Legal counsel across six disciplines.

We advise on the formation and structuring of companies, shareholder and joint venture arrangements, changes to share capital, board governance and the acquisition or sale of businesses and assets. Alongside the corporate work we draft and negotiate the commercial agreements that keep a business trading: supply, distribution, agency, services and licensing arrangements. Our aim is documentation that reflects the commercial deal, anticipates the points of friction and remains workable for years after signature.

When a disagreement cannot be settled informally, we act for claimants and defendants in negotiation, mediation, litigation and arbitration. We assess the merits early and candidly, set out the likely costs and timetable, and pursue the route most likely to achieve your objective. Many disputes are best resolved before proceedings begin; where they are not, we prepare thoroughly and advocate firmly.

We act for individuals and families on matters that are personal by nature: property ownership and transactions, succession planning, personal agreements, family business arrangements and disputes between relatives or co-owners. These instructions call for discretion and patience as much as legal knowledge, and we give them the same senior attention as any corporate mandate.

A contract is a set of instructions for the future. We draft, review and negotiate agreements of every kind, from a single services contract to a suite of transaction documents, with a focus on clarity, enforceability and balance. Where you are presented with the other side's terms, we identify the clauses that matter, explain them in plain language and negotiate the changes that protect your position without losing the deal.

Unpaid invoices and broken payment promises damage cash flow and relationships. We recover commercial debts in a measured sequence: a careful review of the paperwork, a formal letter of demand, negotiated settlement where sensible, and legal proceedings and enforcement where necessary. We keep you informed of the realistic prospects of recovery at each stage, so that good money is not spent chasing bad.

Brands, designs, creative works and confidential know-how are often among a business's most valuable assets. We advise on securing these rights, on licensing and assignment agreements that allow others to use them on your terms, and on responding to infringement. We also review the intellectual property position in transactions, so that the rights you are paying for are the rights you receive.