Experience & Expertise
Our Expertise
•Arbitration
•Banking & Finance
•Charities
•Commercial & Corporate
•Data Protection & Information
•Disputes
•Employment
•Family & Matrimonial
•Immigration
•Restructuring & Insolvency
•IP & Technology
•Real Estate
• Tax
• Trusts, Estates & Private Client
Founded in 1875, Laytons ETL is a full-service law firm providing integrated and practical advice to both UK and international clients. Investing time in building lasting relationships and a strong understanding of our clients’ affairs, we have a value-led approach to the provision of legal services.
In 2021, Laytons became part of the ETL Global network of professional services firms, which employs 24,000 people in more than 50 countries worldwide. In the UK, ETL Global is particularly active in the accountancy sector with Laytons building upon its expansion into the UK legal services market.
In 2023, ETL GLOBAL UK secured the 20th position in Accountancy Age’s Top 50+50 Accountancy Firms. With an impressive 34% growth rate, ETL GLOBAL recorded the highest growth among the top 20 firms, showcasing the outstanding work of its members.
Corporate & Commercial
Our corporate & commercial team provides a complete range of corporate and commercial advice and support to a wide range of clients from start-ups, high net worth investors and family offices to investment funds, owner managed businesses, public listed companies and multi-national corporations.
Our work is both UK and international. We work closely with a number of respected international law firms across the world.
Corporate
Our team advises on a wide range of corporate transactions including:
• mergers and acquisitions
• equity capital markets
• private equity and debt finance
• joint ventures
• share schemes
Commercial
We work with a wide range of clients selling to consumers and businesses, with products ranging from the physical to the digital.
We advise on an array of contracts from generic sale and purchase conditions to bespoke technology sharing arrangements.
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Our experience includes:
• technology agreements
• intellectual property
• franchise, distribution and agency
• outsourcing
• Supply chain management
Industry sectors
We have experience of advising clients in a range of sectors including:
• charitable, social enterprise and not for profit
• automotive
• healthcare
• life sciences
• energy
• consumer
Key Contact
Johnathan Rees Partner johnathan.rees@laytons.com
+44 (0)20 7842 8000
Disputes
Our specialist team is experienced in avoiding, managing and resolving claims and disputes in a variety of contexts. Our work involves the identification of legal problems and solving them by effective advice and negotiation.
Our clients come from a range of sectors, but they all benefit from an approach that is accessible, practical, creative and costeffective.
We aim to identify and meet each client’s particular needs in an approachable but effective way, recognising the importance of a cost-benefit analysis.
We are used to dealing with injunctions and other urgent matters and are familiar with alternative means of dispute resolution, such as arbitration and mediation.
We specialise in:
• arbitration
• commercial & corporate disputes
• data & privacy disputes
• health & safety disputes
• international disputes
• IP disputes
• real estate disputes
• remedies & resolutions
Key Contact
Geraint Thomas Partner
geraint.thomas@laytons.com
+44 (0)20 7842 8000
Employment
Employment law has an impact on businesses and individuals alike. It is complex and mistakes can be costly and timeconsuming. Our Employment team combines legal expertise with commercial acumen to provide our clients with practical solutions, not just information.
We pride ourselves on the provision of timely and relevant advice; often our clients require that advice urgently. Our team of highly experienced and skilled employment lawyers offer a responsive, personable and practical approach based on a real understanding of our clients and their businesses and sectors.
Our client base spans the full spectrum of business sectors and we are able to quickly grasp industry specific issues and most importantly, provide practical and timely solutions.
We offer a full range of employment law support, including:
• bonuses, commission & reward
• contracts, policies and procedures
• day-to-day HR support
• discrimination and whistleblowing
• dismissals and settlement agreements
• employment disputes
• restructures and reorganisations
• restrictive covenants and team moves
• salaried partners and LLPs
• TUPE and corporate support
Key Contact
Nicholas Lakeland Partner
nicholas.lakeland@laytons.com
+44 (0)20 7842 8044
Family & Matrimonial
We have a leading family law practice for international families and asset wealth protection, representing clients from all around the world and from a variety of backgrounds. The team is headed by one of the UK’s foremost specialist lawyers for surrogacy and fertility law, Andrew Spearman, who is regularly asked to advise Intended Parents, clinics, agencies and government in this area.
The family team appreciate that more contentious matters are always extremely difficult and personal. They never lose sight of the real issues that are important to you, and work closely with you to achieve swift, practical and, wherever possible, amicable solutions. Their motto is to do it once and do it right.
We specialise in:
• international aspects of separation and divorce
• asset protection on separation
• cohabiting relationships
• international relocation of children
• surrogacy & fertility law
• LGBTQ+ family structures
• transgender children and parents
• unmarried families
Key Contact
Andrew Spearman Partner andrew.spearman@laytons.com
+44 (0)20 7842 8000
Immigration
Our team has expertise in all aspects of business and personal immigration law. We understand the international nature of our clients’ businesses, travel and family needs, and provide a pragmatic and complete service.
Business Immigration
We guide our corporate clients through all stages of a project or application, delivering bespoke scenario-driven solutions addressing complexities and specific timelines. Our specialisms include:
• sponsor licence applications
• right to work and illegal working
• home office sponsor compliance, audits and suspensions
• managing sponsored and temporary visa workforce, including expiry tracking and reporting
• strategic project planning for large recruitment intakes, TUPE or transactional changes, internship programmes, etc
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• business travel as a visitor, including electronic travel authorisation
sponsored work visas, including skilled worker, expansion worker, scale-up, etc
• non-sponsored work visas, such as global talent, ancestry, graduate, youth mobility, innovator founder, etc
Personal Immigration
We work with our private clients to determine the most suitable immigration journey for their family, with both short-term and long-term objectives.
• spouse, unmarried partner or fiancé(e) of a British or settled person
• EEA regulations and the EU settlement scheme
• surrogacy and adoption
• permanent residence and settlement
• British nationality and right of abode
• passports
Key Contact
Victoria Welsh Partner victoria.welsh@laytons.com
+44 (0)20 7842 8000
Restructuring & Insolvency
We work as a team with our clients and their financial professionals to develop strategies that advance their business interests whilst preserving and creating value. Most restructuring engagements are complex and require a significant amount of proactivity to identify opportunities, risks and deliver innovative strategies to achieve our clients’ goals.
Our Restructuring & Insolvency Team is headed by John Harvey, who is a leading lawyer in insolvency claims and disputes and has a wealth of experience in the sector.
We advise on all mechanisms of company restructuring and corporate rescue with a view to maximising the viability of client companies.
Our work includes advice on:
• statutory restructuring moratorium
• administration
• company voluntary arrangement (CVA);
• informal creditors’ agreements;
• advising on security;
• contentious insolvency;
• winding-up proceedings and compulsory liquidation;
• creditors’ voluntary liquidation;
• LPA receivership;
• directors’ duties and responsibilities;
• creditors’ rights;
• legal proceedings against either a company or directors; and
• enforcement of security.
We have connections globally with accountants and lawyers and advise on cross border insolvency issues whether in this jurisdiction or overseas.
We co-ordinate our expertise with those of our colleagues in Corporate, Banking, Real Estate, Construction, Employment, Intellectual Property, Disputes, and Tax departments at Laytons to provide commercial, full-service solutions for our clients.
Key Contact
John Harvey Partner
Real Estate
Business and individuals involved in commercial real estate live and work in a fast-paced and energetic environment.
Our clients come to us because we apply the same dynamic approach to helping them achieve those objectives and find commercially driven and pragmatic solutions to the issues which they encounter. Our Real Estate Partners and Solicitors have a wealth of experience acquired over many years within a multitude of commercial transactions.
We specialise in:
• real estate investment
• development (commercial and residential)
• landlord and tenant (commercial) acting for both landlords and occupier tenants.
• portfolio management
• planning
• real estate disputes
• real estate finance
• real estate tax and structuring
Commercial property
Our dynamic, commercial Real Estate team has a real insight into the key issues in commercial property transactions, but this is only part of the story. Every client is different and we work with each client to understand their objectives. We act for investors, developers, GP practices and GP Alliances, high net worth individuals, entrepreneurs, family offices, high street retailers and fashion houses, sporting talent and Landlords and Tenants.
Property finance
Our Real Estate Finance team is focused on the funding of real estate assets in all sectors. We act for banks, funds, investors, developers and borrowers in funding solutions ranging from the routine to the highly complex.
Key Contact
David Lewis Partner
david.lewis@laytons.com
+44 (0)20 7842 8000
Tax
We recognise that the tax-planning environment has changed radically over recent years and that there is now far greater statutory regulation and control over perceived, as well as actual, tax avoidance.
Tax advisers must now understand and advise on increasingly complex antiavoidance rules, including the new rules which allow the UK tax authority to demand up-front payment of disputed tax where they are challenging a scheme. We strive to achieve what is practical and possible and draw attention to the real risks.
We advise across a wide spectrum reflecting the breadth of our firm-wide practice. We frequently advise on the tax aspects of:
• corporate transactions and structures, including mergers and acquisitions, de-mergers, reconstructions, private equity transactions and joint ventures
• property transactions and structures, including stamp duty land tax, annual tax on enveloped dwellings, VAT and capital allowances
• remuneration and benefits –employee share and share option schemes, employee benefit trusts, remuneration planning and taxation of expatriate employees (inbound and outbound)
• cross border issues – inbound and outbound
Our experience:
• advising a Guernsey-based Student Accommodation Fund on the capital allowances, stamp duty land tax and VAT aspects of the disposal of its investment portfolio for consideration exceeding £400m
• advising on the UK tax aspects of a proposed purchase of a Jersey company owning a substantial central London mixed use property valued at approximately £1.5 billion
• advising on the tax aspects of deenveloping of high-value residential properties
Key
contact
Marc Selby Consultant marc.selby@laytons.com
Trusts, Estates & Private Client
We take a holistic approach to meeting your personal-estate planning needs by getting to know you and the issues relevant to you. We will work with you to craft solutions for your requirements.
We believe that Private Client is much more than just Wills and tax advice, and our specialist lawyers benefit from their rare position operating as an integral part of a leading commercial law firm.
Our services are broadly offered across six areas;
• Personal estate planning, including advice on Inheritance Tax, estate planning for the owners and operators of businesses and the drafting of Wills
• Trusts – advising on them, drafting the Trust Deed and assisting in the administration of the Trust
• Post death estate administration
• Contentious Probate
• Powers of Attorney
• Notary services
Key Contacts
Ian Burman Partner
ian.burman@laytons.com
+44 (0)20 7842 8000
Simrun Garcha Partner
simrun.garcha@laytons.com
+44 (0)20 7842 8000
This information is offered on the basis that it is a general guide only and not a substitute for legal advice. We cannot accept any responsibility for any liabilities of any kind incurred in reliance on this information.
