Thompson Smith and Puxon

The firm: Thompson Smith and Puxon can trace its roots back to 1879 and has since grown to be one of the leading law firms in Essex, with 12 partners, some 70 employees, and offices in Colchester and Clacton. It offers a range of legal advice to businesses and individual clients. Its specialist practice areas, with accredited lawyers and attentive support staff, ensure clients receive the most professional and practical advice available.

Types of work undertaken
Private client: whether planning for the future and needing wills and estates advice, buying or selling property, or needing advice on contentious issues such as personal disputes, personal injury, clinical negligence, employment or family matters, TSP provides practical advice to guide clients through the various processes and procedures.

Wills, trusts and estates: the team provides advice and assistance based on understanding clients objectives. It advises on wills, inheritance tax, powers of attorney and Court of Protection, estate planning, the administration of estates, trusts, and elderly and vulnerable client matters.

Family and divorce law: the team advises clients on all aspects of family law, from cohabitation agreements and civil partnerships to divorce, dissolution of civil partnerships, financial and property issues, and arrangements for children.

Clinical negligence (claimant): the team handles many different types of claim, but, in particular, specialises in catastrophic injuries involving children, such as birth injuries and cerebral palsy, and also cases involving missed diagnosis and treatment delay.

Personal injury (claimant): the specialist personal injury team has many years of experience helping accident victims with their claims and has recovered many millions in compensation. The personal injury team can help clients claim compensation for any injuries or losses suffered, which, as a direct result of the accident, affected the quality of life.

Residential property: the team will guide you through each step of the buying and selling process as well as providing the practical and professional advice you need in order to ensure your transaction goes through smoothly and quickly.

Business services team: TSP looks after the business issues that matter to its clients whether they are large or small. The corporate and commercial team includes a number of lawyers with City law background and experience. Clients of TSP are regional, national and international, and include single-owner start-ups, high-net-worth individuals, SMEs and multinationals.

Sectors include: manufacturing, construction, care homes, hotels, energy (including solar and windfarms), professional services, agricultural businesses and dentistry.

Corporate/commercial: providing commercially driven advice, and transactional and advisory work (domestic and cross-border) in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, corporate finance, refinancing, reorganisations and de-mergers, shareholder arrangements and joint ventures, share options, partnerships (including corporates), insolvency, agency and distribution, and supply and maintenance agreements across a broad range of industries.

Employment: delivering solutions-based advice and supporting clients in the day-to-day management of their people, legal issues and risk. The team works on a strategic and operational level on both contentious and non-contentious matters across the private and public sectors including contracts of employment, restrictive covenants, employment policies and procedures, share option schemes, dismissals and redundancy, employment disputes (including tribunal representation), settlement agreements, business sales and reorganisations.

Dispute resolution: providing alternative dispute resolution (by mediation and negotiation), and advising on civil and commercial disputes including contentious probate, breach of contract and negligence, insolvency (corporate and individual), injunctions, commercial and residential landlord and tenant and boundary disputes, and consumer rights.

Real estate and property: delivering high-quality commercial and innovative advice on property matters to its clients, including property ownership (for dwelling, trading and investment purposes), management, development, acquisitions and disposals, options, joint ventures and property financing.

Agriculture and estates: TSP has long-standing and strong relationships with the rural community in Essex, Suffolk and the surrounding counties. Headed by Stephen Firmin, a Fellow of the Agricultural Law Association, the team is familiar with the specific issues and problems that the sector has and can advise on all matters that concern farmers and landowners.

Other offices: Clacton on Sea