Practical Company and Commercial legal advice
Contracts, trading terms, shareholders, acquisitions, debt and commercial property — assessed carefully, explained plainly, and quoted in writing before any paid work begins.
Business clients, and what the work achieved
Completed matter
Recovering £85,000 following a commercial administration failure
A service provider failed to perform its contractual responsibilities. Approximately £85,000 was recovered for the business.
Completed matter
Structuring the acquisition of six companies
A coordinated transaction structure addressing historic liabilities, warranties and deferred consideration, with a workable framework for the transfer of ownership.
What clients say
"I have known and worked with Bryan Slater for close to 40 years and always found him to be a very valuable legal sounding board. He is resourceful, imaginative and solution focused with a deep understanding of the law."
Keith Black
Chair, Regatta Group Manchester
"He does not simply look at a file and give an academic answer. He gets to know the business, understands what is really at stake and looks for a practical solution. When a matter becomes difficult, he does not disappear or give up."
Bimal Kumar
Sanjeev 1979 Ltd, Manchester
Running a business involves contracts, customers, suppliers, employees, premises, directors, shareholders and difficult commercial decisions.
Legal problems can arise in any of these areas, and they can be expensive if they are not dealt with properly.
Talk Legal provides experienced commercial legal assistance designed to be practical, accessible and cost-effective.
We’re happy to discuss your commercial problem, examine relevant documents and provide an initial assessment without charge. Where appropriate, we can undertake the necessary non-reserved legal work ourselves or arrange assistance from carefully selected independent specialists.
Free assessment. Written quotation before paid work begins.
Payment terms for commercial work are negotiable and are set out in that quotation. Unless we agree something different in writing, the invoice is payable within 14 days.
Our commercial approach
These are the commitments we make on commercial work. They are what we offer, not a comparison we are making with anyone else.
- —We quote the price in writing before the work starts, not an hourly rate you discover at the end.
- —You deal with the person doing the work, not a client-care team that hands the matter on.
- —We answer in plain English, including when the honest answer is that the dispute is not worth the money.
- —We take a commercial view of whether a point is worth pursuing, and we will tell you when it is not.
- —We say plainly when a matter needs a regulated firm, rather than doing it and hoping nobody asks.
Commercial contracts
Most businesses run on contracts, and most commercial arguments begin with one that was never properly written down. We can draft, review and negotiate the agreements your business actually uses, and help when a contract has gone wrong.
- —Drafting and reviewing commercial contracts
- —Supply and distribution agreements
- —Agency agreements
- —Consultancy agreements
- —Service agreements
- —Business-to-business trading arrangements
- —Contractual disputes
- —Breach of contract
- —Termination of commercial agreements
- —Negotiating contractual settlements
Terms and conditions of business
Clearly drafted trading terms are one of the cheapest forms of dispute prevention available to a business. They set out what you are selling, what you are not, when you must be paid and what happens if something goes wrong. We can draft them from scratch or review what you already use.
- —Terms and conditions of sale
- —Terms and conditions of purchase
- —Payment terms
- —Late-payment provisions
- —Liability and limitation clauses
- —Contractual warranties
- —Cancellation and termination provisions
- —Reviewing existing terms and conditions
Buying and selling businesses
Buying or selling a business is usually the largest transaction a small company will ever make. The risks are in the detail: what exactly is being bought, what liabilities come with it, and what the seller has promised. We provide preliminary advice, review the commercial terms and help negotiate the deal.
- —Preliminary advice concerning business acquisitions and disposals
- —Management buyouts
- —Management buy-ins
- —Business sale agreements
- —Commercial due diligence
- —Negotiation of sale and purchase terms
- —Heads of terms
- —Advice on commercial risks and contractual obligations
Debt recovery and commercial disputes
Being owed money is frustrating and often damaging to cash flow. A clear, firm letter before action resolves a great many commercial debts without proceedings at all. Where a dispute is more complicated, we assess the strengths on both sides and tell you honestly whether pursuing or defending it is worth the cost.
- —Unpaid commercial invoices
- —Letters before action
- —Negotiating payment arrangements
- —Contractual debt disputes
- —Disputes between businesses
- —Supplier and customer disagreements
- —Settlement negotiations
- —Reviewing the prospects of bringing or defending claims
Commercial property and leases
A commercial lease is a long-term financial commitment, and the obligations in it are frequently misunderstood until a dispute arises. We can review what you have signed, help with rent, service charge and repairing disputes, and deal with the negotiation that usually resolves them.
- —Reviewing existing commercial lease obligations
- —Rent and service charge disputes
- —Repairing obligations
- —Dilapidations disputes
- —Break clauses
- —Rent review disagreements
- —Landlord and tenant negotiations
- —Forfeiture-related advice
- —Commercial property disputes
Business negotiations and dispute resolution
Most commercial disputes are settled, not tried. The skill is in knowing what your position is genuinely worth, what the other side needs, and when to stop talking. We help businesses negotiate settlements and exits with a realistic view of the risks on both sides.
- —Commercial settlement negotiations
- —Resolving disputes before proceedings
- —Assessing contractual strengths and weaknesses
- —Assistance with mediation preparation
- —Negotiating business exits
- —Commercial risk assessment
Where regulated work is required
Some commercial work may only lawfully be carried out by an authorised or exempt professional. Where a matter requires that, we’ll explain the position plainly rather than proceed beyond what we may do.
We don’t accept work outside our competence or legal authority. Where another provider is involved, we explain who will carry out the work, who is responsible for it, what regulatory protections apply and how the service will be charged.
Read about our regulatory position and what that means for you.
Tell us about the business problem
Describe what has happened and send the relevant contract, correspondence or lease. We’ll give you a preliminary view without charge and tell you honestly whether the matter is worth pursuing.
Or email us at win@talklegal.net