Depth, Not Breadth
Five core service lines, handled repeatedly and in detail. That means faster identification of the issues that matter and documents built for how your business actually operates.
Leases · Investments · Acquisitions · Employment · Data
Corporate Commercial Contracts & Compliance
International corporate and commercial counsel. Refined. Focused.
We don't try to be everything to everyone. From London, we advise businesses, founders and executives across borders in five core areas of corporate growth and protection, backed by the IP, media and technology expertise that sets our firm apart.
The Power of Our Focus
We deliberately limit our corporate and commercial work to the areas where we can offer genuine depth, so every client is advised by a specialist rather than a generalist.
The IP & Technology Lens
Most modern businesses are built on software, content, brands and data. We review leases, investments, acquisitions and employment documents with the intellectual property and data risks in view, which generalist advisers often miss.
Principal-Led Advice
Your matter is led by our principal solicitor, with clear written advice, agreed scope and direct access throughout.
Companies, Founders & Investors
Limited companies, start-ups, scale-ups and established brands, particularly in media, technology and the creative industries.
Executives, Consultants & Creators
Senior executives, freelance consultants and creators who need service, consultancy, settlement or commercial agreements reviewed or negotiated.
Corporate & Commercial Legal Services
Each pillar has its own dedicated page with full detail on how we can help.
Commercial Lease Agreements
Securing your physical footprint with clear, future-proof lease terms.
Offices, retail units, studios and creative spaces, for tenants and landlords, including portfolio and multi-site arrangements.
- Heads of terms and full lease review, drafting and negotiation
- Rent review, service charge, repair and break clauses
- Subleases, assignments and occupational licences
- Security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
- Exit planning, surrender and dilapidations
Share Investments & Acquisitions
Structuring equity investments that protect capital and support growth.
Minority and majority equity investments, venture and private capital rounds, share purchases and corporate share structuring.
- Term sheets, subscription and share purchase agreements
- Shareholders’ agreements, articles and share-class rights
- Legal, commercial and IP due diligence
- Warranties, indemnities and disclosure
- Founder, investor and minority protections
Business Asset Purchases
Transferring the assets you need while isolating the liabilities you don’t.
Buying or selling a business, a division or specific assets, including carve-outs and intellectual property transfers.
- Deal structuring: assets or shares
- Asset purchase agreements, warranties and indemnities
- Assignment of IP, domains, software and key contracts
- Transfer of employees under TUPE
- Completion steps and post-completion transfers
Executive Employment & Employment IP
Protecting the relationship between a business and its key people.
Service agreements for senior leaders, consultancy and contractor arrangements, international remote workers and executive exits.
- Executive service and consultancy agreements
- Restrictive covenants and confidentiality
- Ownership of IP created by employees and contractors
- Staff handbooks and workplace policies
- Settlement agreements and negotiated exits
Data Protection & Privacy Compliance
Protecting your data and navigating overlapping privacy regimes.
UK GDPR, EU GDPR and US state privacy laws such as the CCPA, international data transfers, breach response and privacy by design.
- Privacy notices, records of processing and retention policies
- Data processing agreements and controller–processor terms
- International transfers: IDTA, UK Addendum and SCCs
- Data subject access requests and ICO breach reporting
- Data protection impact assessments for new products
Tell Us About the Matter
Many transactions touch more than one pillar, such as an acquisition involving premises, staff and customer data. We will confirm the right scope at the outset.
Contracts & Disputes
Media, Entertainment & Technology Contracts
- Supply, distribution and agency agreements
- Software development, SaaS and licensing agreements
- NDAs, MOUs and heads of terms
- Risk-focused audits of indemnities, liability caps and termination rights
Commercial & Contract Disputes
- Pre-action strategy and correspondence
- High Court and County Court litigation, including interim injunctions
- Norwich Pharmacal disclosure applications
- Mediation and without-prejudice settlement negotiations
Cross-Border Corporate & Commercial Capability
Our clients invest, employ, contract and process data across borders. We build documentation that works in more than one jurisdiction at the same time.
Investments & Acquisitions
English-law share and asset transactions involving overseas investors, sellers or subsidiaries, with governing law, jurisdiction and enforcement planned from the start.
International Teams
Executive and consultancy agreements for leaders and remote workers based outside the UK, with IP ownership and confidentiality protected wherever the work is done.
Global Privacy Compliance
One privacy framework aligned across UK GDPR, EU GDPR and US state laws, including lawful international data transfers.
We advise on English law from London. Where a matter turns on another country's law, we identify it early and coordinate with local counsel.
Trusted by Businesses Built on IP, Media & Technology
Internet Lawyer Since 1999
Over 25 years in commercial, IP and technology law
Published Author
A Practical Guide to Business, Law & the Internet (Kogan Page, 2002)
MBL Seminars Partner
International CPD training for 286,000+ professionals across 73 countries
SRA Regulated
Authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (No. 827265)
Media & Entertainment
Production companies, studios, talent, agencies and creative businesses.
Technology & SaaS
Software, platform, app and AI businesses, and the investors who back them.
Brands & Consumer Businesses
Consumer brands, e-commerce and retail businesses, and their founders.
Representative Matters
Software Ownership and Chain of Title Before Investment
Analysed development agreements and residual developer claims for a SaaS platform whose ownership dispute was delaying a €15 million investment.
Consumer App — Children's Data and App-Store Compliance
Advised a pre-launch app on children's data, privacy documentation and the interaction between in-app purchasing rules and physical-product supply.
Anonymised and high-level. Past work does not guarantee a particular outcome in any future matter.
Corporate & Commercial Legal Questions
Should I buy a company's shares or its assets?
In a share purchase you buy the company itself, with all its history, contracts and liabilities, so protection comes from due diligence, warranties and indemnities. In an asset purchase you choose the assets and liabilities you take on, which gives more control but needs contracts, IP and sometimes employees to be transferred individually. Tax, consents and the TUPE regulations often decide which structure works best.
Does my business lease have security of tenure?
Many business tenancies in England and Wales have security of tenure under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, which gives the tenant a right to renew at the end of the term. Landlords and tenants can agree to contract out of that protection, but only by following the statutory notice and declaration procedure before the lease is signed. It is important to know which applies before you commit.
What should a shareholders' agreement cover?
Typical terms include board composition, reserved matters that need shareholder consent, share transfers and pre-emption rights, drag-along and tag-along rights, good and bad leaver provisions, deadlock resolution and exit routes. A shareholders' agreement works alongside the company's articles of association, and the two documents need to be consistent.
Are restrictive covenants in an executive's contract enforceable?
Post-termination restrictions such as non-compete, non-solicitation and non-dealing covenants are enforceable in England and Wales only if they protect a legitimate business interest and go no further than reasonably necessary in scope and duration. Restrictions should be tailored to the role and reviewed when the executive is promoted or the business changes.
Can we transfer personal data from the UK to other countries?
Yes, if a lawful transfer mechanism applies. Transfers can rely on UK adequacy regulations, including the UK–US data bridge for certified US organisations, or on safeguards such as the International Data Transfer Agreement or the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses, supported by a transfer risk assessment.
Do you only act for businesses?
No. We act for companies, founders, executives, creators and individuals on commercial matters within our practice areas, from lease and investment documents to employment exits, data protection and contract disputes.
How do your fees work?
Matters usually begin with an initial review of the agreed documents and questions, followed by a consultation with our principal solicitor. Scope and fees for any further work are agreed in advance, in writing.
Start Your Corporate & Commercial Enquiry
Use the form below, or contact us directly. A short summary helps us confirm the right next step quickly.
Helpful to Include
- Your name and company
- The service: lease, share investment, asset purchase, employment or data protection
- The other parties and countries involved
- Any signing, completion or regulatory deadline
Direct Access
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7305 7491
Email: support@pailsolicitors.co.uk
23 Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London W1J 6HE
Scope and fees are agreed in advance before any work begins.
