About
ALSTON ASQUITH is a corporate M&A, commercial and technology boutique law firm serving innovative companies and industry leaders around the world. We deploy our knowledge of different industry and service sectors with a dose of commercial sense.
We believe each client is uniquely important. Where we have experience that will save you time and get you a quicker solution, it’s yours.
COMMERCIAL:
The Alston Asquith commercial team offers a full range of legal services to facilitate the agreements and/or arrangements between professionals for the provision and acquisition of goods, services and facilities in the course of trade.
We are a relationship driven firm and advise and assist clients across the world with their most technical and important transactions. Our corporate experience extends beyond simply non-contentious transactional matters as we look after our clients through every stage of the company life-cycle.
The commercial team advises owners, directors, in-house counsel and senior employees. All of our solicitors share the same common goal; to help any client business run as efficiently as possible.
We have extensive experience across all areas of commercial law including logistics, agency, distribution, sales and marketing, manufacturing and franchising, outsourcing and offshoring, e-commerce, licensing and sales. Our commercial team combines sector and technical knowledge and expertise with the ability to craft innovative contractual solutions.
Alston Asquith’s lawyers possess an astute understanding of the law and have the attention to detail to prepare and assess any form of commercial agreement. We operate across a broad number of sectors and advise companies on how to consistently make the right decisions to maximise their advantage and avoid risk. Whatever the scale and scope of the contract, our lawyers’ solutions will be realistic and effective.
CORPORATE:
Our Corporate team comprises lawyers who are natural dealmakers, problem solvers, and strategic thinkers. We advise entrepreneurs, company directors, investors and private equity funds on transactions that protect, increase and help them to realise value for their businesses.
Whether you are buying, selling, starting or investing in a company, how the transaction is structured has enormous implications in both the short and the long term. Clever transactions minimise your risk and maximise your return.
It is important to us that you get the most out of your deals and our approach is positive, transparent and tailored to your needs. We can provide practical corporate legal advice to help you set-up a new business, acquire or invest in an existing business, or sell your established business.
We have acted for buyers, sellers and investors in a broad range of sectors. Our wide experience means we can offer valuable insights into the potential ‘drivers’ of the other parties. This allows us to anticipate some of the issues that may be faced during the course of a deal so we can maximise the value of your transactions, whilst minimising associated risks.
Whatever the size or complexity of the transaction, Alston Asquith’s team of experts has the depth of experience and commercial acumen you need in a trusted corporate partner.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION:
Alston Asquith’s commercial disputes practice advises on all aspects of dispute resolution, with a particular focus on ownership, exploitation and infringement of intellectual property rights and commercial disputes in the technology sector.
Our global dispute resolution and litigation teams are frequently instructed to deal with complex commercial and technology disputes and all of our lawyers are skilled in litigation, arbitration, investigations and alternative dispute resolution and will deploy that experience to help our clients to devise the best strategies suited for their individual needs.
We advise CEO’s and boards of large corporations and financial institutions on complex, high-value and sensitive multi-jurisdictional disputes. With significant experience resolving domestic and cross-border mandates, international arbitrations and investigations and enforcement for clients across all the key industry sectors including: emerging commercial technologies; telecommunications; core industries and markets; transport; and financial services.
We help clients through the lifecycle of transactions, in particular at an early stage, on how to avoid getting into disputes. When disputes arise, we guide clients through pre-contentious negotiations and help them choose the best dispute resolution option.
We begin every potential claim with a full strategic review. This involves an in-depth cost, risk, benefit analysis of the claim, considering the strengths and weaknesses of the case in detail before we would proceed.
It is core to our philosophy that we only expect you to pay for what you value so finding out what you value is our starting point. Disputes should only end up in court if you decide that they should, so we offer alternative ways to get the result you want. Moreover, our proprietary cost-estimating and project management software allows transparency and predictability in our work execution against budget.
Dispute Resolution Expertise
Agency disputes
Arbitration
Banking and finance litigation
Breach of fiduciary duties
Contract disputes
Commercial litigation
Debt recovery
Defamation
Director’s duties
Franchising disputes
Fraud and asset recovery
Insurance claims
Intellectual property
Injunctions
IT and telecoms
Mediation
Partnerships and LLPs
Professional negligence
Product liability
Taxation
DATA PROTECTION:
Every business needs an efficient information management system to operate effectively. Rigorous data protection laws, plus increasing regulatory and commercial pressure means that a clear understanding of the storage and use of information is fundamentally essential.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force in May 2018, alongside a new regulation on ePrivacy, and all UK entities must understand the implications and comply with the rules if they provide goods, services or market to citizens of the European Union. This will continue to apply after the UK leaves the European Union.
Alston Asquith’s data protection lawyers are able to advise clients on how best to achieve their strategic objectives whilst complying with this evolving regulatory regime. We highlight gaps in compliance and assist with the implementation of the policies and procedures needed, as well as dealing with any incidents that may occur.
As a firm we advise organisations of all sizes on data protection and privacy issues, from start-ups to large corporate entities across most sectors. Whether you require short-term crisis management support, or a global program tailored to satisfy international data protection authorities, our clients receive pragmatic, practical and cost-effective solutions.
We also have expert solicitors in outsourcing, employment, litigation and corporate law who are able to advise on a range of data protection issues.
Data Protection Expertise
Access rights for data subjects
CCTV and privacy
Compliance issues for personal data
Data Protection Act 1998
Data Protection Regulation
Data Mapping
Employee Related Data Issues
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
International transfers of data
Marketing issues
Policies and privacy notices
Retention of communications data
EMPLOYMENT:
Our highly experienced, specialist employment teams act for a wide range of clients in numerous sectors. We cover issues and claims involving all aspects of domestic and international employment law. We will help you find the right course to steer through legislation that changes frequently and is often complex and confusing. In any event, we always tailor our services and costs to meet each clients’ requirements.
The Alston Asquith employment team acts as a trusted advisor for a broad range of employers including; entrepreneurial start-ups, well-established public companies and professional services firms. We focus our practice on acting for: senior executives, board directors and company officers; LLP members and partners; entrepreneurs, and high profile public figures in the technology sector.
Unlike many of our competitors, our employment lawyers work alongside the corporate, tax, and data protection teams in order to provide the most comprehensive commercial advices to help employers to protect their business interests, client base, confidential information, tax position and professional reputation.
Our employment lawyers specialise in complex employment and partnership matters. We explain and rationalise the legal implications of employment and partnership issues clearly and concisely. Drawing on many years of experience, the team are high level strategists and have a deep understanding of both the mediation and the judicial system, frequently managing litigation in the Employment Tribunal and the High Court, including unfair and wrongful dismissal; whistleblowing; and discrimination. All of our employment lawyers are risk managers, with an adept knowledge and understanding of when to take risks and when to minimise them. We always apply the proportionate force at the appropriate time to offer clients the best chance of success.
Employment Expertise
Anti-corruption and bribery
Contracts of employment
Consultants’ agreements
Data protection and workplace monitoring
Discrimination, harassment or bullying
Employee handbooks, policies and procedures
Employee incentives
Employment Tribunal and High Court actions
Facilities management and TUPE
Human Resources Services
Sale of business
Settlement Agreements
Redundancy and workforce re-organisation
Working time regulations
Unfair and wrongful dismissal
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:
Alston Asquith’s intellectual property team is one of the most experienced in the market. We handle advisory, transactional and dispute work across all stages of the intellectual property lifecycle.
Intellectual Property creates exclusive rights in a wide and diverse range of things from novels, sculptures, paintings, films, television broadcasts to computer software. We are surrounded by and constantly interact with the subject matter of intellectual property law, for example you are reading this page on an electronic device that will have numerous patents and design rights ranging from the algorithms of the source code, assembly code and the object code through to semiconductor chip topographies.
Given the wide range of subject matter with which it is concerned intellectual property law is not a single homogenous body of law; rather, the term is usually used to describe a number of areas of law typically including copyright law, patent law and trade mark law, each of which has its own distinct characteristics.
While there are a number of differences between the various forms of intellectual property, one factor they all share in common is that they establish property protection over intangible things such as ideas, inventions, signs and information
Alston Asquith’s lawyers advise a myriad of businesses from start-ups to offshore corporates, on the development, protection and enforcement of their intellectual property rights and in turn, enjoy the commercial benefits of our clear and cost-effective solutions.
We also advise clients in relation to the maintenance of their trade mark and design portfolios, including the searching and clearance of new trade marks, the filing and prosecution of trade mark applications both in the UK and overseas, dealing with trade mark disputes, including trade mark oppositions, cancellation actions and the renewal of trade mark registrations and other maintenance issues. This enables our team to offer a complete service for trade mark and design issues.
Intellectual Property Expertise
Assignment of intellectual property rights
Audits of intellectual property
Confidential information
Copyright and database rights
Intellectual property dispute resolution
Patents and inventions
Patent strategy
Trade marks
Transactional intellectual property strategy
Passing off
Domain names
Design rights
TECHNOLOGY:
Technology Law is at the heart of Alston Asquith. Our lawyers understand the market place, we understand digital technology trends and we are especially adept at providing counsel on the most current and cutting-edge issues in the technology sphere.
The team has experience of dealing with the full range of transactions relating to commercial technology services and products, both online and traditional, including: drafting and negotiating agreements for systems’ integration; software development; data and information provision; cloud computing arrangements; and distributor and reseller contracts.
Covering, the complete range of technology transactions involved in your business growth cycles, we take the time to understand your company and its commercial needs and we draw upon our industry knowledge to deliver bespoke solutions. As specialists in commercial technology law we draft and negotiate tailored contracts for projects too complex to fit a standard document.
All of the Alston Asquith team members have a working knowledge of procedure-orientated and object-oriented programming languages and unlike other firms they are able to offer legal, commercial and technological solutions to all transactions and/or matters.
Technology Expertise
Affiliate agreements
Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements
Cloud arrangements
Distance selling regulations
Escrow agreements
Information technology agreements
Linking agreements
Outsourcing agreements
Privacy policies
Service level agreements
Software development agreements
Software licences
Technology disputes
Terms of business
Website hosting and development agreements
Website terms and conditions
Experience
Our commercial technology team serves clients wishing to access investment opportunities; international networks; capital markets or clients in overseas offices. The team have a focus on particular technology sub-specialisms, including: FinTech; Information Technology: PropTech and AdTech. As a firm, a wider technology focus ensures we are experienced in providing advice to our clients on commercial arrangements, Intellectual Property, Corporate Finance transactions, Structured Debt facilities, Data Privacy and other Regulatory matters, Litigation and Corporate Risk scenarios and Tax Planning.
Show more
