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.
David’s legal background is in litigation, arbitration and mediation, primarily working with insurers. His varied experience includes the following:
2003: Qualified as a solicitor in the UK, 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). Experienced work in the employment law, dispute resolution, banking, property and insurance practice areas.
2004: Commenced work 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. Promoted to Senior Associate in 2007. Received outstanding training and worked with incredible colleagues, many of whom now work at the highest levels of education, law, government, human rights, finance and business.
2007: Worked 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 insurance, or any, business ethically and with client at front of mind.
2008: Provided legal consultancy services to an international insurance broker. Working closely with the General Counsel on a bespoke insurance investigation, this was a great opportunity to hone legal consultancy and advisory skills in a commercial environment.
2008: Established Linguistico in Australia 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 and Fortune 500 companies. Today, the business still counts many of the clients who started with us in 2008.
2010: Returned to Cornwall, UK and set up a number of businesses including The Law Collective in 2019. Since arriving in Cornwall, legal experience and knowledge has been kept up-to-date through work with Linguistico, as well as assisting numerous small businesses around the Duchy on an ad hoc basis. This legal advice work has now been 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.
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Having grown up in St Agnes, Cornwall, Meg qualified as a solicitor at Langleys in York (now Knights plc) in 2019.
Specialising in private children matters, she helped clients to agree child arrangements both in and out of court proceedings, and guided clients through the initial stages of co-parenting.
Cases included child arrangement orders, prohibited steps orders and specific issue orders.
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, as well as Legal Aid applications.
Meg assisted with matrimonial finance matters, dealing predominantly with needs-based cases and those involving children, as well as more complex matters such as applications to vary financial orders.
On a pro bono basis, Meg volunteered at Yorlaw, a free legal advice clinic run in conjunction with the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Meg uses these skills and her private client experience to help people in Cornwall with:
- Personal disputes
- Family issues, including early-stage mediation to avoid the costs of divorce proceedings
- Powers of Attorney
- Reviewing and organising financial affairs
- Personal insurance
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 are people who understand 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.