- Business Legal Services
- Banking & Finance Law
- Business Disputes
- Business Immigration Law
- Commercial Law
- Commercial Property Law
- Construction Law
- Corporate Law
- Data Protection & Privacy Law
- Employee Share Schemes
- Employment Law
- Financial Services Regulation
- Funding & Investment
- Insolvency & Corporate Recovery
- Intellectual Property
- IT & Commercial Technology Law
Business Legal Services
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.
Banking & Finance Law
Business Disputes
- Overview
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Business Dispute Case Assessment
- Commercial Contract Disputes
- Commercial Property Disputes
- Construction & Engineering Disputes
- Defending Employment Tribunal claims
- Shareholder Disputes
- Intellectual Property Disputes
- Litigation & Arbitration
- Partnership Disputes
- Professional Negligence Claims
- Public Procurement Challenges
Business Immigration Law
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).
Commercial Law
- Overview
- Agency Agreements
- Commercial Contracts
- Confidentiality & Non-Disclosure Agreements
- Franchise Law
- Intellectual Property in Commercial Contracts
- Joint Venture Agreements
- Sale & Distribution Agreements
- Service Agreements
- Subcontractor Agreements
- Supply of Goods Agreements
- Terms of Business
Commercial Property Law
Construction Law
Corporate Law
Data Protection & Privacy Law
Employee Share Schemes
Employment Law
- Overview
- Absence & Sickness Management
- Defending Employment Tribunal claims
- Discipline & Grievance Procedures
- Discrimination Claims
- Employee Share Schemes
- Employment Contracts
- Employment Status and IR35
- HR & Employment Law Training
- HR Compliance Audit
- Redundancies & Business Reorganisations
- Senior Employee Exits
- Settlement Agreements
- Transactions & TUPE
Financial Services Regulation
Funding & Investment
Insolvency & Corporate Recovery
Intellectual Property
IT & Commercial Technology Law
Business Life Cycle
Our Business Life Cycle is designed to guide you through the different situations you’re likely to encounter on your business journey.
Sectors
Our senior solicitors have built up a wealth of specialist sector knowledge throughout their careers. We appreciate that one size never fits all, which is why we leverage our team's sector knowledge through a multi-disciplinary approach to providing you with tailored and relevant advice. Our sector focused interest and experience enables us to provide up-to-the-minute advice and help you to anticipate the legal impact of potential future changes on your business.
Creative Industries
Our creative sector solicitors keep abreast of the latest cases, legislative changes, and industry developments, to ensure our clients receive smart, pragmatic, insightful, and tailored legal services. We provide expert legal advice and representation in relation to all creative endeavours, including clients in advertising and marketing, television, theatre, music, art, publishing, architecture, technology, and all spheres of design.
Energy, Utilities & Environment
Our energy, utilities and environment solicitors are expert legal advisers to the industry, including individual and institutional investors and funders, technical advisors, developers, entrepreneurs, utility firms, environmental and waste technology companies, landowners, aggregators, CICs, inventors and environmental scientists, contractors and suppliers and have vast experience in the sector.
Life Sciences
Our multi-disciplinary life sciences legal team has specific sector experience, and our life sciences lawyers cover a range of areas such as risk assessment and management, manufacturing and supply chain issues, compliance review and advice including product liability, intellectual property issues and the development of IP strategies, data protection and GDPR advice, licensing and contractual issues, financial advice and mergers and acquisitions, as well as disputes and litigation management.
Manufacturing & Engineering
Our manufacturing and engineering lawyers have an in-depth understanding of these sectors and the needs of businesses. We understand the vast and vital contribution manufacturing and engineering businesses make towards the British economy. Our solicitors partner with clients within these sectors to ensure their interests are protected and their commercial ambitions are achieved.
Public Sector
Whether you’re situated directly within the public sector or you’re a commercial partner, our public sector solicitors can help you with all areas of business law you’re likely to need advice on, from banking and finance, commercial tenders and contracts, dispute resolution, real estate, intellectual property, data protection, employment law and much more.
Retail & Luxury Brands
Whatever your business within the retail sector, our retail lawyers understand this challenging market and work across a range of areas including e-commerce, corporate and commercial, commercial property, dispute resolution and employment law to help advise and provide solutions for your business.
Sports
Our sports law solicitors have expertise in the latest sports law and they also understand the industry; including its structures, regulations, challenges, pressures, trends, and developments.We offer legal advice and representation to national governing bodies, international federations, sports clubs, and athletes in any sport, whether amateur or professional.
Start-ups
Our team of experienced senior solicitors are business and finance law specialists, with a proven track record in supporting start-ups - they have the legal skills and experience to help founders who want to get things right from day one. We act for start-up companies, entrepreneurs, founders, boards and individual directors of early-stage companies, financial institutions, and investors considering investment under the EIS and SEIS schemes.
Technology
Our expert technology solicitors advise both specialist technology companies as well as their partners, customers, and users. We understand the commercial issues involved in tech depend on the services and products involved, which is why we endeavour to understand your niche and its implications. Whether you are a crowdfunded start-up or a large multi-national, our dedicated team of technology specialists are adept at acting for you wherever and whenever technology defines or intersects your organisation.
Our Pricing & Service Plans
Our unique subscription plans coupled with our remote operating model allow us to deliver expert legal advice, from partner level lawyers, at a fraction of the cost compared with traditional law firms.Our Enterprise and On-Demand plans help you spread the cost of advice and access discounted rates, providing flexibility, peace of mind and plans that can scale with your business.
The City Plan
Our City service provides you flexible access to our experienced lawyers, with no fixed monthly cost and low hourly rates, from £290 per hour. Whatever legal assistance you need, we can help you and the cost of using our experienced lawyers will provide a significant saving compared to those associated with traditional law firms.
The Enterprise Plan
Our Enterprise subscription package is specifically designed for start-ups and smaller sized businesses. With a £215 monthly subscription fee and additional legal support from senior solicitors at £145 per hour, it includes 1-hour of free legal support per month which rolls over if unused.
The On-Demand Plan
Our On-Demand plan is a smarter way for high-growth and established businesses to get legal advice. A fully account managed quarterlysubscription service which provides you with priority access to experienced partner-level solicitors, recruited from top 100 UK law firms, whenever you need them, at an affordable and flexible budget set by you.
Fixed Fee Products
Solve common issues with our suite of fixed fee products, giving you clarity on costs and deliverables.
About Us
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.
Careers
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.
Press & Media
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.
Join our team
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.
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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.
Client Stories
Examples of some of the exciting work and waves our clients are making as well as in-depth client interviews and stories.
Events & Webinars
Providing practical insights and Q&A opportunities based on common legal challenges.
Podcasts & Videos
Watch and listen to our latest podcasts and videos featuring client and Harper James interviews and stories.
Knowledge Hub for Growth
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.
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Choosing to register as a sole trader might seem like an obvious decision, with plenty of well-documentedadvantages to being a sole trader.
However, before launching any new venture, you must be wellversedin the disadvantages of working under the sole trader status. They might sway you towards incorporating as a limited company.
If you feel torn between different trading styles, please get in touch with Harper James Solicitors to discuss your business objectives and help identify the best way forward.
Start-up businesses: deciding whether to become a sole trader
Registering as a self-employed business is undoubtedly the easiest route to getting a new company up and running.
But, the most straightforward option may not be ideal, depending on factors such as:
- Your anticipated turnover
- The business sector
- Projected funding requirements
- Your risk exposure appetite
While the administrative burden of a sole trader business may be lighter than incorporating a company, it’s crucial to understand when that additional paperwork might be worthwhile.
Personal liabilities and sole proprietor businesses
As a sole trader, the business owner and company are one and the same for legal purposes. So, you are liable for all company debts.
The proprietor bears any liabilities or obligations owed by the business, so there’s an increased risk that it will impact your personal finances and assets if the company fails.
In a limited company, the business is a standalone entity, so this level of personal risk doesn’t exist.
There are options to insure against such financial losses.
Still, it’s vital to be aware that business failure could, in the worst-case scenario, lead to severe outcomes such as bankruptcy.
Building reputational status as a sole trader
Another factor is that an incorporated business is often perceived as more legitimate than a sole trader.
While that doesn’t reflect the professionalism or conduct of the company, it remains true that many potential partners may be less likely to trade with a business that they can’t research online.
Limited businesses have a legal obligation to file documents and accounts. This makes it easier to apply for lending or pitch to investors who have a clear oversight of the trading history.
To build reputational status, sole traders can combat this disadvantage in many ways, such as:
- Requesting customer reviews through third-party sites
- Maintaining a visible, professional digital presence
- Engaging with customers through social media platforms
- Providing clear company policy documentation on their website
- Publishing testimonials and client feedback
As a sole trader, you need to work harder to validate your company’s credibility due to the lack of information in the public domain.
How to attract new customers as an unincorporated company
Some businesses will only deal with limited companies in their supply chains.
If you’re wondering,can a sole trader have employeesand compete against limited businesses in terms of capacity – they absolutely can!
However, you might find it more challenging to secure new business in some industries if your prospective clients don’t trade with sole proprietors.
This pitfall is primarily due to the perceived risk associated with the business model of a sole trader.
Establishing strong relationships and a track record of excellent service can help build a solid reputation to improve your chances of winning new clients.
The tax planning downsides to sole trader start-ups
Finally, it’s essential to assess the tax efficiencies of trading as a self-employed business.
Limited companies pay corporation tax at a standard 19% rate, which is substantially lower than income tax brackets for sole traders.
Other restrictions include:
- The inability to draw dividends, which usually carry a lower tax charge.
- Essential tax planning to align drawings with the appropriate trading period – as leaving profits in the business to draw later may result in a higher personal taxliability.
- Exclusion from corporation tax allowances, with some self-employed expenses not treated as deductible as they would be for a limited business.
While these disadvantages are a general overview, they don’tnecessarilymean that being a sole trader isn’t the right option for your business.
Tax efficiency depends very much on your circ*mstances and the finances of the business itself.
If you’re unsure whether a sole trader structure is an optimal solution for your start-up, please get in touch for independent advice about all the pros and cons to factor into your decision-making.
