Corporate Law

In running your business the stakes are high and your corporate law advisors need to understand your ambitions and aspirations. At every stage of your business’s life cycle, there are complicated decisions that need to be made, so your legal team should be right there with you with solid, commercial and timely advice. Your corporate team is focussed on solutions. Helping our clients succeed is at the heart of the way we work. Working with our team means you get the balance of technical skill and commercial focus.

Contact our team

GET IN TOUCH

CONTENTS

WINNERS OF ‘LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR 2023’ – BUSINESS MAGAZINE, SOLENT DEALS AWARDS
How we work with you

Get in touch

In running your business the stakes are high and your corporate law advisors need to understand your ambitions and aspirations. At every stage of your business’s life cycle, there are complicated decisions that need to be made, so your legal team should be right there with you with solid, commercial and timely advice. Your corporate team is focussed on solutions. Helping our clients succeed is at the heart of the way we work. Working with our team means you get the balance of technical skill and commercial focus.

WINNERS OF ‘LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR 2023’ – BUSINESS MAGAZINE, SOLENT DEALS AWARDS

“We are thrilled to win Law Firm of the Year. Thank you to all of those who supported our nomination. The recognition is very well deserved. We have a fantastic team at all levels who were incredibly busy in 2022, completing over 60 transactions, many of them involving local businesses, financiers and advisers. Our success is based on building strong relations with our clients, professional advisers and the wider community in our region. We will continue to build on our success by developing our relationships with key stakeholders in 2023 and beyond.”

Corporate team winning law firm of the year 2023

Key corporate law services

Company acquisitions, disposals and management buy-outs.
Venture and growth capital and private equity.
Corporate structuring, restructuring and reorganisations.
Ownership (shareholders, partnership and LLP) agreements and constitutional.
Corporate law advice and governance.
Employee and stakeholder incentivisation.
Company secretarial services.

How we work with you

Whilst based in the South of England, Paris Smith acts for businesses and families throughout the UK. Technology has enabled us to provide a high level of service to our clients whether they are local to our offices or not. Our advice can be given in many ways:

Over the telephone
Via video conferencing
In face to face meetings

We will talk through how you would like to be contacted and the best ways for us to meet in our early conversations with you.

Corporate Services

Company Secretarial Services

Corporate Governance & Company Law …

Growth & Development Capital

Mergers & Acquisitions, Disposals &…

Ownership Agreements, Employee Ince…

Private Equity

How we’ve helped our clients

“Referees say “The Paris Smith team has stood out for their ability to respond in a consistently timely and professional manner at all times across a broad range of legal advice areas”; “The Paris Smith team acts as a genuine partner and are there where and when you need them, consistently and professionally – I couldn’t ask any more of them”; “Clear and quality legal advice, hardworking legal counsel” and “Dedicated to the service they provide”.”

Legal 500 2024 Edition

“Michael Moore led the team from Paris Smith that helped me sell my business. It was a challenging situation for me as I had founded it 20 years ago and had no experience in selling a business. Michael has a vast amount of experience which was very reassuring through the whole process. He was also able to pick up the phone and talk to the other parties representatives when needed. ”

David Marshall, Director & Shareholder

“The teams are professional, knowledgeable and a pleasure to work with. I put a lot of trust into Paris Smith’s advice and would have no hesitation to recommend their services.”

Scott Stephens, Director

Forth Hold Limited

“Despite being told that we should use London lawyers for the sale of SHB we decided to stick with Paris Smith whom our family have dealt with since the 1950s. We found that they reacted quickly and efficiently to the many issues that arose out of a process of creating new companies, transferring shares and properties and finally selling SHB. The purchaser used London lawyers and Paris Smith more than proved themselves to have been the best choice for us.”

Mike Street, Founder – SHB Hire

SHB Hire

“Referees say “It’s a very capable team with excellent strength and depth of knowledge across all corporate legal matters” and “They are experienced and able to understand the client priorities.””

Chambers & Partners 2023 – Referee Comments

“You are amazing Claudia. Thanks once again for turning this around so quickly.”

Ros Hanson, Managing Director

Halo Accident & Repair

“Thanks for all the guidance and for working so hard to get the deal done in such a short space of time.”

Michael Curran

“Thanks once again Claudia. We are not sure what we would do without you!”

Name withheld

“I am grateful for the help provided by Paris Smith in an extremely professional but friendly way. General replies back are done very quickly and if not immediate advised that they will reply. Thank you and appreciate your help.”

PS, Director – Corporate Re-finance

“Working with Paris Smith has been a breath of fresh air. From the moment we made our initial enquiry through the completion of several different projects, we have been kept informed throughout each process and have always felt confident in the information and advice we have been given. We continue to work with Paris Smith on a number of business projects and now consider their team part of our own.”

Jacqui Greene, Head of Business

Encompass Surveys Ltd

“Everyone at Paris Smith is very personable and a pleasure to work with. At no point do they show they are under any pressure despite having every right to do so. This meant they took a lot of pressure off me and made the whole process far less stressful for me than it might have been.”

David Marshall

“One source mentions the great strength in depth across the corporate team;” while another says “The people at Paris Smith have consistently demonstrated a real awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing my business, and a willingness to design and deliver solutions that fit my needs, rather than a narrow focus on “legal work”.” A further source states “‘The real strength of the team at Paris Smith is the willingness to invest time in understanding a client’s needs and the business challenges they face. Another source says “The culture at Paris Smith is to provide a quality, high end service without any attempt to intimidate or be pretentious. Paris Smith very much have their feet on the ground whilst retaining the reliable professionalism that you would expect.” There is “‘Great bandwidth across the various elements of commercial and corporate law and strength in depth.”

Legal 500 2023 – Referee Comments

“Amanda and Claudia were recommended to us as highly effective commercial advisers to lead the legal team and process, and we found them to be just that. They added real value to the process and the deal terms and worked seamlessly with us as sellers, as well as our other professional advisers to make the deal happen. I would recommend them and Paris Smith unreservedly.”

Graham Carter, MS & Shareholder

AutoLogic Systems Ltd

Chambers and Partners Legal Directory 2024 – Band 1

What the team is known for

Paris Smith is a well-reputed firm capable of advising clients on the full range of complex M&A transactions and other corporate matters. The team acts for owner-managed businesses and larger corporates based both locally and overseas. It operates alongside other departments within the firm to provide a rounded service to clients, including prominent retail and property development companies.

Strengths

“Paris Smith provide a premium service with a real focus on quality.”

“The team are accessible and provide strongly commercial advice.”

“They are very knowledgeable and handled difficult queries very well. They always kept us up to date and ensured a smooth process.”

Notable Practitioners

Jonathon Roy

Jonathon Roy has deep experience in corporate and commercial finance matters. He advises clients from owner-managed businesses to large multinationals on a range of transactions.

Richard Atcherley

Richard Atcherley is commended for his strong corporate law practice. His broad offering covers M&A transactions, management buyouts and a range of other general corporate matters.

Amanda Brockwell

Amanda Brockwell is knowledgeable across a wide scope of corporate and commercial work. She acts for a broad clientele of corporates, private equity funds and venture capital investors.

Legal 500 Directory 2024 Edition

Boasting private equity funds and SMEs amongst its client list, the Paris Smith LLP group consistently advises on M&A and restructurings across industries ranging from life sciences to construction. Michael Moore leads on the corporate side, while Crispin Dick focuses on commercial matters from the Southampton office, specialising in software licensing and technology transfers. Amanda Brockwell operates out of the Winchester office, assisting buyers, sellers and investors with management buy-outs. Southampton-based Jonathan Roy assists with private equity matters.

What clients say

‘The Paris Smith team has stood out for their ability to respond in a consistently timely and professional manner at all times across a broad range of legal advice areas.’

‘The Paris Smith team acts as a genuine partner and are there where and when you need them, consistently and professionally – I couldn’t ask any more of them.’

‘Jonathon Roy has acted with clear advice and guidance, always seeking the outcome we needed but not wasting time and money on areas that aren’t necessary. His open guiding manner is very easy to work with and follow. He has a team around him who turn documents and responses around very quickly and efficiently. I couldn’t recommend him highly enough.

‘We have worked with Ryan Mitchell on commercial contracting and Ryan has produced and advised on a wide range of commercial contracts in a very timely and professional manner.’

‘Clear and quality legal advice, hardworking legal counsel.’

‘Dedicated to the service they provide.’