Expert legal advice for businesses that need practical answers, clear fees and someone who understands the commercial decision behind the legal work.
Adroit Legal provides business legal services across the issues that arise when you start, operate, grow, restructure or sell a business. From reviewing a contract before you sign it to preparing for a business sale, we focus on what the legal position means for your business and what you should do next.
Fixed fees are agreed before work starts wherever the matter allows. You deal with the same adviser from start to finish, with integrated tax advice available through Adroit Accountax when a legal decision also has tax consequences.
No hourly meter · Fees agreed in advance · Legal and tax, one team
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We respond within two working days.
01 / OUR APPROACH
Legal advice is most useful when it helps you make a business decision, not when it simply explains the law.
You may be negotiating an important customer contract, bringing in a shareholder, taking on employees, buying another business or preparing your company for sale. Each decision creates different legal considerations, and the right advice depends on the circumstances of your business.
Our approach is to understand the commercial objective first, identify the legal issues that could affect it, and give you a clear route forward.
We work with owner-managed businesses that need experienced legal support without creating unnecessary layers between the business and the person advising it.
02 / THE PROCESS
We work with owner-managed businesses that need experienced legal support without creating unnecessary layers between the business and the person advising it.
You speak directly with the person handling your matter. You do not have to repeatedly explain your business to different members of a team or wait for a junior member of staff to work through the issue before it reaches the decision-maker.
Where a matter can be provided on a fixed fee, the fee is agreed in writing before work starts. For more complex transaction work, project fees can be capped.
You know what the legal work is going to cost before you commit.
Some business decisions cannot sensibly be separated into legal and tax questions.
A company restructuring, acquisition, business sale, shareholder arrangement or change in ownership can have consequences beyond the legal documents themselves. Where appropriate, Adroit Legal works alongside Adroit Accountax so the legal and tax considerations can be considered together.
03 / PRACTICE AREAS
Our work covers the legal issues that commonly arise throughout the life of an owner-managed business.
Buying or selling a business involves much more than signing a sale agreement.
We can assist with the legal work around acquisitions and disposals, including heads of terms, due diligence, negotiation, transaction documentation, completion and post-completion matters.
If you are considering a sale, legal preparation can also identify issues that may affect the transaction before the business goes to market.
Explore business sale & purchase →A shareholder rights and agreements can establish how important decisions are made, what happens when shareholders disagree and what happens when someone wants to leave.
Our work covers matters such as control, decision-making, deadlock, share transfers, exits and minority shareholder protection.
The objective is to deal with difficult scenarios while the relationship between shareholders is still working, rather than trying to resolve them after a dispute has developed.
From £1,250 + VATShareholder rights and agreements →Contracts determine what your business is required to deliver, what you can expect from the other party and who carries the risk when something goes wrong.
We draft, review and advise on commercial agreements, focusing on the provisions that have practical financial or operational consequences for your business.
That can include payment terms, liability, warranties, termination, renewal, intellectual property, confidentiality, service obligations and dispute provisions.
Review from £250 + VATCommercial contracts →Your employment documentation needs to reflect the role, responsibilities and risks involved.
We advise businesses on employment contracts for employees, senior personnel and directors, together with related provisions such as confidentiality, intellectual property and restrictive covenants.
We can also help businesses review their existing employment documentation as their workforce and responsibilities change.
From £400 + VATEmployment →Confidential information can be shared long before a commercial relationship is finalised.
An NDA can help establish what information is confidential, how it can be used and what obligations apply to the recipient.
We prepare and review one-way and mutual confidentiality agreements for businesses, whether you are discussing a potential sale, working with a supplier, speaking to a prospective customer or sharing information with a potential investor or business partner.
From £125 + VATNDA agreements →Businesses have legal and regulatory obligations that can change as they grow, employ people, handle personal data or enter regulated activities.
We advise on areas including the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, data protection and business licensing, helping you understand the obligations relevant to your particular circumstances.
The focus is not simply on identifying a rule. It is on understanding what your business needs to do in practice.
Scoped on enquiryRegulatory compliance →When a commercial relationship breaks down, getting advice early can make a significant difference to the decisions that follow.
We can review the position before proceedings are started, assess the contractual and factual issues, consider available options and assist with negotiation and arbitration where appropriate.
The aim is to establish your position clearly before unnecessary costs or escalation become part of the problem.
Scoped on enquiryDisputes & arbitration →The way a business is established can affect ownership, control, taxation and what happens when the business changes.
We advise founders on company formation and business structure, including the legal arrangements that need to be considered when setting up a company, bringing in co-founders or establishing ownership arrangements.
Where the structure also has tax implications, we can coordinate with Adroit Accountax.
From £450 + VATCompany formation & business structure →04 / ONGOING SUPPORT
Not every business needs a full-time in-house legal team.
But that does not mean legal issues disappear between major transactions.
A growing business may need a contract reviewed one month, advice on an employee the next, help with a shareholder matter later in the year and support with a larger transaction when an opportunity arises.
Our subscription legal services provide ongoing access to legal support for businesses that want predictable monthly costs rather than starting from scratch every time a new issue appears.
For businesses that need legal support regularly but do not need a permanent in-house legal function.
Each tier includes defined advisory time, document capacity and a response commitment.
For businesses with occasional legal needs
Most popular
For businesses with regular contract flow
An outsourced legal function
All prices exclude VAT. Bundle pricing available across formation, shareholders' agreements and terms.
See the full price list →05 / FEES
Where the scope of a matter can be clearly defined, we agree the fee before work starts.
All prices exclude VAT · fixed fee agreed in writing before work starts
“Instructing a legal advisor shouldn't feel like you are opening a meter.”
06 / OUR MODEL
Traditional legal billing can make a straightforward question feel unnecessarily difficult to ask.
You may hesitate before getting a contract checked because you do not know what the review will cost. You may postpone a shareholder discussion because the problem does not feel urgent yet. Or you may try to deal with a legal issue internally because instructing a firm feels disproportionate to the size of the business.
Our model is designed around a simpler principle: understand the issue, agree the scope and cost, then do the work.
07 / COMMITMENTS
08 / DECISIONS
The right time to obtain legal advice is not always when something has already gone wrong.
It may be before you sign an important agreement, before you bring in a shareholder, before you hire a senior employee, before you buy another business or before you put your own business on the market.
Getting the legal position understood at the right point can help you make the commercial decision with a clearer view of the risks, obligations and options involved.
If you already know what you need, you can go directly to the relevant service. If you are not sure which service applies, start with a conversation and we can establish what is involved.
Book a free 20-minute call →09 / INSIGHTS
Practical guidance on legal issues that affect the day-to-day running, growth and protection of a business.
Getting status wrong exposes a business to back-dated tax, holiday pay and tribunal claims. The practical tests, explained.
Read article →Failure to prevent fraud is now an offence. What reasonable procedures actually look like in practice.
Read article →The clauses that decide who carries the loss when something goes wrong — and how to negotiate them.
Read article →10 / FAQ
Adroit Legal provides legal support for owner-managed businesses across commercial contracts, business sales and purchases, shareholders' agreements, employment contracts, NDAs and confidentiality, regulatory compliance, disputes and arbitration, company formation and business structure, and ongoing subscription legal support.
Yes. Where the scope of the work can be defined clearly, a fixed fee is agreed in writing before work starts. For more complex transaction work, a project fee can be capped.
Legal work is provided through Adroit Legal, while tax advice is provided through Adroit Accountax. Where a matter involves both disciplines, the two teams can work together so that the legal and tax implications are considered as part of the same commercial decision.
Not necessarily. Some businesses only need legal advice for specific transactions or documents. Others have recurring contracts, employment matters or commercial questions and may benefit from ongoing support. The subscription service is designed for businesses in the latter position.
Yes. The service is designed around owner-managed businesses that need experienced legal support without necessarily maintaining a full-time in-house legal function.
The initial call is used to understand what your business needs, what has prompted you to seek advice and whether the matter fits within the services provided. It is also an opportunity to discuss the likely scope and next steps before you commit to the work.
11 / CONTACT
A free 20-minute call, with the adviser who would do the work. No commitment, no meter running.
We respond within two working days.