Business Legal Services

Trade Finance

Service overview: Trade finance lawyers

  • Trade finance concerns the supply of financial instruments to facilitate international trade and commerce. It helps importers and exporters to transact business through trade.
  • Trade finance can help reduce the risks from global trade by reconciling the needs of an exporter and importer.
  • It provides an exporter with payment according to an agreement while the importer might be extended credit to fulfil the order.
  • As a trade finance law firm, we advise on all aspects of trade finance, including documentary and standby letters of credit, export and pre-export facilities, guarantee issuance facilities, carriage of goods’ contracts and shipping terms, receivables’ financing, factoring and discounting arrangements.
  • Key issues with trade finance include currency fluctuations, political instability, non-payment and creditworthiness.

Get in touch


What we do: Trade finance legal advice

We provide advice to banks, financial institutions, traders, brokers, ship owners, insurers, producers and industrial end-users on all aspects of the financing of trade. Depending on your needs, we can advise on bilateral transactions, taking participations, syndicated financings and arrangements to transfer credit risk.

Our lawyers can assist you with your requirements and walk you through these processes to guarantee a smooth transaction. Some of the typical documents, agreements and services we would help your business with include:

  • lending lines of credit
  • standby letters of credit
  • export and pre-export facilities
  • carriage of goods’ contracts
  • factoring and discounting arrangements
  • export credit or working capital
  • shipping terms

Our trade finance solicitors will also work closely with our corporate, asset finance and tax teams to cover all aspects of your deal, so legal work is seamlessly undertaken throughout your entire transaction.

Who we help

We regularly give expert legal advice on trade finance throughout all stages of a transaction to a wide range of clients, including:

  • banks
  • traders
  • brokers
  • ship owners
  • insurers

This expert advice includes our considerable experience in advising on credit and facility documents, preparation and negotiation of inter-creditor deeds and the structuring of deals.


Testimonials

What our clients say

The team provide great support throughout the funding process, providing straightforward and clear guidance on the issues to be addressed at each stage. The team was always at hand to make sure that that we understood what needed to be done to reach a successful outcome.
Chris Evans CEO, Kobus Services
The team at Harper James have demonstrated time and again that they have a deep understanding of the issues facing entrepreneurial businesses and their funding.
Charles Smith Director, Interpac Limited
Harper James swiftly solves problems with a minimum of fuss. I strongly recommend them and they are a pleasure to work with.
Jean de Fougerolles CEO, Ascension Ventures
The team provide great support throughout the funding process, providing straightforward and clear guidance on the issues to be addressed at each stage. The team was always at hand to make sure that that we understood what needed to be done to reach a successful outcome.
Chris Evans CEO, Kobus Services
The team at Harper James have demonstrated time and again that they have a deep understanding of the issues facing entrepreneurial businesses and their funding.
Charles Smith Director, Interpac Limited
Harper James swiftly solves problems with a minimum of fuss. I strongly recommend them and they are a pleasure to work with.
Jean de Fougerolles CEO, Ascension Ventures

Why choose our finance and investment solicitors?

Our finance solicitors have all been recruited from top 100 UK law firms or from large international businesses. They each have more than 10 years post-qualifying experience. Find out more about our trade finance solicitors here:


Pricing plans

Legal support designed
to fit your business needs

Our three transparent pricing packages are designed to give you the widest possible access to high-quality legal advice, whatever the size and nature of your business:

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.

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.



What next?

Please leave us your details and we’ll contact you to discuss your situation and legal requirements. There’s no charge for your initial consultation, and no-obligation to instruct us. We aim to respond to all messages received within 24 hours.

Your data will only be used by Harper James Solicitors. We will never sell your data and promise to keep it secure. You can find further information in our Privacy Policy.

Our offices

A national law firm

A national law firm

Our commercial lawyers are based in or close to major cities across the UK, providing expert legal advice to clients both locally and nationally.

We mainly work remotely, so we can work with you wherever you are. But we can arrange face-to-face meeting at our offices or a location of your choosing.

Head Office

Floor 5, Cavendish House, 39-41 Waterloo Street, Birmingham, B2 5PP
Regional Spaces

Stirling House, Cambridge Innovation Park, Denny End Road, Waterbeach, Cambridge, CB25 9QE
13th Floor, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester, M1 4BT
10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Harwell Innovation Centre, 173 Curie Avenue, Harwell, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QG
1st Floor, Dearing House, 1 Young St, Sheffield, S1 4UP
White Building Studios, 1-4 Cumberland Place, Southampton, SO15 2NP
A national law firm

To access legal support from just £145 per hour arrange your no-obligation initial consultation to discuss your business requirements.

Make an enquiry