Schofield Sweeney

The firm: Schofield Sweeney is a leading commercial law firm offering clear, pragmatic and high-quality legal services. Established in 1998, it quickly earned a strong reputation for its innovative and results-driven approach, investing time in getting to know a client’s business and its people so that advice and solutions can be tailored to meet their commercial needs. Its team of experts offers clear thinking and provides sound commercial advice.

Schofield Sweeney operates a partner-led approach, which means clients have direct access to highly regarded lawyers who have the knowledge and expertise to deal with their case. The firm believes in stability and continuity, providing a no-nonsense, hands-on service and limiting the use of legal jargon to ensure it builds good working relationships with clients.

Schofield Sweeney attracts high-calibre lawyers from large national and/or global practices, which means clients have access to the very best expertise at a realistic cost. Its teams are passionate about what they do and adhere to the highest professional standards. The firm invests in its people through ongoing training and development, so specialists are up-to-date with the latest market developments, trends and changes in legislation.

Types of work undertaken
Commercial property: development work, with a strong regeneration focus; site assembly, including options, overage and infrastructure agreements; PFI and health care sector land transactions; secured lending and development finance matters; portfolio security; commercial landlord and tenant transactions; freehold and leasehold acquisitions; business relocations and disposals for traders and investors; dispute resolution.

Construction and engineering: arbitration; bonds and guarantees; contracts and agreements; dispute resolution; collateral warranties; procurement routes.

Corporate and commercial: acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and reconstructions/demergers; forms of equity and debt financing; corporate finance transactions; general company and commercial matters; shareholder and partnership issues; contracting structures and public/private company regulation and compliance; governance and contractual matters; in-house training.

Dispute resolution: shareholder and partnership disputes; contract disputes; professional negligence actions; construction and building disputes; intellectual property infringement; regulatory matters; alcohol and entertainment licence applications.

Education: academy conversions from consultation through to academy order; staff transfer, TUPE and pension issues; corporate governance and company secretarial matters; land, property and asset transfer; advising on the financial and funding implications of academies; advising on financial and accounting systems services, including the selection of auditors, project management, commercial agreements, procurement and contracting post-conversion; ongoing legal and HR advice; procurement and governance services; appeals and admissions; design and build contracts post-conversion for academies previously built under PFI or BSF.

Employment: everyday HR/employment law support; advising on misconduct, poor performance and sickness absence issues; disciplinary and grievance procedures; discrimination claims; equal pay; drafting employment contracts and employee handbooks; TUPE; redundancies, reorganisations and changing terms and conditions of employment; restrictive covenants; representation at employment tribunals, employment appeal tribunals and county court; unfair dismissal; whistleblowing.

Environmental and regulatory: permit compliance; liability for contamination, pollution and waste; environmental licensing; disputes; flooding adn drainage; energy and renewables; shotguns, firearms, taxi, alcohol and entertainment licensing; health and safety regulations; local authority regulations; RSPCA and animal welfare; business crime; money laundering.

Energy and renewables: acquisitions and sales; construction; dispute resolution; due diligence; funding; land assembly; joint ventures; planning; tax.

Private client: will drafting; inheritance tax and succession planning; advice on trusts; trust administration; LPA; administration of estates; residential conveyancing. The firm now has the largest private client team in the region.

Projects: projects and developments involving public, private and third-sector entities; refinancing existing projects and their sale and purchase; vires and governance issues; procurement, state aid and competition law; commercial contracts; funding and corporate finance; ICT and intellectual property.

Property litigation: opposed and unopposed lease renewals under the 1954 Act; disputes in relation to commercial leases, including the exercise of break rights and repairing obligations; dilapidation claims; property related insolvency; easement disputes, rights of way and wayleaves; compensation claims; negligence against solicitors and surveyors relating to property work.

Restructuring and banking: reorganisation of businesses; financial restructuring and turnaround, administrations, liquidations, administrative receiverships, fixed charge receiverships and personal insolvency; company, individual and partnership voluntary arrangements; antecedent transactions, business and asset realisation; director disqualification; director’s duties; security documentation; terms and conditions; seeking to recover monies.