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To access legal support from just £149 per hour arrange your no-obligation initial consultation to discuss your business requirements.
We offer a wide range of legal services for businesses of all sizes, with pricing plans designed for start-up, small and venture-backed businesses and medium to large businesses.
We advise businesses, entrepreneurs, investors and educational establishments on all aspects of UK immigration law, from recruiting overseas staff to ensuring ongoing compliance obligations are being met with the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).
We understand your world and are on-hand to equip you with practical, real-world advice, so you can tackle obstacles, seize competitive advantages, and move forward with confidence. Whether it’s scaling your business, managing teams, or navigating new legal terrain, our support can help you unlock your organisation’s full potential.
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As a CFO, you’re often the de facto legal lead but this can eat into your time and energy. Let us help you manage your legal requirements, handle compliance, and drive sustainable growth.
Focus on leading your business with confidence. From governance to commercial growth, our expert legal support empowers founders to make informed decisions and drive success.
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We act as an extension of your team, picking up overflow work and providing specialist expertise, helping free up your time and elevate your impact.
We’ve reimagined the way law firms work with businesses to put you in control.
We offer three ways of working together to suit your needs, and thanks to our clever use of technology and remote operating model, they all deliver partner-level expertise with significant savings on ‘city’ law firm prices.
Our Engage plan gives you flexible access to our experienced solicitors, with no fixed monthly cost and low hourly rates, typically £298 per hour. Whatever legal assistance you need, we can support you, and the cost of using our experienced solicitors will provide a significant saving compared to those associated with traditional law firms.
Our Enable plan is a 12-month subscription, costing £219 per month. Included in the subscription is £149 of credit each month, plus access to our Standard Rates at 50% discount, providing consistently great savings on each project we assist you with.
Our Extend plan is a smarter way for high-growth and established businesses to get legal advice. A legal subscription service with dedicated account management, it gives you priority access to a curated team of highly experienced solicitors, whenever you need them, at a budget set by you.
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Harper James is a new breed of commercial law firm – a national law firm designed exclusively to champion ambitious and entrepreneurial businesses, enabling them to access expert legal advice at an affordable cost when they need it most. We work with start-ups through to established businesses that have been running for years or looking to scale, futurecorns and unicorns as well as those ready to sell and often build their next business.
Work with like-minded individuals and free from the bureaucracy of traditional law firms in a truly flexible workplace. We offer career opportunities for solicitors and business support professionals that meet your needs and evolve as you evolve.
Our solicitors are well-positioned to provide commentary on all manner of commercial legal issue and regularly contribute to both national, sector and industry press.
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Construction and engineering projects are complex undertakings. Tight deadlines in circumstances where cost and quality are key factors can cause pressures that lead to a dispute.
From small to complex or high-value claims, our experienced construction dispute lawyers are ready to act swiftly, providing you with sensible and effective advice so you can get back to focusing on your business with minimum disruption. If a situation has got to a point where dispute resolution or litigation becomes necessary, we are ready to fight your corner.
In addition to assisting with construction and engineering disputes, our team can assist you across all areas of construction law, including:
We’ll help you resolve disputes relating to all types of construction contract (both standard and bespoke form), including:
Drawing on years of industry knowledge, our team of specialist construction and engineering solicitors will support you with:
Understanding the merits of each option available considering your commercial needs and relationships with other parties.
These options range from seeking to arrive at a resolution of the dispute, whether through negotiation/discussion or alternative dispute resolution, to more formal procedures such as adjudication, litigation and arbitration.
Evaluating the potential consequences of your options both in general and with reference to costs and your commercial considerations.
Advising you on the strengths and weaknesses of your case
Identifying the key aspects and carrying out cost/benefit analyses which will allow you to take the appropriate position in negotiations and any dispute process.
Using appropriate strategy to minimise disruption
Where possible we’ll always seek to achieve an early resolution and provide you with certainty, avoiding wasted management time and costs and preserving relationships with other parties.
In short, we are here to save you money and time whilst reducing current and future risk to you.
Our solicitors are skilled in using a variety of methods and procedures to resolve your dispute.
These procedures include binding (either on a permanent or temporary basis) proceedings such as adjudication, litigation, arbitration and expert determination. They also include non-binding procedures such as mediation and early neutral evaluation. Each of these procedures is considered below.
Adjudication is a dispute resolution peculiar to the construction and engineering industries. Either party may, but is not obliged to, refer a dispute to adjudication.
Adjudication is a speedy process in which the adjudicator produces a binding but temporary decision within 28 days. The decision is enforceable in the High Court on a summary judgment basis. Either party can then, if they wish, refer the matters decided in the adjudication to the dispute resolution procedures outlined in the contract. In short, adjudication applies a “pay now, argue later” approach.
We act on behalf of both referring parties (claimants) and responding parties (defendants) in adjudication proceedings, marshalling the evidence, preparing statements of your case, liaising with expert witnesses, the other party and the adjudicator and representing you at any meetings with the adjudicator.
Some construction and engineering contracts provide for disputes arising under the contract to be referred to arbitration.
Arbitration is a formal process akin to litigation but is private to the parties. The decision of the arbitrator is binding but subject to appeal in certain circumstances.
We act on behalf of both claimants and defendants in arbitration proceedings, marshalling the evidence, instructing Counsel, liaising with expert witnesses, the other party and the arbitrator and appearing at arbitration hearings, including the full hearing.
An independent expert will make an objective non-binding assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each side’s case. This will give you a realistic idea of how you may fare in litigation, encouraging a swift settlement before you reach that stage in the process.
We act on behalf of both parties in early neutral evaluation, marshalling the evidence, preparing your position statement, liaising with expert witnesses, the other party and the independent expert and appearing at any hearing.
Some construction and engineering contracts provide for and the parties can agree to a dispute being determined by an expert.
Expert determination shares similarities to adjudication as to the speed of the process. However, the determination of the expert is generally binding on the parties.
We act on behalf of both referring parties (claimants) and responding parties (defendants) in expert determination, marshalling the evidence, liaising with expert witnesses, the other party and the expert and appearing at any hearings.
In the absence of an arbitration clause, litigation in court is the default mechanism for the resolution of disputes. Construction and engineering disputes generally proceed in the specialist Technology and Construction Court.
The decision of the judge is binding but subject to appeal in certain circumstances.
We act on behalf of both claimants and defendants in litigation proceedings, dealing with the pre-action protocol for construction and engineering disputes, marshalling the evidence, instructing Counsel, liaising with expert witnesses, the other party and the court and appearing at court hearings, including the trial.
Mediation is a voluntary process where the parties, with the assistance of an independent third party mediator, seek to resolve disputes through discussion and negotiation.
A mediation is a non-binding process although any agreement reached at the mediation will be confirmed in writing and be binding upon the parties.
Proceedings at a mediation are without prejudice and cannot be referred to in any subsequent formal proceedings.
We act on behalf of both parties (claimants and defendants) in mediation, marshalling the evidence, preparing your position statement, liaising with expert witnesses, the other party and the mediator and appearing at the mediation.
Our construction solicitors have experience acting in dispute situations for:
Common conflicts we provide support for include:
Our robust approach and hands-on knowledge of the construction sector allows us to quickly and efficiently provide our clients with the support they need to move their business forward.
All of our construction dispute lawyers previously worked for a top 100 UK law firm or in-house at large international businesses. Many having achieved partner level or beyond, with at least 10 years post qualified experience.
Pricing and service plans
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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.
To access legal support from just £149 per hour arrange your no-obligation initial consultation to discuss your business requirements.