How an engagement runs
Intake, scope, roles, cadence, and confidentiality. The practical shape of working with this desk.
An engagement at Domantria is a written arrangement between the client and the company, with a defined scope, a named lead at the desk, a fee basis, and a clear endpoint. We do not take work on ambiguous terms, and we do not extend a scope by drift. The formality exists because domain negotiations are slow and the parties change their minds; a written scope is what keeps the file coherent across months.
Intake
The first conversation is short and specific. What does the client want to happen? Which name or names? Buy, sell, hold, or appraise? What is the deadline, if any? Who else is involved and who signs? That is enough for us to say whether the matter is one we handle and to give a preliminary view. If it is not a fit, we say so in that conversation and explain why, which is faster and kinder than a slow no.
If it is a fit, we prepare a short written scope. It states the objective, the work included, the work excluded, the fee basis, the reporting cadence, the estimated duration, and the confidentiality terms. The client signs, we open the file, and the clock starts.
Roles on a file
| Role | Who | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Client | The retaining party | Sets the brief, approves terms, funds on schedule |
| Lead at the desk | Domantria | Runs research, outreach, negotiation, and reporting |
| Transfer desk | Domantria | Coordinates registrar steps and confirms change of control |
| Escrow provider | Independent third party | Holds funds and controls release per instructions |
| Counterparty | Buyer or seller | Agrees terms and performs their side of the sequence |
One person at our desk owns a file from start to close. Clients are not handed between teams, and they are not asked to repeat their brief. Where a matter needs a second reader, an appraisal or a settlement question, a second colleague reviews it, but the lead remains the point of contact.
Cadence and reporting
Every active file gets a written status note at a fixed interval, weekly for active negotiations and fortnightly when a file is waiting on the other side. Notes are short: what happened, what we did, what happens next, and what we need from the client. Where a file goes quiet because a counterparty has stopped replying, the note says exactly that rather than implying progress.
We report in writing because verbal updates evaporate. Clients who are comparing options, briefing counsel, or reporting internally need a record, and they should not have to reconstruct one from memory.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality runs both ways and is stated in writing. We do not disclose a client's identity or intentions to any counterparty or third party except where the client authorises it, where disclosure is necessary to complete a step the client has instructed, or where we are required to disclose by law. Where a matter requires a public step, such as a registrar transfer that names the parties, we tell the client in advance what will become visible and what will not.
We also expect the client to keep our correspondence confidential within their own organisation, on a need-to-know basis. A team that discusses a negotiation widely tends to leak it into the market, and the market prices what it learns.
Ending an engagement
An engagement ends when the objective is met, when the client instructs us to stop, or when the scope period expires without a result. On a completed transaction, the file closes after settlement is confirmed and the handover record is delivered. On a stopped file, we deliver the work performed to that point, confirm the position in writing, and close. Fees for work performed are due under the terms, and nothing is released or transferred until account status is clear.
If a client wants to pause rather than end, we will say whether the pause is realistic. Negotiations do not wait indefinitely, and a file that pauses for six months usually needs to start again rather than resume.