and legal requirements.
✅ Takeaway for Your Business: Whether you’re rebranding or not, data protection laws are always evolving. Review your privacy policy and data handling procedures to stay compliant.
What This Means for Our Clients
While our name has changed, our commitment to providing cost-effective, practical, and straight-talking Legal and HR support remains the same. Here’s how we continue to help businesses like yours:
Contracts & Terms of Business
✅ Bespoke Terms & Conditions – Tailored to your industry and needs.
✅ Supplier & Service Agreements – To safeguard your business relationships.
✅ Contract Reviews – Ensuring you don’t sign anything risky.
Debt Recovery & Dispute Resolution
✅ Debt Chaser Letters (from £50) – Encouraging prompt payments.
✅ Letters Before Action (LBA) (from £100) – Professionally escalating unpaid invoices.
✅ Court Claim Assistance & Enforcement – When legal action is necessary.
Employment & HR Support
✅ HR Retainers – Flexible packages tailored to your business.
✅ Employment Contracts & Policies – Ensuring compliance with UK employment law.
✅ Employee Disputes & Disciplinary Advice – Expert guidance when issues arise.
Wills & Power of Attorney
✅ Fixed-fee Wills (from £199).
✅ Lasting Powers of Attorney – Ensuring your affairs are handled as you wish.
Final Thoughts: When Was the Last Time You Reviewed Your Contracts?
If there’s one thing we’ve learned through this process, it’s that contracts, policies, and business protections should never be an afterthought. Businesses grow, laws change, and the only way to stay ahead is to regularly review and update your legal documents.
If you’re unsure whether your contracts, employment policies or legal agreements are still fit for purpose, now is the perfect time for a legal health check.
📞 Book a call – 30 minutes from £50 (deductible if you instruct us!).
📩 Get in touch – Let’s make sure your business is legally protected for 2025 and beyond!
