Birketts LLP
Birketts is a full service, UK Top 50 law firm. With a heritage spanning 160 years, we have more than 500 lawyers and legal professionals based in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich, London, Norwich and Sevenoaks. We advise businesses, government and public sector organisations and individuals in the UK and internationally.
Our business is divided into four principal practice groups: property (including planning and environmental); corporate services (including banking and finance, corporate, commercial, data protection, employment, immigration, and tax); litigation and dispute resolution (including IP); and private client advisory (including family).
Within these practice groups, we have deep sector expertise, spanning agriculture and landed estates, charities and social enterprise, construction, ecclesiastical, education, energy and utilities, family businesses, food, healthcare and care homes, housebuilding and social housing, leisure and tourism, natural capital, public sector, real estate investment, retail and automotive, shipping and international trade, technology and telecoms and transport and logistics.
Our innovative delivery of the law is defined by our next level law proposition. Our legal advice is informed by a clear understanding of the specific needs of the sector and the regulatory and political backdrop. We work with our clients as a proactive partner, horizon scanning and thinking ahead to the changes, challenges or opportunities that they may face.
We seek to innovate in all our practices; our focus is on investing in the right technology to deliver effective solutions to help our clients achieve their objectives.
We enjoy a distinctively collegiate culture based on strong core values. Operating as one collaborative firm, we encourage all our people to be professional and client-focused; to act with transparency and integrity; to be enterprising, and to proactively look for innovative ways to support our clients; whilst taking pride in all that they do.
With our ambition to succeed, comes a strong desire to make a positive contribution to the communities we serve, and we are committed to delivering the objectives set out in our ESG strategy. Diversity plays an integral part in all that we do, with female partners comprising 40% of our partnership.
We maintain the highest professional and ethical standards and are accredited with the UK Law Society’s practice management quality standard, Lexcel and hold the Centre for Assessment Customer Service Excellence accreditation. We are also ISO accredited in the areas of quality management (9001), environmental management (14001) and information security (27001)
Products and services
International
We offer a range of international services to clients based in the UK and to those abroad with financial or business interests in the UK. They include:
- Personal wealth planning and management advice for foreign nationals and their families wishing to acquire, manage or dispose of property or assets in the UK.
- Inward investment advice for UK or foreign companies with international business interests or foreign companies with UK subsidiaries.
- Corporate immigration advice for talented and qualified professionals seeking a move to the UK and for UK and foreign businesses migrating a workforce.
- International dispute resolution services, in particular covering shipping disputes before the English High Court and in London arbitration, but also in respect of multi-jurisdictional disputes in most parts of the world.
- International support services through our wide network of international contacts and wide reaching international knowledge particularly in the Far East, the Middle East and Europe.
- Intellectual property advice for clients with international portfolios of trade mark registrations.
- Notarial services when dealing with overseas matters.
Our lawyers have extensive language skills including French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Greek, Mandarin, Cantonese and Russian.
Specialist Sectors
Different sectors can, and frequently, do have very different legal needs and issues. It is a clear case of 'one size not fitting all'.
We have always maintained that to deliver sector specific legal services of the highest quality, we need to be aware of the issues facing a particular sector. We have assembled groups of lawyers with an understanding of, and an interest in, industry specific issues. As a consequence, they are able quickly to cut to the chase and deliver advice which is tailored and relevant.
We know that our sector based clients expect us to have a clear grasp not just of current issues but also of potential future changes that may impact upon their business. This monitoring of potential changes is a core service and one which we know has a positive impact.
Whilst we have a proven track record in advising a whole range of clients from the sectors listed, this list is neither exclusive nor exhaustive so if your specific sector is not listed, please talk to us about how we can help.
Services for Individuals
We are recognised as one of the leading regional firms in advising private clients on a broad range of issues relating to estates and private property, tax planning and family matters.
Our clients call us when they need our help with something of importance or significance. They expect to receive practical, reliable and experienced advice which is consistent in its quality and is delivered at a price that is fair. They trust us to work with them towards achieving the solution that is right for them. That trust is earned over time and it is the standard on which our reputation is based.
Unlike other law firms we also have a very experienced legal team who specialise in the legal affairs of individuals and families from the agricultural and equine sectors.
Services for Business
The law surrounding business, industry and commerce is complex and is the subject of frequent, and sometimes radical, change.
It is important, therefore, to use the services of a law firm that is big enough to understand the sometimes difficult issues but small enough to deliver a genuinely bespoke service. With offices in four East Anglian centres, Ipswich, Chelmsford, Cambridge and Norwich, we have the technical capability to advise on the full range of business client issues.
Our clients tell us that 'prevention is better than cure' and so many of our business services are actually designed to prevent issues becoming problems.
We advise a diverse range of businesses from start up through to cessation and everything in between. Our main services include:
- Starting a business/business formation
- Business Incorporation
- Business expansion including Mergers & Acquisition
- Buying and selling a business
- Insolvency
- Contracts and contract disputes
- Employment issues
- Debt collection
