Downs Solicitors LLP

Our experienced and well-respected team works with a wide range of clients with property interests in the UK and overseas, including developers, investors and pension funds. We deal with a wide range of property transactions and structures, in addition to acquisitions, disposals and leases.

Our services include advising on:

Property development

Our development lawyers have an extensive knowledge of both residential and commercial development schemes, public and private, and are supported in delivery of these services by our specialist lawyers for construction, planning, environmental regulation, corporate, commercial, local authority law and dispute resolution.

Easements

Whether it is laying a new pipeline, securing rights for services in the context of major public works, new easements relating to development or advising on issues relating to access, light or services to your existing property, we have people who can help you.

Investment

We act for institutional pension funds, fund managers, overseas investors, property companies and private investors in connection with a wide range of property investment opportunities.

Joint ventures

Our team is able to advise on the full range of structures for the holding, acquisition and disposal or land as well as complex arrangements to allow multiple parties to share both profit and risk.

Land options

Our team is able to assist both land owners wishing to dispose of land for development and those wishing to acquire land subject to planning or other condition to do so to best advantage.

Landlord and tenant

Whether you are a landlord or a tenant we can ensure that your rights and commercial advantage is protected on the grant, renewal or termination of any leasehold interest and on rent review.

Property portfolio management

We prepare and advise on the terms of leases, renewals, licences to occupy, alter, assign or underlet, rent review memoranda, surrenders or deeds of variation, all at cost-effective rates.

We advise company directors, partners and other stakeholders on the strategies to adopt and risk management options; we can introduce you to new sources of finance, advise on debt restructuring and forms of re-financing; we can implement solvent restructurings, including reductions of capital and share buy-backs.

If the refinancing options are not available, we will describe the formal and informal insolvency processes that can be employed, including administrations, receiverships, company voluntary arrangements and liquidations for companies and LLP’s, and individual or partnership voluntary arrangements or administrations for sole traders and partnerships; where appropriate we will introduce you to, and work closely with, other professionals including insolvency practitioners, to make sure that you receive the best advice.

If you are an insolvency practitioner, you want to instruct experienced lawyers who will make your task easier and more cost-effective. We understand what you want to achieve, and the importance of practical action and advice when you are running “up against the clock”.

To provide you with a comprehensive service we bring together in one team property lawyers, employment specialists and dispute resolution experts.

We have a well-earned reputation for delivering on all these. We can provide testimonials from insolvency practitioners to back this up.

We can advise on:

• administration, receivership, company voluntary arrangements, liquidation and bankruptcy

• solvent restructuring

• debt restructuring, work outs and refinancing

• personal insolvency and partnership restructuring

• shareholder and partnership disputes

• directors duties and responsibilities

• directors disqualification

• re-use of prohibited company name or trading style

Are you looking for an experienced team of business dispute lawyers to react quickly to protect your best interests in the face of a looming business dispute?

Do you want to talk to experienced lawyers offering commercial litigation advice on business disputes? We look at all options for compromising a dispute before it becomes a formal process and actually settle the bulk of our cases through negotiation. It is the strategy for resolution of commercial disputes that sets up the dialogue between the parties which is often the key to success.

If you are faced with a formal business dispute; in Godalming, Dorking, Surrey, London, South of England, or overseas, you can be assured that your litigation will be handled by experienced business dispute lawyers charged at a highly competitive hourly rate, lower than most firms based in London.

Business disputes team
Our commercial disputes team has in-depth experience of the complete range of formal processes for resolving business disputes through the courts, including the Privy Council, the Court of Appeal, the Commercial Court, the Technology and Construction Court, the Companies Court, other divisions of the High Court, the County Court, Leasehold Valuation Tribunals and VAT Tribunals, as well as through international and domestic arbitration. Our Commercial Dispute Team is also expert in advising on and implementing alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") procedures, including mediation, adjudication, mini-trials and expert fact-finding. ADR procedures, in particular mediation, are now involved in the settlement of many business dispute cases and we have a track record of success in this area.

Business dispute process overview
At the outset of any business dispute, we investigate and establish the facts, set out the applicable law, comment on the legal issues and advise you on the merits of any commercial or business lawsuit. We then define with you the commercial context, in order to identify and narrow the issues and risks involved in bringing/contesting a claim. We then devise with our clients a strategy for the dispute, which will take into account the projected litigation costs involved, the time scale, the terms on which any resolution should be sought and a methodology for achieving this.

Business dispute funding options
We are experienced in advising on the litigation funding options now available to mitigate or neutralise the cost and risk of any commercial litigation including "After The Event" insurance to cover the risk of having to pay the costs of the other side, Conditional Fee agreements providing for "no win, no cost" to you and third party funding for appropriate cases.

The types of business disputes and commercial litigation handled by our lawyers are broad-ranging but include the following:

Construction and engineering disputes
We will act on behalf of employers, sponsors, contractors, subcontractors and professionals in connection with civil engineering and infrastructure projects, commercial and residential developments.

Commercial contract disputes
We act for businesses supplying of goods and/or services or for those purchasing them. We are also experienced in handling business disputes arising in relation to distribution and other commercial agreements.

Copyright, trade mark and passing off disputes
Commercial disputes that we have handled recently include:

(1) action against the publishers of a trade magazine for advertising a product that infringed our client's trademark
(2) advising in relation to garden products manufactured in China that were passed off as those of our client.

Debt collection
We operate a process-driven service for selected clients.

Insolvency
We act on behalf of liquidators, companies, directors or creditors involved in administration or winding up proceedings.

Pensions-related disputes
We act on behalf of trustees to pension funds.

Property litigation
We act for both commercial and residential landlords and tenants as well as for individuals.

Our experience of property dispute cases includes:

• Landlord and Tenant disputes whether rent reviews, lease renewals, dilapidations, breach of covenants, possession claims, break clauses, service charge disputes, claims against former tenants and guarantors.

• Negligence of property professionals and/or acting for insurers on claims.

Professional negligence
We act for claimants against a wide range of professionals including surveyors, architects, solicitors, valuers, accountants and auditors, financial advisers and Information Technology professionals.

Shareholder and partnership disputes
Unfortunately, the recent economic circumstances have led to an upturn of shareholder disputes and disputes between partners, which our team of experienced dispute resolution lawyers are adept at resolving.

Are you looking for experienced employment lawyers to give you practical solutions to your HR/staff issues?

Does your business often struggle to understand its legal obligations towards its staff?

Does the fear of being taken to an Employment Tribunal take priority in your business decisions?

Our team of highly-regarded Surrey-based employment lawyers, are able to provide clear and practical advice on all of the above issues and more, including:

Settlement Agreements
Contracts of Employment/Directors’ Service Agreements
Staff Handbooks
Discrimination Issues
Employment Tribunal Representation
Discplinary issues
Grievances
Unfair Dismissal (including Unfair Constructive Dismissal)
Workplace Mediation
Family Friendly Rights
TUPE
Data Protection
Training
Our main aim is to try and prevent issues arising between you and your employees by providing current and relevant advice that will give you a strong foundation on which to build your employer/employee relationship.

We also recognise that dealing with staffing issues can often be very challenging, time-consuming and involve high levels of emotion. Our experienced employment lawyers are able to provide advice that is sympathetic to your business needs yet gives you practical options and solutions to solving the problems you face.

We regularly advise business owners, directors, HR directors and HR managers on a wide variety of HR problems and issues, including: Settlement Agreements, Contracts, Policies, disciplining employees, dealing with issues of poor performance, training your managers so that they can deal with HR problems more effectively, helping you navigate redundancy processes and TUPE, etc.

We also have an in-house capability to represent you at an Employment Tribunal and we can provide advice and support from start to finish. Our Surrey-based employment lawyers will give you the support you need to allow you to run your business more effectively.

Our approach is to apply our expertise and experience while at the same time recognising that no two cases are the same. We tailor our advice to your specific business needs to ensure that if you are taken to an Employment Tribunal, you are in the strongest possible position to either win or negotiate a sensible deal. All of our employment lawyers are experienced in negotiating settlements, so are able to advise you on the best tactical approach in order to achieve the best outcome.

As we are experts in the law we will also be able to advise you on angles and issues that others may miss, in particular, in relation to discrimination claims.

Our Employment Department is ranked in the Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners as one of the leading practices in Surrey and the South East for HR and employment law advice. Our rankings are awarded as a result of client testimonials and the quality of our employment lawyers' work.

Whatever your employment law needs, our employment lawyers in Surrey can help you with clear, practical advice and a professional service. We predominantly serve clients in Surrey (Guildford, Cobham Godalming and Dorking), London and the South East. We also act for a number of national and international clients.