Practice Areas Summary
The Firm
William Sturges LLP is a long established and thriving London law firm based in Westminster.
Through several London mergers our lineage can be traced back to 1780. We are a traditional London law firm with a modern approach. Our commercial approach provides us with the necessary experience to ensure pragmatic and reliable advice in a timely and cost-effective manner to both our commercial and private clients.
The Firm has a diverse client base that includes publicly quoted companies, financial institutions, investors, commercial and residential investors and developers, high street retail chains, household names, charities, SMEs, community organisations, public sector clients and high net worth private individuals.
Client care is of paramount importance. We believe in understanding our clients’ commercial and personal needs, providing bespoke legal advice to achieve their aims. We are known for our personal touch, drawing on a wealth of experience from our partner-led teams.
International
William Sturges advises international clients with business and personal interests in the UK, providing a wide range of advisory services including those relating to international legal issues. Our network of lawyers operates far and wide with our close membership with LawNet and Eurojuris International.
Principal Areas of Work
We offer experienced teams of lawyers covering the following disciplines:
Company Commercial
Including:
- Sale and purchase of businesses and companies
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Joint venture, partnerships, companies and LLPs
- Cross-border corporate rollouts
- Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements
- Management buy ins and buy outs
- Listing on recognised share markets
- Commercial agency and distribution agreements
- Business format franchising
- Business to business terms of supply or purchase
- Consumer terms of sale of goods or supply of services
- E-commerce
- Know-how, patent, copyright, trademark and other intellectual property
- Telecommunications, including commercial and regulatory matters
- Premises and venue licensing
Commercial Property
Including:
- All sectors covered including retail, leisure, licensed premises, office, industrial and development
- Sales and purchases of commercial properties and businesses
- Landlord and tenant
- Agreements for development and sale
- Options, conditional sale agreements and pre-emption agreements
- Secured lending and real estate finance
- Joint venture agreements
- Overage and additional payment agreements
- Assignment and underletting of leasehold premises
- Rent deposit deeds
- Licences for alteration, assignment and underletting
- Planning agreements
- Property dispute resolution
Residential Property
Including:
- Buying and selling houses, flats and new builds
- Buy to let
- Auction purchases and sales
- Occupational leases, tenancies, licences and sharing arrangements
- Lease extensions
- Assured shorthold tenancy agreements
- Right to buy freehold
- Landlord and tenant disputes
- Mortgages
- Licences for alterations, assignments and underletting
- Restrictive covenants and title restrictions
- Planning permissions, building regulations and listed building consents
- Party wall awards
- Boundaries and easements over land
Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Including:
- Contractual disputes
- Injunctions and other emergency relief
- Insolvency and restructuring
- Bankruptcy
- Director disqualification
- Company and shareholder disputes
- Professional negligence
- Rent reviews, lease renewals and extensions
- Service charges, possession claims, dilapidations and rent arrears
- First & Second Property Tribunals
- Building works disputes
- Boundary disputes
- Planning
- Disputed Wills and estates
- Arbitration and mediation
Banking
Including:
- Secured lending for lending institutions and borrowers
- Loan and guarantee facilities
- Hotel funding and development
- Advising on loan documentation, facility agreements and associated security
Employment
Including:
- Employment termination
- Protecting confidential information and customer connections
- Suspension and garden leave
- Team moves
- Enforcement of post termination restrictions and confidentiality
- Issuing and responding to High Court applications for injunctions
- Drafting contracts and staff handbooks
- Consultancy agreements
- Sickness and capability
- Disciplinary and grievance issues
- Employment issues in business and company sales
- Redundancy programmes and restructuring
- TUPE transfers
- Trade union and industrial relations
- Employment litigation in Employment Tribunals and Courts
Insolvency
Including:
- Company liquidation, administration and receivership
- Bankruptcy
- Asset tracing
- Confiscating and restraint proceedings
- Company voluntary arrangements
- Individual voluntary arrangements
- Administrative receiverships
- LPA receiverships
- All restructuring processes
- Licensing and disciplinary work
- The duties and functions of licensed insolvency practitioners
Family
Including:
- Pre-marital and co-habitation agreements
- The breakdown of marriage, civil partnership or co-habitation
- Financial arrangements following breakdown of relationship
- Emergency arrangements to protect assets from dissipation
- Arrangements for children and financial provision
- Applications to emigrate with children or prevent the abduction of children or secure their return
- Provision out of the estate of a deceased person
- Protective action in cases of domestic violence
Private Client
Including:
- Wills and Codicils
- UK Estate and Tax Planning
- Probate and Estate Administration
- Letters of Administration and Intestacy
- Setting up lifetime Trusts
- Tax and Trust Administration
- Winding up Trusts
- Moving to or leaving the UK
- Owning assets in UK
- UK Residency and Domicile
- Powers of Attorney
- Court of Protection matters including Deputyship applications
- Office of the Public Guardian
Charities
Including:
- The formation and governance of charities
- The duties of charitable trustees
- The administration of charities
- Dealing with charity land
