Legal advice should be available to all.
We are not a law firm. The Law Collective was set up in order to provide affordable legal advice to businesses and individuals in Cornwall and the south west.
The business is owned and run by Meg Opie and David Salter, two non-practising solicitors with complementary skills and knowledge.
Meet David
David’s legal background is in litigation, arbitration and mediation, primarily working with insurers. His varied experience includes the following:
David qualified as a solicitor in 2003, having trained at Geldards LLP, a leading regional firm, followed by a brief, fixed-term contract at Eversheds LLP (now Eversheds Sutherland, one of the world’s largest law firms). His work included employment law, dispute resolution, banking, property and insurance practice areas.
In 2004 David worked at Allens Arthur Robinson in Sydney, Australia (now Allens Linklaters – a leading law firm in the Asia Pacific region and operating in alliance with Linklaters LLP) in dispute resolution, specialising in insurance and reinsurance litigation, and reached Senior Associate position.
David also gained experience working as an in-house solicitor, on secondment, at Chubb Limited, one of the world’s biggest and best insurers. Experience at Chubb provided a fantastic example of how to conduct business ethically and with the client in front of mind.
In 2008, David provided legal consultancy services to an international insurance broker, which included working closely with the General Counsel on a bespoke insurance investigation.
David also established Linguistico in Australia in 2008, to provide linguistic and drafting advice to businesses in the Asia-Pacific region. Clients include the Australian Government, six of the top ten law firms in Australia, five of the top ten global pharmaceutical companies, major international legal organisations, ASX and Fortune 500 companies. Today, the business still counts many of the clients who started with us in 2008.
In 2010, David returned to Cornwall and set up a number of businesses including The Law Collective in 2019. Since arriving in Cornwall, David has kept up to date with the legal landscape through work with Linguistico, as well as assisting numerous small businesses around the Duchy on an ad hoc basis. This legal advice work was formalised under The Law Collective name.
You won’t find David around Cornwall wearing a sharp pinstripe, polished shoes and a Hermes tie. Instead, you’ll most likely find him at the beach with the family or surfboard, hitting some tennis balls or eating pizza.
Meet Meg
Having grown up in St Agnes, Cornwall, Meg qualified as a solicitor at Langleys in York (now Knights plc) in 2019. Prior to this, Meg trained for two years in family and private client law and insurance litigation.
Meg’s legal background is in family matters. Post qualification, she handled all aspects of family law including cohabitation, matrimonial finance and arrangements for children, quickly specialising in children proceedings.
A major part of Meg’s work was in aiding clients to agree child arrangements both in and out of court, and to offer guidance through the initial stages of co-parenting.
Meg’s cases often included child arrangement orders, prohibited steps orders and specific issue orders, as well as non-molestation orders and associated injunctive proceedings.
During her time as a solicitor, Meg also dealt with more technical aspects of children proceedings, including co-current criminal proceedings, children with dual nationalities, substance-addicted parents and military families. She also handled Legal Aid matters, working with local authorities, children’s guardians and foster parents.
On a pro bono basis, Meg volunteered at a free legal advice clinic run in conjunction with the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Prior to becoming a solicitor, Meg worked in DNA testing and drug and alcohol testing, assisting both HM Passport Office with immigration cases and the Family Courts.
Meg uses her skills and experience working with individual clients to help people in Cornwall with a wide range of personal advice.
Meg is an accomplished singer and spends weekends gigging with well-known St Agnes band, Funk Soul Other.
We are not your standard legal advisers. We understand that, at the heart of every business or individual legal matter is a person.
We are people who get what you need and can provide quick, clear advice in a non-judgmental way.
If you would like some legal advice from an experienced non-practising solicitor, get in touch.