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A modern law firm
purpose built to support
entrepreneurial businesses
Our experienced partner-level solicitors provide expert legal advice and assistance to enable businesses to grow from start-up to scale-up and beyond.
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Business Life Cycle
Your legal support
from startup to scale-up and beyond
When you’ve got the big idea
You’re probably thinking about protecting your idea as you start to consider the structure and how to fund your business. You’re wondering who can help and how to approach them.
Common challenges
- Protecting and sharing an idea
- Handling and securing investment
- Structuring a business
- Recruiting key hires
- Business discussions and negotiations
Time is focused on getting started
You’re likely getting contracts and policies in place to ensure the company structure is built to grow. Recruitment, director duties and shareholder agreements need locking down.
Common challenges
- Director duties
- Reviewing agreements and contracts
- Taking on new premises
- Protecting business and employee interests
- Handling and securing investment
- Handling of data
Your team is getting on with it
Things are moving forwards and you’re wanting to ensure the fundamentals are in line with the way you see the business shaping. Small disputes and resolutions are likely cropping up.
Common challenges
- Employee disagreements
- Supplier, client or contractor disagreements
- Growing your team
- Dealing with data breaches
- Software licensing
When it’s all about scaling up
You’ve got targets in mind and an ambitious vision for the future of the business. You’re structuring for a certain scale, internationalisation and acquisitions or mergers.
Common challenges
- Rapidly growing your workforce
- Joining an international marketplace
- Acquiring a bolt-on to provide enhanced services
- Securing additional funding
- Launching an IPO
If you’re looking to exit
You’re exiting from your current situation which means you’re looking to sell shares, structure deals and ensure a smooth transition for both the company and your own next venture.
Common challenges
- Preparing to exit
- Selling to another business
- Management or employee takeover
- Boardroom and shareholder disputes
- Winding up, insolvency and business recovery
Our clients
Join over 4,400 successful businesses
who have partnered with us for their legal support
Harper James provides my small growing business with a scalable, reliable, team-oriented approach to legal advice. Whenever we face a problem, I know that Harper James are there to provide helpful and cost-effective advice, to scope out the options, make clear the costs and risks, and give me the information I need to make decisions.
Bryn Richards
CEO,
Aeristech
I was searching for affordable legal support, and the subscription service allowed me to access legal support when I didn’t think it would be possible. This way I didn’t have to rely on Google! And it’s really important that businesses get the right advice at the start, so they don’t fall short at a later date
Peter Morris
Founder and Director,
Lockabox
As soon as I contacted them, and explained the support I required, they were responsive, on the case and quickly got a grasp of what I required.
John Heard
Founder,
Wild Cycles
The on-demand service we get from Harper James allows us to combine their expertise with that of our own in-house counsel. It means we can get quick and trustworthy legal advice from specialists in every legal area, as and when we need it. There are no hidden extras and the service we have received has always demonstrated an awareness of our fast-moving commercial requirements.
Amelia Guilfoyle
Head of legal,
Zoopla
What I’ve been most impressed with is the way Rob and Ed have dug deep, independently, into our website and made sure every base is covered. They’ve looked under the surface of the website and highlighted areas where we need to ensure we have correct terms and policies in place. That’s first-class support.
Lameece Nagib
Head of Operations,
Hopin
Harper James has been the ideal law firm for Paragraf because of the flexibility that’s built into the on-demand subscription package. With HJ, I have all the legal expertise and answers I need at the end of an email. We have ambitious plans to fulfil, pushing our product lines overseas and bringing graphene electronics to the masses. There’s no better partner to help us get there than Harper James.
Cathy Cranton
Financial Director,
Paragraf
Harper James provides my small growing business with a scalable, reliable, team-oriented approach to legal advice. Whenever we face a problem, I know that Harper James are there to provide helpful and cost-effective advice, to scope out the options, make clear the costs and risks, and give me the information I need to make decisions.
Bryn Richards
CEO,
Aeristech
I was searching for affordable legal support, and the subscription service allowed me to access legal support when I didn’t think it would be possible. This way I didn’t have to rely on Google! And it’s really important that businesses get the right advice at the start, so they don’t fall short at a later date
Peter Morris
Founder and Director,
Lockabox
As soon as I contacted them, and explained the support I required, they were responsive, on the case and quickly got a grasp of what I required.
John Heard
Founder,
Wild Cycles
The on-demand service we get from Harper James allows us to combine their expertise with that of our own in-house counsel. It means we can get quick and trustworthy legal advice from specialists in every legal area, as and when we need it. There are no hidden extras and the service we have received has always demonstrated an awareness of our fast-moving commercial requirements.
Amelia Guilfoyle
Head of legal,
Zoopla
What I’ve been most impressed with is the way Rob and Ed have dug deep, independently, into our website and made sure every base is covered. They’ve looked under the surface of the website and highlighted areas where we need to ensure we have correct terms and policies in place. That’s first-class support.
Lameece Nagib
Head of Operations,
Hopin
Harper James has been the ideal law firm for Paragraf because of the flexibility that’s built into the on-demand subscription package. With HJ, I have all the legal expertise and answers I need at the end of an email. We have ambitious plans to fulfil, pushing our product lines overseas and bringing graphene electronics to the masses. There’s no better partner to help us get there than Harper James.
Cathy Cranton
Financial Director,
Paragraf
Our clients rate us as excellent.
We scored 9.1/10, based on 200 reviews.
Our offer
Legal support designed
to fit your business needs
Our popular Enterprise plan provides legal support via a subscription, allowing you to spread the cost of advice and access rates as low as £145 per hour.
City
Straightforward access to senior solicitors at a competitive rate.
An affordable solution for businesses needing one-off legal support. Receive ‘City’ partner-level expertise at a fraction of ‘City’ prices.
Enterprise
Get legal peace of mind for £215 per month with additional support from £145 per hour.
A monthly subscription legal support package specifically designed for start-ups and smaller businesses.
On-Demand
Providing you with priority access to a dedicated panel of highly experienced solicitors.
Fully account managed quarterly subscription service for businesses with more complex legal needs.
News
Discover the Harper James community
Join us in celebrating the successes of our clients and discover what we’re doing to champion growing businesses across the UK. In our latest updates you will find company and client news, insights from our solicitors, interviews with our clients and more.
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Thoughts and opinions
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Knowledge Hub
for Growth
Discover step by step guides, answers to frequently asked questions, downloadable templates, and insightful webinars. There are over 450 articles in our growth hub with more being added each week.
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