Paris Smith LLP

The firm: Paris Smith enjoys an exceptional reputation as a provider of services from its offices in Southampton and Winchester to both business and families in the regions and nationally.  It boasts many longstanding relationships with clients and referrers throughout the region and beyond. While justifiably proud of its 200+-year history, the firm’s focus is very much on the future with an emphasis on having the right people, resources and technology. Paris Smith’s purpose is to enable its clients to succeed and to help them overcome the challenges which they may face, adding value to its clients through a positive experience with a quality of service which has become synonymous with the name Paris Smith. The firm uses its significant legal skills and extensive network to enable the outcomes which its clients seek.

The firm comprises some of the finest lawyers in the region, many of whom are considered to be leaders in their respective fields. Paris Smith offers a first-class proposition for those seeking a top-drawer legal service on par with much larger central London law firms, but at regional fee rates. The firm is increasingly being engaged by clients who have previously retained lawyers in the capital, evidenced by the quality of its client list, which includes large regional businesses, high-street brands, well known national PLCs, and high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

Types of work undertaken: The firm offers specialist advice to both business and personal clients. The corporate team is an established provider of mainstream M&A advice to enterprises ranging from midsize corporates to established owner-managed businesses. The commercial team provides a strong offering with ex-City expertise. It regularly advises clients on domestic and international commercial non-contentious and contentious matters.  The firm also has a highly respected banking and finance offering which has considerable experience in advising lenders and borrowers including UK and international banks, building societies and corporate clients. It is complemented by specialist intellectual property and regulatory lawyers. The intellectual property team advises on IP/IT, GDPR and e-commerce matters. The regulatory and business crime team advises on health and safety and other regulatory issues. The experienced corporate restructuring and insolvency team is regularly retained by a number of established and well respected insolvency practitioners across the country.

The employment team has a strong reputation for its work both with employers and employees and offers insurance-based solutions if appropriate. Lawyers in the team regularly provide line manager training to commercial clients.

The commercial property team is retained by many high-street names. It has advised on some of the south’s most high-profile developments. It boasts a specialist leasehold enforcement team (ALEP membership) and an agricultural and rural property team.  Its planning team comprises specialist lawyers and, uniquely, planning consultants, most of whom have had an involvement in many major planning projects in the central south region. The public sector team is retained by regional local authorities and several London boroughs.

The firm’s family and private client teams are recognised as leaders in their respective fields with several of their partners commended as among the leading lawyers in the region.   The teams have specialists in the field of succession planning, Court of Protection cases for vulnerable adults and matters with an international theme.

Dedicated teams in litigation and dispute resolution advise clients on a range of complex and high-value corporate and commercial actions including those concerning contractual issues, shareholder and partnership actions, property disputes, professional negligence, intellectual property claims, debt recovery and asset-based lending recovery actions. Lawyers in the firm have developed a reputation for dealing professionally with many contested probate, trusts and estates actions, many of which have been very complex in nature.

The firm has a number of trained mediators in employment, commercial and family disputes and has offices which are frequently used as a venue for mediation.

The firm’s charities and education teams act for national and regional charities, higher and further education establishments, schools and colleges. The firm acts for schools converting to academies.