Business Legal Services
Commercial Law
Experienced commercial solicitors for the contracts and negotiations that keep your business moving
Whether you are tightening customer and supplier terms, negotiating a major deal, entering a new market, or reducing risk, we help you understand the legal position, put workable terms in place, resolve sticking points, and protect your commercial interests as you grow.
Finding the right legal partner
Why work with Harper James
Choose a legal partner you can trust: we’ll help protect your goals, your business and your people so you can move forward with confidence and focus on growing your business.
Affordable, transparent and predictable pricing
Clear itemised invoices, subscription plans with up to 50% discount, and fixed fee products help you plan and manage legal spend – with no nasty surprises.
Proven track record and measurable results
We’ve supported over 7,000 businesses since 2014, with an ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot and a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 60+ from monthly client surveys.
Straight-talking, responsive advice
That means fast response times, practical expert legal advice delivered in plain English, and dedicated client service and account management support.
Risk and compliance assured
We’re an SRA regulated firm, but more importantly, we build quality, data, and compliance best practice into everything we do.
contracts, negotiations, and commercial risk
How our commercial solicitors help
Your commercial contracts should make growth easier, not create drag. We help you understand the issues, improve the terms with your input, and move negotiations forward with practical advice that fits the way your business works.
When you need to put stronger customer contracts in place as the business grows, so your terms support revenue, cashflow, and a workable risk position.
When you need to review supplier, outsourcing, or manufacturing arrangements, so service levels, pricing, liability, and exit rights are clear before problems arise.
When you need to negotiate a larger customer’s paper, so you can keep deal momentum without accepting obligations your business cannot realistically carry.
When you need to structure distribution, agency, reseller, or other routes to market, so your commercial arrangements are clear, scalable, and fit for the sector you operate in.
When you need to tighten up terms and contract governance across the business, so teams use the right documents consistently and exposure is easier to manage.
When you need commercial contracts reviewed as part of funding, expansion, M&A, or an exit, so legal issues are identified early and do not derail the wider deal.
Our usual process is:
- Share a summary of what you are dealing with, what you are trying to achieve, and any key documents or deadlines.
- We review the position, explain the main legal and commercial issues clearly, and identify where terms, risks, or negotiation points need attention.
- We support the work in the way that works best for you – whether that means leading from the front, backing up your internal team, or helping behind the scenes – while keeping communication clear and focused on the points that matter most.
If your situation is different, more complex, or spans multiple legal areas, tell us what you are trying to achieve. We’ll help define the right approach, keep the legal work aligned to your commercial goals, and bring in the right specialists where needed.
Experts in commercial contracts
Helping your business to run and make money
Our commercial solicitors can advise on all the contracts and agreements needed to manage your business relationships. Depending on the contract, sector, and stage your business is at, you may also need support in one of these linked areas:
Best-in-class legal advice
Why choose our commercial solicitors?
Our lawyers have considerable expertise and wide-ranging experience, which are the foundation of everything we do. But providing best-in-class legal services is about more than this – it requires a deep understanding of the sectors you operate in and, most importantly, that we get to know you and your business. That’s part and parcel of how we work and what you can expect when working with us.
For many of us, the journey here not only includes working for some of the most highly regarded law firms in the UK, but also working in businesses, usually as legal counsel but sometimes as senior leaders. This means we know how to balance legal risk, commercial relationships, and momentum.
Let’s introduce you to our amazing team:
Contracts, negotiations, and commercial risk
How our commercial solicitors can help
Commercial arrangements can look straightforward on paper, but the detail often affects risk, leverage, and future flexibility. These are some of the questions businesses often ask.
Do we always need bespoke contracts, or can templates be enough?
Not every arrangement needs a fully bespoke contract. For lower-risk or repeat matters, a well-drafted template may be enough. But where value, risk, regulation, intellectual property, or bargaining power is higher, it is often worth reviewing whether the wording is really fit for your situation.
What should we focus on when reviewing a commercial contract?
That will depend on the deal, but common pressure points include scope, pricing, service levels, liability, indemnities, intellectual property, confidentiality, data protection, termination rights, and dispute clauses. The key is not just spotting the legal wording, but understanding what it means for delivery, risk, and leverage if something goes wrong.
What if the other side insists on using its own terms?
That is common, especially where you are dealing with a larger customer, supplier, or platform provider. The important point is to understand where those terms create imbalance, which points are worth negotiating, and where there may be practical ways to reduce risk even if the wording cannot be changed in full.
How do international or cross-border contracts change the legal risk?
Cross-border arrangements can raise extra issues around governing law, jurisdiction, local regulation, tax, data transfers, and enforcement. Terms that are workable for a UK-only arrangement may not be enough once more than one country is involved, so early review is often useful.
Testimonials
What our clients say
We make it possible for businesses to focus on doing rather than be bogged down in the legals. Our clients have peace of mind knowing that we’re just an email, phone, or Teams call away.
Working with Sarah Gunton has become a vital and very important addition to our commercial activities at Celerity. Her efforts, skills and communication are excellent, along with her drive and flexibility in a constant fast moving commercial world.
Mark Chadwick
Commercial Executive,
Celerity Limited
How engaged, knowledgeable and personal HJ lawyers are. They offer pragmatic and practical advise with a quick turnaround.
Barbara Opala
General Counsel,
Norton Motorcycle Co.
We rely on Harper James to provide us with support across a full range of service areas, from commercial contracts and employment issues to fundraisings and investments. The team at Harper James are always available to provide us with cost effective, pragmatic and commercially focused advice.
Nick Holzherr
CEO,
Whisk.com
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
Harper James has been the ideal law firm for Paragraf because of the flexibility that’s built into the extend 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
Having very senior solicitors on calls, who are acting for Celerity akin to in-house resource, allows us to punch above our weight legally and provides great credibility throughout the contracting process.
Craig Aston
COO,
Celerity Limited
Being able to lean on the team at Harper James as backup or a sounding board is great. They understand the need for commerciality and help provide another perspective – which again keeps us moving forward.
Ella Russell
Legal Counsel and Climbing Coach,
Lattice Training
Kevin was great at understanding what my needs were and responded in a timely manner every time. It was great to talk to someone who understood our situation and made the transaction seamless between the old and new contracts
Simon Cox
Director,
Rothley Ltd
The Enable plan is such a great fit for an organisation like ours. It gives us the benefit of tapping into different experts when we need them, helping our business grow.
Nick Clapham
Managing Director,
VirtueUK
Julia Ellis reacted very quickly to our urgent request despite having a busy schedule already. Within 1-2 weeks we had a bespoke agreement to send to our client which has helped us to secure a great deal for the business. We’re happy with the subscription plan we have access to at Harper James and look forward to continuing to work with you.
Charlie Whyman
Managing Director,
Coopatex
Julia has been excellent, helpful, and responsive. Her project turnaround time has been truly remarkable and is greatly appreciated.
Linus Alpsten
Linus Alpsten Founder,
Auracle
I've had a great experience working with Julia Ellis. She made a proactive effort to understand our business, commercial context, and my own needs.
She was very responsive and fast in her work, and just super lovely to work with!
Ryan Walton
CEO ,
Aura Ads
Commercial Partner, Rob Cobley, helped us do the necessary due diligence and guided us on which online age verification solution offered us the best legal protection. We needed to eliminate any reputational risk and wanted a ‘gold-standard’ solution that set us apart from any competitors. Getting it right with all the 'belts and braces' gave us comfort because there are several different providers who achieve age verification in different ways. Navigating and implementing the solution was made possible with Rob’s help.
Raj Batra
Founder,
Diistil
The work on the influencer contract by Julia Ellis was fantastic. Her expertise and meticulous approach made the process smooth and efficient. Her dedication and hard work were greatly appreciated.
Abi Nightingale
Head of Product Marketing,
Widgit Software Limited
I was referred to Harper James and told that they were the law firm for entrepreneurs. As a start-up, the Enable Plan works very well for us. It allows us to quickly access the legal services we need without spending a fortune.
Judith McMinn
CEO,
Rezon
We have been working with Sarah Gunton for seven years and we honestly don’t think we would be where we are as a business without her guidance.
Samuel Jones
Co-founder, CEO, Software Development Consultant,
Codevate
Harper James has been instrumental in our growth and success. Their expert guidance has transformed the way we operate, enabling us to implement best practices across various areas of our business. Thanks to their support, we now operate with a level of maturity and sophistication that sets us apart from other organisations of our size.
Nick Clapham
Managing Director,
VirtueUK
Mairead worked hard re-drafting an Licence Agreement for us and we really appreciated all her help and patience with us.
Megan Leanne Howard
Founder,
The One With The Diamond Art
Absolutely fantastic provider for an SME like us. We’re a small team of ~30 people, so we don’t quite have the budget for a full time in-house counsel, but we also have lots of legal things we need help with! We’ve had a really useful and insightful experience with Julia Ellis from the Commercial team so far - which is going to make a massive difference to our business. Thank you Harper James!
Chris Houghton
CEO,
Beacon CRM
The teams have been incredibly efficient. They're not only easy to communicate with, but also highly knowledgeable, and consistently able to meet even tight deadlines. What truly sets Harper James apart is the access we have to a comprehensive range of legal experts – spanning employment law, commercial law, and data protection – all within an affordable subscription model that offers greater flexibility. This allows us to implement processes and put appropriate measures in place, without the typical charging constraints of a traditional law firm.
Raj Batra
Founder,
Diistil
As always, the Harper James team is responsive and thorough. Always a joy to work with. In addition to your diverse and high-quality expertise, we appreciate the quality of the communication and management around dates and deliverables. It helps us manage expectations and plan accordingly. You seamlessly operate as a natural extension of our team.
Larisa Sheckler
Head of Global Operations,
Whisk at Foodient Ltd
I find Harper James to be responsive, with relevant experts to help us on the topics we are dealing with, enabling us to receive effective legal advice.
Simon Bloomfield
Head of imarket,
Polaris U.K. Limited
Getting in touch with a law firm with diverse expertise for a gap analysis is vital - there are often areas requiring legal input that you might not anticipate. The solicitors at Harper James have taken the time to understand our business model and create specific contracts that have helped us unlock partnerships with large groups
Dr Charles Carslake
Co-founder and CEO,
Vet Vision AI
Good fast and responsive support on all legal matters from immigration to commercial contracts.
Gerard Boyce
Director,
Hive Composites Limited
Sarah Gunton, through her professionalism, as become a trusted and highly valued member of our team. Her deep understanding of our business and attention to detail is exemplary.
Richard Campbell
Product Engagement Lead,
Agile Business Consortium Limited
Sarah was great, turned around the request within the promised timeline and gave considered feedback as part of the issues list we requested.
Kim Petzel
Head of Legal,
Char.gy Limited
Everyone we have dealt with at Harper James has been excellent with the flexibility, transparency and customer focus needed.
Adrian Reason
CEO,
Dynamicledger Solutions Limited
Fairly relaxed, which I value. Julia has been excellent.
Nicholas James Devlin
Director,
Fabric Building Physics Ltd
Support and service was excellent and timely responses were hugely appreciated.
Dan Davies
Independent Business Development Manager,
I - BDM Limited
Mairead assisted us with updating our standard documentation and provided an excellent and forensic set of Terms and Conditions.
Jon Gilbert
General Manager ,
Elliott Media
All went very smoothly and work was completed at a very high level - always returned within a couple of days. Was very clear about what changes were made and kept us updated at all points.
K-Jo O'Flynn
Cyber Security and Operations Manager,
Oxford Dynamics Limited
Responsive. Quality advice. Focused on the stated priorities, rather than getting distracted by lower-value matters.
Kevin Posen
Investor,
Noether Limited
I have worked with Harper James solicitors on a range of commercial and corporate finance assignments for our businesses over the last 10 years. We have benefitted from access to skilled lawyers with plenty of valuable experience who are well tuned in to how early-stage growing companies operate and what is important to businesses like ours.
Matthew Draper
Chief Financial Officer,
Oxford Space Systems
Our contacts at Harper James are consistently approachable, accommodating, and highly professional. Our lawyer, in particular, is exceptional; they ensure that no question ever feels trivial and provide clear, comprehensive advice without overwhelming us with legal jargon. Their ability to make complex matters understandable is invaluable.
Rebekah Gladstone
Finance Team Leader,
Jensonr+ Limited
Perfect balance of a wide range of SMEs but consistency of approach if we want to just go back to the same person again and again. Everyone we've dealt with has been knowledgeable, pragmatic and friendly. David Sant in particular has been incredible on our journey from start up to now.
Sally Merritt
CEO,
Evotra Ltd
Working with Sarah Gunton has become a vital and very important addition to our commercial activities at Celerity. Her efforts, skills and communication are excellent, along with her drive and flexibility in a constant fast moving commercial world.
Mark Chadwick
Commercial Executive,
Celerity Limited
How engaged, knowledgeable and personal HJ lawyers are. They offer pragmatic and practical advise with a quick turnaround.
Barbara Opala
General Counsel,
Norton Motorcycle Co.
We rely on Harper James to provide us with support across a full range of service areas, from commercial contracts and employment issues to fundraisings and investments. The team at Harper James are always available to provide us with cost effective, pragmatic and commercially focused advice.
Nick Holzherr
CEO,
Whisk.com
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
Harper James has been the ideal law firm for Paragraf because of the flexibility that’s built into the extend 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
Having very senior solicitors on calls, who are acting for Celerity akin to in-house resource, allows us to punch above our weight legally and provides great credibility throughout the contracting process.
Craig Aston
COO,
Celerity Limited
Being able to lean on the team at Harper James as backup or a sounding board is great. They understand the need for commerciality and help provide another perspective – which again keeps us moving forward.
Ella Russell
Legal Counsel and Climbing Coach,
Lattice Training
Kevin was great at understanding what my needs were and responded in a timely manner every time. It was great to talk to someone who understood our situation and made the transaction seamless between the old and new contracts
Simon Cox
Director,
Rothley Ltd
The Enable plan is such a great fit for an organisation like ours. It gives us the benefit of tapping into different experts when we need them, helping our business grow.
Nick Clapham
Managing Director,
VirtueUK
Julia Ellis reacted very quickly to our urgent request despite having a busy schedule already. Within 1-2 weeks we had a bespoke agreement to send to our client which has helped us to secure a great deal for the business. We’re happy with the subscription plan we have access to at Harper James and look forward to continuing to work with you.
Charlie Whyman
Managing Director,
Coopatex
Julia has been excellent, helpful, and responsive. Her project turnaround time has been truly remarkable and is greatly appreciated.
Linus Alpsten
Linus Alpsten Founder,
Auracle
I've had a great experience working with Julia Ellis. She made a proactive effort to understand our business, commercial context, and my own needs.
She was very responsive and fast in her work, and just super lovely to work with!
Ryan Walton
CEO ,
Aura Ads
Commercial Partner, Rob Cobley, helped us do the necessary due diligence and guided us on which online age verification solution offered us the best legal protection. We needed to eliminate any reputational risk and wanted a ‘gold-standard’ solution that set us apart from any competitors. Getting it right with all the 'belts and braces' gave us comfort because there are several different providers who achieve age verification in different ways. Navigating and implementing the solution was made possible with Rob’s help.
Raj Batra
Founder,
Diistil
The work on the influencer contract by Julia Ellis was fantastic. Her expertise and meticulous approach made the process smooth and efficient. Her dedication and hard work were greatly appreciated.
Abi Nightingale
Head of Product Marketing,
Widgit Software Limited
I was referred to Harper James and told that they were the law firm for entrepreneurs. As a start-up, the Enable Plan works very well for us. It allows us to quickly access the legal services we need without spending a fortune.
Judith McMinn
CEO,
Rezon
We have been working with Sarah Gunton for seven years and we honestly don’t think we would be where we are as a business without her guidance.
Samuel Jones
Co-founder, CEO, Software Development Consultant,
Codevate
Harper James has been instrumental in our growth and success. Their expert guidance has transformed the way we operate, enabling us to implement best practices across various areas of our business. Thanks to their support, we now operate with a level of maturity and sophistication that sets us apart from other organisations of our size.
Nick Clapham
Managing Director,
VirtueUK
Mairead worked hard re-drafting an Licence Agreement for us and we really appreciated all her help and patience with us.
Megan Leanne Howard
Founder,
The One With The Diamond Art
Absolutely fantastic provider for an SME like us. We’re a small team of ~30 people, so we don’t quite have the budget for a full time in-house counsel, but we also have lots of legal things we need help with! We’ve had a really useful and insightful experience with Julia Ellis from the Commercial team so far - which is going to make a massive difference to our business. Thank you Harper James!
Chris Houghton
CEO,
Beacon CRM
The teams have been incredibly efficient. They're not only easy to communicate with, but also highly knowledgeable, and consistently able to meet even tight deadlines. What truly sets Harper James apart is the access we have to a comprehensive range of legal experts – spanning employment law, commercial law, and data protection – all within an affordable subscription model that offers greater flexibility. This allows us to implement processes and put appropriate measures in place, without the typical charging constraints of a traditional law firm.
Raj Batra
Founder,
Diistil
As always, the Harper James team is responsive and thorough. Always a joy to work with. In addition to your diverse and high-quality expertise, we appreciate the quality of the communication and management around dates and deliverables. It helps us manage expectations and plan accordingly. You seamlessly operate as a natural extension of our team.
Larisa Sheckler
Head of Global Operations,
Whisk at Foodient Ltd
I find Harper James to be responsive, with relevant experts to help us on the topics we are dealing with, enabling us to receive effective legal advice.
Simon Bloomfield
Head of imarket,
Polaris U.K. Limited
Getting in touch with a law firm with diverse expertise for a gap analysis is vital - there are often areas requiring legal input that you might not anticipate. The solicitors at Harper James have taken the time to understand our business model and create specific contracts that have helped us unlock partnerships with large groups
Dr Charles Carslake
Co-founder and CEO,
Vet Vision AI
Good fast and responsive support on all legal matters from immigration to commercial contracts.
Gerard Boyce
Director,
Hive Composites Limited
Sarah Gunton, through her professionalism, as become a trusted and highly valued member of our team. Her deep understanding of our business and attention to detail is exemplary.
Richard Campbell
Product Engagement Lead,
Agile Business Consortium Limited
Sarah was great, turned around the request within the promised timeline and gave considered feedback as part of the issues list we requested.
Kim Petzel
Head of Legal,
Char.gy Limited
Everyone we have dealt with at Harper James has been excellent with the flexibility, transparency and customer focus needed.
Adrian Reason
CEO,
Dynamicledger Solutions Limited
Fairly relaxed, which I value. Julia has been excellent.
Nicholas James Devlin
Director,
Fabric Building Physics Ltd
Support and service was excellent and timely responses were hugely appreciated.
Dan Davies
Independent Business Development Manager,
I - BDM Limited
Mairead assisted us with updating our standard documentation and provided an excellent and forensic set of Terms and Conditions.
Jon Gilbert
General Manager ,
Elliott Media
All went very smoothly and work was completed at a very high level - always returned within a couple of days. Was very clear about what changes were made and kept us updated at all points.
K-Jo O'Flynn
Cyber Security and Operations Manager,
Oxford Dynamics Limited
Responsive. Quality advice. Focused on the stated priorities, rather than getting distracted by lower-value matters.
Kevin Posen
Investor,
Noether Limited
I have worked with Harper James solicitors on a range of commercial and corporate finance assignments for our businesses over the last 10 years. We have benefitted from access to skilled lawyers with plenty of valuable experience who are well tuned in to how early-stage growing companies operate and what is important to businesses like ours.
Matthew Draper
Chief Financial Officer,
Oxford Space Systems
Our contacts at Harper James are consistently approachable, accommodating, and highly professional. Our lawyer, in particular, is exceptional; they ensure that no question ever feels trivial and provide clear, comprehensive advice without overwhelming us with legal jargon. Their ability to make complex matters understandable is invaluable.
Rebekah Gladstone
Finance Team Leader,
Jensonr+ Limited
Perfect balance of a wide range of SMEs but consistency of approach if we want to just go back to the same person again and again. Everyone we've dealt with has been knowledgeable, pragmatic and friendly. David Sant in particular has been incredible on our journey from start up to now.
Sally Merritt
CEO,
Evotra Ltd
