Lean team looking to take sting out of legal fees

A trio of experienced oil and gas lawyers have vowed to take the sting out of legal fees with their lean and nimble energy-focused practice in Aberdeen.

Lex Energy’s co-founders are Phil Argo, Elaine Benton and Calum Crighton, who have served a multitude of oil and gas firms over the years. Mr Argo said having a small team would help Lex, based in Rubislaw Terrace, keep a lid on overheads and offer services at a fraction of the cost of larger practices.

The Aberdeen University graduate, who has worked for the likes of Talisman Energy and Expro, said Lex would operate as an extension of larger clients’ existing in-house legal teams. They also aim to support smaller firms who don’t have the luxury of an in-house legal department and are daunted by fees.

Mr Argo said firms further down the supply chain often “don’t know when they need support” and only reach out for help after “something has gone wrong”. He added: “They are afraid to go to law firms as they are worried about costs.”

Mr Argo said that while larger, established law firms were “great in many respects”, they were often quite remote from clients and offered advice that was academic, not practical. He added: “We speak the language our clients speak.”

Ms Benton, also an Aberdeen University graduate, worked for Technip and ConocoPhillips, while Mr Crighton, a Robert Gordon University graduate, has worked for Premier Oil and Fairfield Energy.

Lex Energy has set up an energy-focused practice