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Business Legal Services
Terms of Business
Create certainty and reduce litigation risk by tailoring your venture’s terms of business.
Putting in place considered, bespoke terms of business will not only reduce the risk of disputes and potential litigation but will also limit your liability, create certainty, and enhance your business’ reputation. Take advantage of these benefits by utilising our commercial contract specialists’ business acumen and technical knowledge.
Experts in commercial law
In addition to drafting, negotiating and reviewing terms of business, our team can assist you across all areas of commercial law, including:
Comprehensive, enforceable, bespoke terms of business
Our team of experienced commercial solicitors can support you with:
Advice on specific terms of business for your venture for your venture.
Amending or varying standardised terms of business for specific transactions or projects.
Compliance with any applicable generic or industry-specific legislation or regulations.
Dispute resolution in the event of disagreement with a third party.
Drafting standardised terms of business for use with third parties.
Enforceability of your terms of business.
Fairness of terms to reduce the risk of future disputes.
Harmonisation between terms of business and other commercial contracts, such as supply or distribution agreements.
Interpretation of terms of business for compliance purposes.
Negotiating specific amendments or variations required for particular transactions or projects.
Preventing substitution of third parties’ terms of business.
Reviewing terms of business provided by third parties and summarising key terms and obligations.
Suggesting relevant updates to your terms of business as your business evolves.
Ensure your terms of business work specifically for you
Having the correct terms of business in place is critical and investing in them at an early stage can save you time, money, and stress in the future. Standardising your terms of business and ensuring that they work for your specific venture creates certainty both for you and the third parties with who you are contracting. It also limits your liability, preserves cashflow and increases your business’ efficiency.
Businesses which recycle other organisations’ terms of business rather than creating their own, run the risk of entering into contracts which don’t adequately reflect their way of dealing, fail to provide proper protection or aren’t legally enforceable. Taking legal advice will eradicate these risks and result in terms of business which work for you and your venture.
Terms of business require careful consideration and may throw up unexpected questions or issues. Factors include:
- Product or service description
- Logistics and practicalities
- Boilerplate clauses
- Payment terms
- Termination events
- Liability limitations
- Guarantees, warranties and indemnities
- Intellectual property protections
- Confidentiality terms
- Assignment
- Implications of Brexit
What are the benefits of putting terms of business in place?
Protect your business
Future-proof your business from disputes and legal claims by including enforceable protections and limiting your liability in your terms of business.
Standardising your contracting terms
Ensure certainty across all your third-party contractual relationships by creating standard terms of business.
Increase business efficiencies
By having standard terms of business in place, your business can create streamlined and efficient processes which reflect those terms and minimises the risk of staff error.
Preserve cashflow
A clear payment process in your terms of business can assist with your cashflow. It will ensure that third parties do not take advantage of relaxed payment terms and reduce the risk of you having to expend cash, for example on materials, before payment.
Save time and money
Reduce management time and costs spent on collecting debts and dealing with future disputes by putting comprehensive written terms with third parties in place.
Build your reputation
Contracting on fair, reasonable, and professional terms of business will increase your reputation with third parties, a particularly important consideration for start-ups and new business relationships.
Clarity as to which terms of business apply
Uncertainty can arise as to which organisation’s terms of business apply and substitution by one party of their terms of business is possible. By understanding these risks and what you can do about them, your business is less likely to face unexpected liabilities and costs.
Ability to vary specific terms
On occasion, it may be beneficial to amend or vary specific terms for particular projects or in relation to certain third-party relationships. If done correctly, this can be a fairly simply process where standard terms of business are already in effect.
Who we help: Ambitious, high growth businesses
Harper James Solicitors is purpose-built to support ambitious businesses from start-up to scale up. As entrepreneurs ourselves, we understand that getting legal support is vital at each stage in your growth. But at the start when the purse strings are tight, it’s not always that easy. Our aim is to make is simple. By offering you a legal subscription plan, you can get the legal advice you need at a more affordable cost than traditional law firms and a continued relationship with our solicitors, so you have experts to hand as and when you need them.
Testimonials
What our clients say
The two contracts Harper James has been advising on were both major pieces of work worth tens of millions of pounds in potential business. The procurement process was therefore substantial, complicated and often onerous. Karen provided first-class support at all times. As a business, to move forward, we require a level of legal services which demonstrate an expert understanding, and Harper James delivers on that and more.
Keith Howes
MD,
Sysmex UK
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
We initially turned to Harper James for help in one part of our business but quickly realised we could benefit from their support in other areas too. The level of service has been impressive. What I like about Harper James is they seem to take a proactive approach to legal services provision. They’ve looked at our business and made suggestions as to areas where they can best focus their support and expertise. It is reassuring to have a legal services provider like that working alongside you.
Heidi Ayton
Chief of Compliance,
Croud
Harper James have been incredibly professional and responsive. They immediately understood the challenges we have. Not only those of any small business, but those relating to building a piece of complex tech, and they have been able to help us navigate that from a legal perspective.
Alastair MacGregor
Founder,
Do IT
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
Sarah was incredibly responsive to my e-mails and was accurate with rough timelines for completion. She was also very approachable and down to earth on an agreement that contains a lot of jargon and isn't that user friendly for people from a non legal background. She also took the time to get to know the purpose the document will be used for to make it accurate and legally binding.
Steph Darrah
Business Development Manager,
Playtonic Limited
Harper James has been invaluable. They drafted the relevant agreements and gave us sound legal advice in an area that we did not have prior experience in. As a start-up, having advice and feedback from an organisation that specialises in early-stage enterprises was instrumental in us having the confidence to push forward with our product
Dean Bryan
Co-Founder,
Yyoma
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.
Knowing that we have Harper James to help us through complex situations and difficult negotiations is very reassuring. Sarah knows our business inside out and we can rely on her to provide clear and timely commercial advice.
And on the odd occasion that we’ve needed help through a dispute, Ian Carson has always stepped in and dealt with the situation before it gets out of hand.
Nick Thompson
CEO,
One Beyond
Really happy- would especially single out the work of David Sant who is an exceptional and pragmatic lawyer.
Aela Callan
Co-founder,
Head Set Studio Limited
The team at Harper James has got to know our business over 3 years and is super responsive, adaptable and versatile to our needs. The lawyers are helpful and just really nice people who we’ve come to trust.
Aela Callan
Co-founder,
Head Set Studio Limited
Excellent response times and quality of responses. Our main contact Sarah Gunton has aligned perfectly with our expectations and way of working.
Lee Church
Bid Director,
Oldham Engineering Ltd
A very positive experience where Kevin really dug in to the detail of our commercial offer and ensured it was documented robustly in the contract
Jonathan Pearce
Chief Commercial Officer,
Lacuna Space Ltd
I've had great experience in dealing with HJ, unlike any I've experienced in the past. There was care and attention in the drafting stage working out my exact requirements, not just legally but understanding how the business worked to advise further.
Tushar Joshi
CEO,
Festival Pro Ltd
Super efficient service and June was a delight to work with.
Carol Evans
Director,
Harwood Brittain Technology
I'll sum it up in three words: Expertise, versatility and experience
Sarah Enuwhure
Account Manager,
Curva Digital Ltd
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 two contracts Harper James has been advising on were both major pieces of work worth tens of millions of pounds in potential business. The procurement process was therefore substantial, complicated and often onerous. Karen provided first-class support at all times. As a business, to move forward, we require a level of legal services which demonstrate an expert understanding, and Harper James delivers on that and more.
Keith Howes
MD,
Sysmex UK
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
We initially turned to Harper James for help in one part of our business but quickly realised we could benefit from their support in other areas too. The level of service has been impressive. What I like about Harper James is they seem to take a proactive approach to legal services provision. They’ve looked at our business and made suggestions as to areas where they can best focus their support and expertise. It is reassuring to have a legal services provider like that working alongside you.
Heidi Ayton
Chief of Compliance,
Croud
Harper James have been incredibly professional and responsive. They immediately understood the challenges we have. Not only those of any small business, but those relating to building a piece of complex tech, and they have been able to help us navigate that from a legal perspective.
Alastair MacGregor
Founder,
Do IT
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
Sarah was incredibly responsive to my e-mails and was accurate with rough timelines for completion. She was also very approachable and down to earth on an agreement that contains a lot of jargon and isn't that user friendly for people from a non legal background. She also took the time to get to know the purpose the document will be used for to make it accurate and legally binding.
Steph Darrah
Business Development Manager,
Playtonic Limited
Harper James has been invaluable. They drafted the relevant agreements and gave us sound legal advice in an area that we did not have prior experience in. As a start-up, having advice and feedback from an organisation that specialises in early-stage enterprises was instrumental in us having the confidence to push forward with our product
Dean Bryan
Co-Founder,
Yyoma
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.
Knowing that we have Harper James to help us through complex situations and difficult negotiations is very reassuring. Sarah knows our business inside out and we can rely on her to provide clear and timely commercial advice.
And on the odd occasion that we’ve needed help through a dispute, Ian Carson has always stepped in and dealt with the situation before it gets out of hand.
Nick Thompson
CEO,
One Beyond
Really happy- would especially single out the work of David Sant who is an exceptional and pragmatic lawyer.
Aela Callan
Co-founder,
Head Set Studio Limited
The team at Harper James has got to know our business over 3 years and is super responsive, adaptable and versatile to our needs. The lawyers are helpful and just really nice people who we’ve come to trust.
Aela Callan
Co-founder,
Head Set Studio Limited
Excellent response times and quality of responses. Our main contact Sarah Gunton has aligned perfectly with our expectations and way of working.
Lee Church
Bid Director,
Oldham Engineering Ltd
A very positive experience where Kevin really dug in to the detail of our commercial offer and ensured it was documented robustly in the contract
Jonathan Pearce
Chief Commercial Officer,
Lacuna Space Ltd
I've had great experience in dealing with HJ, unlike any I've experienced in the past. There was care and attention in the drafting stage working out my exact requirements, not just legally but understanding how the business worked to advise further.
Tushar Joshi
CEO,
Festival Pro Ltd
Super efficient service and June was a delight to work with.
Carol Evans
Director,
Harwood Brittain Technology
I'll sum it up in three words: Expertise, versatility and experience
Sarah Enuwhure
Account Manager,
Curva Digital Ltd
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
Why choose Harper James Solicitors?
As a law firm for entrepreneurial businesses, we understand that each business is unique and that the risks it faces depends on its size, structure, industry, and objectives. Our commercial solicitors have the technical knowledge and business insight to understand your business and advise accordingly.
We can support you at all stages of your business’ lifecycle, from start-up to established national company, advising on the optimum terms of business for your venture and minimising the risks that your business may face. And because we understand that the legal support you require will not just end at producing terms of business, we can also provide you with integrated business legal services. Whether you require specialist intellectual property advice, corporate governance support, data protection audits or employment law guidance, we can help.
Plus, many of the team here at Harper James Solicitors has worked in-house at major international businesses or at partner level in top 100 firms, and you get to access their wealth of experience starting from just £145 per hour. Discover more about the commercial team 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.
Enterprise
Have 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.