Commercial Solicitors & Business Solicitors in Sussex | Jonathan Lea Network

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Welcome to
‘The Jonathan Lea Network’

We are a firm of corporate solicitors headquartered in Haywards Heath, Mid-Sussex. We work with clients throughout the UK and around the world, adopting a tailored, pragmatic and clear approach to each matter we take on.

Put simply, through our work we aim to increase your profit, protection and free time. We only accept instructions on matters where we know we can add value and will always ensure that clients have the benefit of fee certainty, including a commitment to fixed fees where possible.

Our core specialisation is in corporate work, including company law, mergers and acquisitions, equity investment rounds, corporate tax, share option schemes and shareholder disputes. The team also assist businesses with a variety of other matters including employment and commercial property, as well as some private client work, such as probate and residential conveyancing.

Our modern and unique business model is attractive for all types of clients, no matter how small or large and regardless of industry sector. The key components of our approach are as follows:

  • Free no obligation initial 20-minute call
  • Covering a vast range of specialisms to cover your legal requirements
  • Competitive pricing, better agility and an enhanced personalised relationship

OUR SERVICES

Corporate Transactions

We have extensive experience of conducting many different types of corporate transactions, having worked for clients ranging from start-up businesses and entrepreneurs to large private and publicly traded companies.

SEIS /EIS Tax Relief Advisory

We have expertise and a great deal of experience with SEIS and EIS matters. Therefore, we know how to resolve the most common and uncommon issues that may arise during the process.

Dispute Resolution

Pursuing traditional litigation through the courts is often counterproductive and expensive. We will deploy thoughtful and imaginative negotiation, mediation and public relations strategies to reach a beneficial early settlement.

Commercial Real Estate

We help you to structure favourable deals and avoid the pitfalls of the property market. We act on all types and sizes of transactions and thrive on advising clients on novel and complex matters.

Intellectual Property, IT and Media

We help protect and enforce intellectual property rights throughout the international IT and media sectors. We advise on designs, copyright, trademarks and patent law and are able to register and monitor intellectual property rights globally.

Private Client

We conduct a range of private client matters, including residential conveyancing, wills and probate matters, and immigration. Leveraging on our expertise and extensive network of specialists we will conduct your matter competently and efficiently.

Testimonials from Clients

Our experienced, trusted team is on hand to help

The Jonathan Lea Network comprises a talented and passionate team of legal experts who are dedicated to go above and beyond for their clients. Whether you are looking for straightforward legal advice to resolve a simple matter, or need several lawyers of mixed experience and specialisms to work together on a complex multi-party case, we are here to help and always aim to exceed your expectations.

Request a free no obligation initial 20-minute call

We are increasingly a full-service firm and can help with all manner of legal matters, whether small or complex. We strive to meet your legal needs in the most timely and cost-effective way, while as an ambitious young firm we always seek to go above and beyond.

Please do get in touch today by filling in our enquiry form. Alternatively, email wewillhelp@jonathanlea.net or call +44 (0)1444708640 where we can arrange a FREE no obligation introductory call to discuss your matter so we may provide a well-considered quote.

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Learn more about our services

  • What services do you offer?

    We are known mostly as a business focused firm that specialises in corporate and commercial transactional legal work. Especially with the mergers and acquisitions work we do, we also commonly handle commercial property matters. Alongside our transactional work we are now advising on an increasing amount of contentious dispute resolution cases too. We also advise on private client matters, including residential conveyancing and wills and probate.

  • I've got a start-up business: how can you help me?

    We have a strong track record of assisting early stage startups with all the legal issues that commonly arise as they grow. Many of our best clients have gone from pre revenue startups with no product yet to much larger companies in a short space of time and it has been very rewarding to grow our own law firm alongside their rapidly expanding businesses.

    Our involvement often starts with advising on and submitting a SEIS/EIS advance assurance application before a startup raises money, while we are then usually retained to advise on all the ins and outs of the company completing successive investment rounds to ensure these are handled smoothly and without costly mistakes being made.

    Startups also count on us for all their other legal needs, which include employment contracts, intellectual property advice, shareholder disputes, commercial contracts with customers and suppliers, employee and other share schemes (commonly EMI share options and growth share schemes), mergers and acquisitions and leases for new office premises.

  • How do you charge for your services?

    For straightforward matters where we are familiar with the work needed and can more easily define the scope, we are often able to offer fixed fees starting from £500 plus VAT as a minimum fee. Usually this work involves a discount on what we would charge if we were doing the work in accordance with our hourly rates.

    For larger matters where it is uncertain at the outset how much involvement we may have then we commonly offer estimates and the work is carried out in accordance with our hourly rates. We always aim to complete the work within such estimates, while if new issues arise and if for any reason the matter becomes more protracted we give clients as much forewarning as possible and seek your written consent before doing any chargeable work over and above any earlier estimate given.

  • Can I talk to a solicitor for free?

    Where a new client would like to instruct us we usually offer a no cost no obligation 20 minute introductory call to discuss your matter and requirements, following which we can provide a detailed quote email for your consideration.

    In advance, and in order to organise the call, we ask that you first email us a summary of the background and issues together with any material documents. This information will be treated in strict confidence and will allow us to firstly fix a call with a suitable fee earner and secondly enable you and us to make the most of the 20 minutes.

    Where you just need some ad hoc advice and answers to questions that are not too hard to answer then on occasion we may instead offer a £275 plus VAT fixed fee appointment instead of the 20 minute free call. This fixed fee appointment comprises an hour of our time in aggregate, usually 15 minutes studying and researching information, a 30 minute telephone consultation and 15 minutes producing a follow up email of the points made on the call.

  • Do I need to come into your office and meet you in person in order to instruct the firm?

    There is no substitute for meeting in person, however there is no need to actually visit us in order to instruct the firm. In fact, we have never actually met many of our longstanding clients despite working with them for several years now. All our fee earners use video-conferencing and modern IT systems to ensure a personable and efficient service, while the use of e-signature tools means we can more easily coordinate parties and manage completion meetings remotely these days.

    Having said that, our office in Haywards Heath has meeting room facilities and is close to the station, so whenever the opportunity arises we very much welcome clients and potential clients to visit us at our HQ. We also on occasion travel to London, or further afield, to meet clients and contacts.

  • Do all contentious cases go to trial?

    No. We advise on many disputes and in the vast majority of cases the matter will not proceed to trial and instead a binding settlement agreement will be negotiated and signed so as to resolve the situation and avoid any further time and money being lost. Very often the case will be successfully concluded as a result of a well considered and persuasive letter before action we send on a client’s behalf at the outset.