What do I do now?

Half of your employees are on furlough, and you are hoping that there will be no issues about getting the furlough payments. You are worried about getting enough work to keep the other half gainfully employed. It looks as though the lockdown will continue for a while yet. There are rumours about the solvency of your biggest customer. You are beginning to think about retirement, so the prospect of extra loans isn’t enticing – particularly if the banks need security for the 20%. And, worst of all, you keep getting funny emails from people who are at home with time on their hands!

Isn’t it great to run your own business?

It’s hard to know who to speak to at times like this. If you explain your concerns to the bank, that loan might get switched off. If you speak to your accountants, do they have to put something in the accounts that cause credit problems down the road. And as for speaking to suppliers – well your customers would probably know by tomorrow.

However, unlike everyone in the last paragraph, lawyers owe an absolute duty of confidentiality to their clients – so that, not only does anything you tell us remain confidential, we cannot be forced to disclose things (except in limited, truly exceptional cases). So, your contact at WJM is a good person to ask, “could I have a quick word?”

One of the Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie team is likely to have seen similar problems in the past, and we can always pool our experience to try to find a solution for you. Asking for help isn’t a sign of failure: rather, it’s a mature acknowledgement that, often, we cannot resolve every problem on our own. And if you need to ask someone, asking someone who has taken the vow of omerta isn’t a bad start.

We are here to help. I know that everyone is saying that just now – but we mean it!