Central list of work

Here is information on the work that the firm will/will not undertake.

Private Client Department

Work undertaken:

Wills
Inheritance Tax Planning
Estates Administration
Grant of Probate
Intestacy
Letters of Administration
Trusts
Some Land Registration work and Declarations of Trust
Personal Injury Trusts
Court of Protection
Enduring Power of Attorney Registrations and Activation
Lasting Power of Attorney
Property Ownership
Contentious Probate: challenging the validity of a Will, dispute between Administrators/Executors, applications for removal/appoints PR’s, breach of trust claims, Inheritance Act claims – seeking provision from Estate of deceased
Continuing Healthcare Claims
Contentious Court of Protection/LPA
Any contentious issues arising in context of probate

Work not undertaken:

International Tax Planning
Sale of Mobile Homes within an Estate
International Estate Administration

Family Department

Work undertaken:

Divorce
Financial Claims
Trusts of Land/Cohabitee claims
Children Act matters including public and private law (subject to the exception below)
Inheritance Act Claims
Family Mediation
Separation Agreements
Pre-Nuptial Agreements
Family Injunctions

Work not undertaken:

International child abduction
Work on behalf of Fathers for Justice
Dealing with Appeals to Child Maintenance Service

Residential Conveyancing

Work undertaken:

Freehold Sale and Purchase
Leasehold Sale and Purchase
Auction Sales and Purchases
New Build Freehold/Leasehold Purchase
Shared Equity Sale and Purchase
Help to Buy Sale and Purchase
Remortgage
Mortgage
Lease Extensions (NB – need to be reviewed with Helen Porter if Statutory Notices required)
Deed of Easement
Deed of Variation
Deed of Grant
Transfer of Equity
Transfer of part
First Registrations
Equity Release Sale and Purchase
Purchase under the Right to Buy

Work not undertaken:

Advising on or witnessing signatures to a Mortgage Deed where we are not acting for the client or the Lender
ID forms where we are not acting for the client or they are not existing clients
Independent legal advice for Personal Guarantees
Advising on or setting up private mortgages or loans against properties
Sale/Purchase of Mobile Homes

Injury

Work undertaken:

Accidents at Work
Industrial Disease including:
- Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
- Industrial deafness
- Vibration White Finger (VWF)
- Work related upper limb disorder
- Stress or anxiety
- Mesothelioma,
- Lung cancer,
Non-malignant lung and pleural disorders, including:
- asbestosis,
- pleural thickening,
- pleural effusions.
- Respiratory diseases
- asthma
Serious injury claims including brain, spinal and amputation claims
Public Liability and Highways Claims
Trips, Slips and Falls
Occupier’s Liability /Defective Premises Claims
Accidents on Holiday
Product Defects
Road Traffic Accidents (but see below in respect of work not undertaken in this regard)
Other types of injury including:
- Animal related injuries
- Needlestick injuries
- Sport injuries
- Accident at nursery, school, college or university
- Accidents in the home (e.g rented properties)
- Occupiers Liability Claims/Defective Premises Act Claims
- Public Liability
- Highways Claims
- Diseases – Other Industrial Respiratory diseases including Asthma

Work not undertaken:

We do not accept instructions in Clinical Negligence/Medical Negligence cases or in any other matters not listed above.
Claims arising following an RTA, on or after, 31.5.21 which are to be made within the Ministry of Justice RTA Small Claims procedure for soft tissue, whiplash style injuries with symptoms of less than 24 months duration.
Fast track claims for personal injury on behalf of minors and/or protected parties of less than £25,000 in value arising from all types of accident.

Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Work undertaken - Property Related:

Property and Land related disputes – Commercial and Residential i.e Landlord and Tenant, forfeiture/repossession and breach of tenancy, rent arrears, boundary disputes, rights of way, village greens, trees, dilapidations, service charges and ground rents, mortgage repossession.
Restrictive Covenants and Easements
Creation of Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements and licences
Residential right to Manage, collective enfranchisement, lease extensions (statutory)
TOLATA claims (where these are not dealt with by the Family Department)
Construction Law – contentious and non contentious
Construction contract reviews

Work undertaken - Commercial:

Commercial Disputes – Contracts, the infringement of Intellectual Property rights, companies, partnerships
Applications for restoration of Companies and other procedural applications under the Companies Act
Shareholders disputes and misfeasance claims
Defamation, copyright and passing off
Construction Engineering
Corporate Insolvency
Sale and supply of goods and services, including small building projects
Setting aside judgements
Enforcement of Judgments
Agency work

Work undertaken - Other:

Professional Negligence
Employment – High Court enforcement of post termination restrictive covenants

Work not undertaken:

Planning and Environmental law
Education
Local Government
Immigration
Legal Aid

Company Commercial

Work undertaken:

Business sales and purchases
Share sales and purchases
Shareholder agreements
Articles of Association
LLP and Partnership agreements
Business contracts - reviewing and creating and in particular:
- Technology
- IT and ecommerce
- Franchising
- Facilities management
- Intellectual Property (trademarks, patents, designs)
- Self employed or service company consultancy
Terms and conditions of business
Shareholder disputes
Websites
Data Protection
New businesses
Licensing (including alcohol and other forms of regulated entertainment)
Bank documents
Investment agreements
Joint Ventures and collaboration agreements

Work not undertaken:

Public Listings
Regulated loan agreements
Financial Services regulatory advice
Corporate Insolvency advice
Tax Planning

Debt Recovery

Work undertaken:

Bulk business to business (B2B) debt recovery work
Bespoke recoveries for individuals
Assistance with the enforcement of CCJ’s

Commercial Property

Work undertaken:

All aspects of commercial property transactions including freehold or leasehold disposals and acquisitions (i.e shops, offices, cafes, warehouses, industrial units, hotels, pubs, hairdressers etc)
Involving conditional and non-conditional contracts.
Commercial non contentious landlord and tenant matters acting for both landlords and tenants and including portfolio management (licences to assign, underlet and alter, deeds of surrender, deeds of variation etc).
All aspect of commercial development work including advising on and negotiating s106 and s278 agreements and unilateral undertakings; Joint venture agreements; site assembly; land promotion agreements; development finance agreements; option and overage agreements and pre-emption agreements acting for both developers and landowners.
All aspects of secured lending including commercial re-mortgages, separate representation of Banks, security over residential property to secure business debts; providing separate legal representation to borrowers and/or banks to re-mortgages. Acting for high street lenders (where we are on the panel) or private lending, secured over residential or commercial property.
Production of documentation packs for sale by auction and acting on the purchase of property at auction.
We have a particular specialism in Retail Property; the leisure industry including Pubs and Hotels; Petrol Stations. We also provide advice to parties purchasing property for personal pension schemes and manage portfolios on behalf of such clients.
Acquisitions of development sites (built or unbuilt), setting up estates and plot sales
Non contentious landlord and tenant work including the grant or renewal of new leases, acting for landlord or tenant.
Buying or selling freehold or leasehold/portfolios.
Charity property work (acting for charities in relation to the sale/letting/purchase etc of commercial property).
Residential and commercial transactions for corporate clients, focusing predominantly on acquisitions and disposals of investment properties including buy to let properties and houses in multiple occupation.
Site acquisitions and sales.

Work not undertaken:

Creation of new Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreements
Advice on Personal Guarantees (independent legal advice) other than for existing clients or where referred by a work referrer
Advice regarding TUPE in relation to property sales
Dealing with Right to Manage
Planning Advice outside of basic advice related to an existing property transaction
Tax advice including VAT (other than on whether VAT is payable on a transaction purchase price of rent), CGT and Capital Allowances (save for advice on and the completion of SDLT return forms completed as agents for the client).
Acting on residential sales and purchases which are not for established clients
Acting on routine conveyancing transactions i.e sale and purchase of houses, re-mortgages, transfers of equity which are not for commercial clients
Dealing with basic trust documentation

Employment

Work Undertaken:

Employee advice:

Employee claims
Unfair dismissal
Discrimination
Breach of contract
Breach of covenants
Contract disputes
Settlement agreements
Grievances
Disciplinaries
Performance Reviews

Employer advice:

Defending ET claims:
Unfair dismissal
Breach of Contract
Discrimination:
- Gender
- Age
- Disability
- Gender Reassignment
- Marriage or Civil Partnership
- Pregnancy and Maternity
- Race
- Religion or Belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
Equal Pay (private sector)
Unlawful deduction from wages
Peace of Mind Support Service
Human Resources Disciplinary and capability investigations
Contracts
Directors Service Agreements
Consultancy agreements
Staff Handbooks and employers policies

Training workshops:

HR Training Services
In house
External

HR Consultancy:

Recruitment and selection in-house support
Management of all levels of grievance and disciplinary meetings: investigation, grievance/disciplinary, appeal
Management of employee relations issues
HR support and consultancy on TUPE/restructure/change of contract
Full management of redundancy processes
Appraisal and 121 process development and training
Peripatetic HR Support/cover

Work not undertaken:

Public Sector Equal Pay
Armed Forces Personnel
Police Officer Disputes
Taxation Advice
Immigration (any such work in this field is referred to a third party firm)
Health and Safety (any such work in this field is referred to a third party firm)
Publicly funded work
Pensions Advice

General Commercial Matters

Work not undertaken: