Market-path research — 31 Aug 2026 11:55 Europe/London

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# Market-path research — 31 Aug 2026 11:55 Europe/London

Not a P move. No path named. No customer named.
Did not re-read Companies House company 16892858.
Did not repeat last recon hour: PECR / Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (10:55 Risk reduction).
Also did not repeat as primary: Innovate Finance (09:55 Companies in the space); Support Through Court (07:55 Competitor mapping); BVCA / UK Private Capital (06:55 Companies in the space); Advocate (05:55 Competitor mapping); Companies House April–June 2026 monthly Official Statistics (04:55 Market discovery); MentorsMe (03:55 Market scenarios); Equality Act 2010 (02:55 Risk reduction); UKBAA (01:55); AdviceUK (00:55); ScaleUp Institute (23:55); Law Centres Network (22:55); Be the Business (21:55); Enterprise Nation (20:55); LawWorks (19:55); ACAS (18:55); Citizens Advice (17:55); Growth Hub (16:55); Legal Choices (15:55); ICO data protection fee (28 Aug 21:55). Explicitly did not re-open Innovate Finance / Support Through Court / BVCA / Advocate / MentorsMe / CH monthly / Equality Act / UKBAA / AdviceUK / ScaleUp / Law Centres / Be the Business / Enterprise Nation / LawWorks / ACAS / Citizens Advice / Legal Choices / Growth Hub / BCC / IoD / FSB as primary. Distinct from 14:20 compile (e834b2f2, 0 candidates, blocker reach) and from 15:36 reach-story/stats (58cd58c1). 08:55 already skipped at 10:55 (no reply by 10:25) — this hour does not re-ask and does not re-log a second skip. 14:55 is later today — not stolen. Overnight for Night of 30–31 Aug already written; did not rewrite overnight. Did not unpark/install customer cut 63e813ea. Did not write kpis/p-evidence.md. Did not promote Ironclad, Harvey, Legora, SOC 2, or “startups and SMEs” as an accepted market/path. Did not install the 12:48 productised hour-menu as a path. Did not treat FRU clients, volunteers, employment-tribunal litigants, social-security appellants, or “people who cannot afford a lawyer” as a FYJ customer. STEP.org remains HTTP 403 and was not retried. National Pro Bono Centre / RCJ Advice / Tech Nation fallbacks not used — FRU primary cluster lives.

Area: Competitor mapping.
Verdict: stayed thin as a path.
P unchanged.

## Searched
Prefer Competitor mapping this hour — leftover fallback from 07:55 and 10:55: Free Representation Unit (FRU) / how the public is directed to free representation / tribunal help. Distinct from Advocate (barrister pro bono referral), Support Through Court (in-court support, not legal advice), LawWorks (solicitor clinics), Law Centres Network, Citizens Advice, AdviceUK, Legal Choices. Why this source now: destination $2.5–5bn; first-customer cut parked (63e813ea); live gate still cannot compile path candidates (e834b2f2 compile 0; blocker still REACH — how a first professional hour is found and sold). Last hour was PECR (risk-reduction constraint on selling by email). This hour opens a still-unused public reach channel (how people are directed to free representation) that can be read without inventing a buyer. Not a FYJ path. Not P.

- FRU apex: https://www.thefru.org.uk/ — HTTP 200.
- Alternate hosts: https://www.fru.org.uk/ — no usable response this hour (curl ERR / empty). https://thefru.org.uk/ — no usable response this hour (curl ERR / empty). Live host is www.thefru.org.uk.
- About FRU: https://www.thefru.org.uk/about-fru — HTTP 200. Printed: charity providing legal advice, case preparation and advocacy in employment, social security, and some criminal injury compensation tribunal cases; clients could not otherwise obtain legal support for want of personal means and public funding; trains volunteer law students and early-career legal professionals; cannot always guarantee representation; Management Committee of current representatives elected every October; office run by Chief Executive + Legal Officers / Assistant Legal Officers / Office Manager / Administrator / part-time Bookkeeper; reliant on funders.
- Can FRU help you: https://www.thefru.org.uk/can-fru-help-you — HTTP 200. Printed representation in: Employment tribunals (and Employment Appeal Tribunal); Benefit appeals in the first-tier tribunal (and Upper Tribunal); Criminal injury compensation cases in the first-tier tribunal (and Upper Tribunal). Assist only if: hearing date at a tribunal in London and the South East; case referred by a referral agency. Short employment cases: can take short employment cases directly in limited circumstances (Employment Self-Referrals). Signposts Citizens Advice / ACAS 0300 123 1100 / Community Legal Advice 0845 345 4345 (printed as on page; not re-verified as live help-lines this hour).
- Referral agencies: https://www.thefru.org.uk/referral-agencies — HTTP 200. Printed: vast majority of cases referred by front-line advice agencies who subscribe; small number of employment cases without referral. New referral-agency subscription: small annual fee £70; any number of cases; separate subscription per address; payment from the organisation (not reimbursed to individuals). Referral policy updates printed: Social Security cases accepted with 10 days to hearing (rather than normal 14); not accepting Employment cases lasting longer than three days; typed client signature accepted; hybrid contact by phone/email. Cannot help every client referred — more referrals than volunteers; no responsibility until a representative is found; Saturday hearings not currently represented.
- Volunteers hub: https://www.thefru.org.uk/volunteers — HTTP 200. Printed: represent in Social Security and Employment tribunals; take case a few weeks before hearing; prepare + advocacy; supervised by legal officers; Social Security ≈20 hours for straightforward cases; Employment includes unfair dismissal / unlawful deduction / wrongful dismissal; more experienced volunteers take discrimination / TUPE / EAT.
- Can I volunteer: https://www.thefru.org.uk/volunteers/are-you-eligible — HTTP 200. Minimum: Student/Young Lawyer who has completed LLB or GDL or is in final term and will have completed by start; Cilex students who completed level 6 diploma; Foreign Qualified Lawyer; or ≥6 months FTE practical tribunal experience if outside those academic lines. Must visit FRU office regularly; agree to abide by BSB Handbook as it applies to FRU. Reasonable adjustments offered.
- Route to ratification: https://www.thefru.org.uk/volunteers/the-route-to-ratification — HTTP 200 (existence recorded; full dump not copied).
- Employment advice / self-referral / list of agencies / social-security advice / donate / contact-us / news: https://www.thefru.org.uk/get-advice/employment-advice · /Employment-Self-Referral · /get-advice/list-of-agencies · /social-security-advice · /donate · /contact-us · /news — all HTTP 200.
- Named FRU 404s this hour: /about-us · /about · /get-help · /help · /clients · /apply · /volunteer (root) · /become-a-volunteer · /what-we-do · /employment · /social-security · /referring · /referrals · /self-referral · /self-referral-scheme · /need-help · /for-clients · /for-volunteers · /contact (root) · /privacy. /privacy-policy HTTP 403.
- Companies House: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11732557 — HTTP 200. FREE REPRESENTATION UNIT; company number 11732557; Active; Private Limited Company by guarantee without share capital use of 'Limited' exemption; incorporated 18 December 2018; registered office 3 Field Court, Gray's Inn, London, England WC1R 5EF; SIC 84230 Justice and judicial activities. Accounts: last made up to 31 December 2025; next due 30 September 2027. Confirmation statement: last dated 9 December 2024; next statement date 9 December 2025 shown overdue on the page this hour.
- Charity Commission: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/5134493 — HTTP 200. FREE REPRESENTATION UNIT; charity number 1183592; reporting up to date. Activities printed: trains volunteers to represent clients in legal hearings; aim to prevent poverty by enabling clients to obtain their legal rights; legal aid not available and clients cannot afford to pay; operate in Greater London, the home counties and the east midlands; volunteers aspiring or qualified lawyers giving time for free. Data for financial year ending 31 December 2025: total income £553,170 (donations and legacies £507.90k / charitable activities £45.19k / investments £81); total expenditure £541,198 (raising funds £22.61k / charitable activities £518.59k). People: 11 Employee(s); 11 Trustee(s); 350 Volunteer(s). One employee in £60k–£70k band. No trading subsidiaries. No trustee payments.
- Address lines unreconciled: Companies House prints 3 Field Court, Gray's Inn, WC1R 5EF; older annual-report / search summaries print 10/11 Gray's Inn Square, WC1R 5JD. Both recorded; not reconciled this hour.
- Historic entity note (from prior annual-report PDFs on site, not re-downloaded as primary this hour): unincorporated association charity 295952 transferred activities/assets/liabilities on 1 August 2022 into the incorporated company limited by guarantee (charity 1183592 / company 11732557). Current live entity is the incorporated charity/company.

Did not invent a FYJ buyer from FRU clients, volunteers, referral agencies, employment-tribunal litigants, social-security appellants, or “people who cannot afford a lawyer”. Soft-404 / named-404 pages are not live named-content facts. National Pro Bono Centre / RCJ Advice / Tech Nation were not switched to — FRU primary cluster lives.

## What stands
- Live FRU cluster on www.thefru.org.uk: homepage / about-fru / can-fru-help-you / referral-agencies / volunteers / volunteers/are-you-eligible / volunteers/the-route-to-ratification / get-advice/employment-advice / Employment-Self-Referral / get-advice/list-of-agencies / social-security-advice / donate / contact-us / news (HTTP 200). Alternate apexes www.fru.org.uk and thefru.org.uk not usable this hour. Named short paths HTTP 404; /privacy-policy HTTP 403.
- Company 11732557 Active (guarantee, incorporated 18 Dec 2018, SIC 84230). Charity 1183592 up to date. YE 31 Dec 2025 income £553,170 / expenditure £541,198; 11 staff / 11 trustees / 350 volunteers printed on Commission.
- Printed service: free representation (volunteer advocates supervised by legal officers) at employment tribunals / EAT, social-security first-tier / Upper Tribunal, and criminal-injury compensation first-tier / Upper Tribunal. Not a solicitor firm. Geography printed: London and the South East hearing dates on the help page; Greater London / home counties / east midlands on the Charity Commission activities line — both recorded. Referral-agency route (£70/year subscription) is the main public-to-FRU channel; short employment self-referral in limited circumstances; representation not guaranteed. Free at point of access for clients. Distinct from Advocate (barrister referral), Support Through Court (in-court support not legal advice), LawWorks (solicitor clinics), Law Centres Network, Citizens Advice, AdviceUK, Legal Choices.
- Competitor-mapping reach channel (how people are directed to free tribunal representation). Not a FYJ market path.

## What does not stand
- No page names a FYJ customer, market, offer, or P.
- FRU clients, volunteers, referral agencies, employment-tribunal litigants, and social-security appellants are FRU audiences, not a buyer.
- A free-representation / tribunal-help channel is not a FYJ market path.
- Naming “FYJ for people who cannot afford a lawyer” or “FYJ sits next to FRU” is inventing a customer — banned. Collision with founder-context.md: do not mint “startups and SMEs” as who; do not put Ironclad/Harvey on the map; productised-menu is a model not a path.
- Do not invent a census of referral agencies or volunteer headcounts beyond the Commission’s printed 350. Do not treat named-404 paths as live. Do not stitch PECR (10:55) into this hour as if it were re-read.
- Support Through Court (07:55), Advocate (05:55), AdviceUK (00:55), Law Centres (22:55), LawWorks (19:55), Citizens Advice (17:55), Legal Choices (15:55) remain prior Competitor mapping. This hour does not re-file those pages.
- Who / why / how / next all missing. No candidate this hour has even a partial who / why / how. End-to-end stays missing. Productised-menu context from 12:48 does not fill those blanks. Compile stays 0 (e834b2f2); reach blocker not closed by filing the free-representation channel. Stayed thin as a path.

## End-to-end test
- Who it is for: missing.
- Why they would pay: missing.
- How FYJ reaches them: missing (a public free-representation channel is not how FYJ reaches a named buyer).
- What sits next: missing.
No real public fact this hour filled any of the four. Do not invent the rest. The FRU live pages fill a Competitor mapping cell (how the public is directed to free tribunal representation). They do not fill a path cell. They do not install the productised-menu bucket. They do not pad compile candidates.

## Value-forming
The Competitor mapping line got another free-help reach channel next to Support Through Court / Advocate / AdviceUK / Law Centres / LawWorks / Citizens Advice / Legal Choices. Value has not started to form as a FYJ path. A free-representation unit, a £70 referral-agency subscription, and a volunteer-advocate route are not a path. Adjacent Competitor mapping filings still leave who / why / how / next empty. Verdict stayed thin.

## Result
No path named yet. Competitor mapping stayed thin as a path. P unchanged.

## Confirmation
Contract UUID 26e4abb6-3b66-4a66-a4f7-d4c065ad9233 is live. Hold = no invention, not no recon. Standing work is recon until end-to-end paths emerge and value-forming is visible. No path named. P unchanged. Customer cut parked.