Legal opinions · 03
Second opinion and opinion review
An independent review of an opinion already obtained: whether the question was framed correctly, whether the assumptions hold, whether the authority cited says what it is said to say, and what a…
An independent review of an opinion already obtained: whether the question was framed correctly, whether the assumptions hold, whether the authority cited says what it is said to say, and what a contrary argument would look like.
Boards that have an opinion and a doubt, and organisations facing an opponent’s opinion they need tested.
A second opinion that merely agrees is still worth its fee if it says why, and where the first one is vulnerable. An opinion is a prediction; treating it as a guarantee is how boards get surprised.
The law it sits under
The framework this work answers to.
A second opinion is not a rerun. It tests four things: whether the question was framed correctly, whether the assumptions hold on the documents, whether the authority cited says what it is said to say, and whether the conclusion is actually carried by the reasoning. In practice the failure is most often the first — an opinion that answers a narrower question than the one the organisation faces.
How the engagement runs
What you are committing to.
The existing opinion is reviewed against the underlying documents rather than against its own summary of them. Every authority is checked to source. The deliverable states plainly whether the opinion can be relied on, where it is vulnerable, and what would have to change for the conclusion to move — written so it can go to a board without embarrassing anyone.
Where the first opinion holds up, that is said in one page and the matter ends there. A second opinion that always disagrees with the first is a sales technique, not an opinion.
Related pages, tools and documents
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