How can we help?
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.
See how our expert team help leaders like you navigate risk, scale operations, and strengthen commercial relationships.
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.
Employment law is constantly changing – don’t let your business fall behind. Let us help you stay compliant, reduce risk, and protect your workforce.
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.
Solve common issues with our suite of fixed fee products, giving you clarity on costs and deliverables.
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.
The latest news and insights from Harper James including our ‘Meet the client’ interview series, case studies, legal updates, events and webinars, podcasts, videos and spotlights on our solicitors.
Examples of some of the exciting work and waves our clients are making as well as in-depth client interviews and stories.
Providing practical insights and Q&A opportunities based on common legal challenges.
Watch and listen to our latest podcasts and videos featuring client and Harper James interviews and stories.
Our free resource designed to help your business overcome challenges and realise its potential. Written by lawyers and business experts, these resources will help you decipher legal terminology and tackle key milestones from securing funding and growing your team, to protecting your ideas and expanding to new markets.
Please leave us your details and we’ll contact you to discuss your situation and legal requirements. There’s no charge for your consultation, and no obligation to instruct us. We aim to respond to all messages received within 24 hours.
We’ve supported buyers and sellers across a range of sectors and know what drives a successful deal. Merging with or acquiring a company is a major move with big implications, and getting an experienced team involved early can help you avoid costly delays, disruption and deals falling through. Our team helps you get it right from the start.
We guide you through every stage, from assessing a target and carrying out due diligence to advising on the Takeover Code and managing regulatory filings. You’ll benefit from clear legal advice, efficient deal execution and transparent costs throughout.
Getting the right legal support at the outset of any potential deal is crucial to ensure it is completed as swiftly and smoothly as possible. We work closely with you to understand your goals and guide you through important considerations, such as whether to acquire shares or assets, securing consent from shareholders and investors, and understanding the tax implications. We also help clarify ownership of key intellectual property, plan for the seller’s ongoing involvement if needed, identify potential risks and how to protect against them, and address any issues related to taking on staff, including pension rights. This thorough approach helps keep your transaction on time and within budget.
Our team can:
Your M&A strategy and making sure you’ve chosen the right target
We have considerable experience in M&A transactions and have helped businesses, large and small, scale and grow, thanks to our holistic approach to the deal from the outset.
Conducting due diligence
We will help you identify any red flags or risks associated with your target and support you in mitigating these if possible.
Handling issues relating to shareholders and investors
We can advise you on what consents may be necessary and help you obtain these.
Understanding what you need to achieve from the sale and making sure that our negotiations and all the required documents reflect those needs.
Drawing up the necessary legal documents as part of the transaction
Including a letter of intent, exclusivity agreement, non-disclosure agreements, sale and purchase agreement for shares, banking documents and release of security to name a few.
Any real estate assets
Working seamlessly with our property team to ensure any leasehold or freehold interests are delt with effectively.
Competition issues
If your proposed merger has competition law implications, we can advise you on the Takeover Code and deal with the authorities on your behalf.
Earn-out issues
If your seller will remain in your business for a period post-sale, we can assist you in agreeing appropriate terms that protect both sides.
Protecting you post-completion by making sure that the warranties and indemnities you receive from the seller are sufficiently extensive.
Mergers and acquisitions can have far-reaching implications for your existing and the target’s employees, and the TUPE rules may mean that your target’s staff transfer automatically to you.
Part of our M&A specialist team will include our employment lawyers who will make sure this aspect of the deal is handled efficiently to avoid disruptive and costly claims.
If you’re a seller as part of an M&A transaction we can help you exit smoothly and negotiate with a fair set of warranties and indemnities.
When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, specialist expertise makes all the difference. Unlike generalist lawyers who cover multiple areas of law without deep focus, our dedicated M&A team brings practical experience from a wide range of complex transactions for both buyers and sellers.
This focus means we understand the nuances and challenges unique to M&A deals, allowing us to deliver clear, actionable advice tailored to your business goals. Working with specialists ensures you benefit from a joined-up approach, detailed risk management, and peace of mind throughout the entire process, expertise that a ‘jack of all trades’ simply cannot match.
By drawing on our practical and varied experience across a range of M&A transactions, acting for both buyers and sellers, we’re focussed on delivering value to you and your business. We will always provide you with a clear route to take when challenges arise during negotiations keeping your long-term goals in mind at every step.
From employment issues such as dealing with changes to directors’ service agreements, to IP licensing considerations, acquiring another business is rarely a simple and solely corporate transaction. That’s why we will always offer you an integrated approach. Our business acquisition lawyers will work alongside our employment, IP and commercial specialists, when required, to ensure that you get well-rounded, strategic advice to successfully support you throughout the transaction.
Our thorough due diligence processes, close collaboration with your tax and accounting team, and streamlined approach across all practice areas throughout the M&A transaction means that we have a clear view of any potential risk to your business. This helps us to quickly identify and resolve any challenges you may face, clearing the route to a successful transaction.
Even where negotiations may be tricky or due diligence checks take longer than expected due to uncovering outstanding litigation proceedings, for example, we will take on the stress of the process for you. We will always strive to get the best outcome possible for your business, communicating with you at each step in plain English. Rest assured, that we have every possible angle covered.
Who we help
Our expertise spans deals of all sizes, from smaller transactions to complex deals exceeding £100 million, where we often work alongside or against large law firms.
Our M&A lawyers understand that buying or selling a business can be a stressful time, whether you’re an SME owner or part of the executive leadership team of a large national company. We recognise the nuances and pressures of completing transactions within tight deadlines and budgets. That’s why we take a proactive approach from the outset, working closely with you and your strategic partners to navigate the process and achieve a successful outcome.
Whatever the size or complexity, we deliver tailored advice aligned with your strategic goals. Acting as an extension of your team, we provide clear, practical guidance to help you confidently manage every stage of the M&A process.
Working with business buyers and sellers
We have been involved in a wide range of projects, from business purchases and sales to both small and large fundraising matters, often working with internationally recognised firms on the other side.
Meet our team
With experience at top UK law firms and in-house roles for international businesses, our corporate lawyers know when to negotiate and when expert advice is essential. Having worked on both sides of transactions, we understand the full picture.
We draw on our wider team when deals involve property, share plans, or complex employee transfers, ensuring you get well-rounded, strategic advice. As a full-service firm, we collaborate across employment, commercial property, and equity incentives to support your business needs.
Find out more about who you’ll be working with:
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.