Business Legal Services
Commercial Law
Our commercial solicitors do things differently from others, and we’re sure you’ll find it better!
We’ve spent our careers helping business clients to achieve their goals, maximise opportunities, and navigate pitfalls and legal risks. As experts in drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements, you can rely on us to get the job done efficiently.
We demystify the law, providing you with clear and pragmatic advice, via timely communications, through our cost-effective price plans.
We do things differently
How our commercial solicitors can help
Each day, we help clients at all stages of growth, from start-ups and scale-ups to large established businesses.
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.
Explaining, so you can make informed decisions
You may need us to explain specific legal issues or points of law, and to advise you on their impact to your business or on what you are looking to achieve. We take complex legal points and make them easy to understand and digest.
Building strong commercial relationships
No matter what arrangements you are planning to enter into with customers, supplier and other parties, having the right terms or contract in place is key. They set out your and their rights and obligations, and control and allocate the risk between the parties.
Fixing terms so they're fit for purpose
You may not always be in a position to insist on using your own terms or contract. We can review and advise you on the terms or contracts that you are considering agreeing with customers, suppliers or other parties, and explain any issues and risks. We can also draft recommended amendments dealing with any concerns – either at the same time or as a follow-on exercise.
Crossing the finish line
Whether you’re using your own terms or contract, or having to use the other party’s, drafting or reviewing them is often just the starting point and they will then need to be negotiated. Our experience and expertise can support you through this, whether you want us ‘front and centre’ to lead the negotiations, working with you ‘behind the scenes’ – or anything in between. Tactics often comes into play here, and we can help you decide what approach is likely to be more successful.
We take you into account
Commercial legal advice your way
Unlike other law firms, we happily tailor our approach to meet our clients’ needs. In the same way that no two business are the same, neither is what they need from their lawyers. Whatever we are asked to do, we can adapt and deliver it in a way that works best for you.
We use our experience and expertise to assist you in the way that works best for you, and we’re always ready to adapt.
Getting creative
Some clients prefer traditionally-formatted agreements, whilst others are keenly aware that they add friction – either by making the agreement harder for them to complete and issue each time it is used or by making their customers feel that they need legal advice before signing. We can help reduce friction by structuring the agreement so that all of the key details that vary from one customer to another are clearly set out in a form on the first page, with the signature section beneath it. All of the terms that are required to work with those key details can then be tucked behind that – or even on your website, with just a link from the key details page.
It’s good to talk
Or email or Teams. Whatever you prefer, your communications with us can be by email, via Teams (with or without cameras on – we’re not shy, so it’s up to you) or a normal phone call. We may work remotely but we’re easy to reach and always happy for a check-in.
Have it your way
When giving our advice, we can adapt our style to what feels right for you. Prefer a formal report? No problem. Are tables your thing? Done. Do notes in the margin make it easier to relate the comment to the issue? Easy. Whatever you choose, we use our experience to make our advice digestible and easy to understand.
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 not just here to tick a box or provide a one size fits all ‘solution’.
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
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
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. There’s too many to list but to give you a feel for our approach and breadth of experience we have highlighted a few in detail across the following pages:
Best-in-class legal advice
Why choose our commercial solicitors?
Our team of commercial solicitors are a competitive bunch – we want to be the best at what we do; helping businesses to navigate challenges and grow. It’s this drive that has got us to where we are today – Harper James, a law firm designed to provide customer focused high-quality legal support to businesses who wouldn’t usually be able to access it.
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.
Let’s introduce you to our amazing team:
Pricing and service plans
Legal support designed
to fit your business needs
Our three transparent service plans are designed to give you the widest possible access to high-quality legal advice, whatever the size and nature of your business:
Engage
Flexible access to senior solicitors at highly competitive rates
An alternative to our subscription plans, offering access to full service legal expertise on a project-by-project basis.
Enable
Purpose built legal support for start-ups and smaller businesses
Monthly subscription plan for £219 per month, with £149 monthly credit and access to all legal services at 50% discount on our Standard Rates.
Extend
Comprehensive legal partnership for established businesses
Fully account managed and scalable annual subscription plan with support from a curated team of partners and senior solicitors, with up to 36% discount on our Standard Rates.
Examples of our work
News and insights
