Corporate & M&A
Company formation, investment rounds, and exits. We handle the paperwork and the negotiations so you can stay focused on running the business.
Commercial law,explained likeit matters.
LondonEstablished 2009Founder-led businesses
Trusted by founders at
- ARCLIGHT
- BRINDLE
- COPPERFIELD
- DUNMORE
- ELM & OAK
Practice
Four areas, one standard of care.
We advise founders and the companies they build — from the first shareholder agreement to the day the deal closes. Straightforward advice, priced before we start.
Commercial contracts
The agreements your company actually uses every day — customer terms, supplier arrangements, partnerships — drafted in language your counterparties won't argue with.
Employment
Hiring, contracts, and difficult conversations handled properly. We help you build a workplace that stays out of tribunal.
Dispute resolution
When something goes wrong, we aim to settle it early and commercially. Most matters we take on never see a courtroom — by design.
How we work
We were founded on a simple observation: founders don't need more legal paper — they need someone to tell them, clearly, what to worry about and what to ignore.
Plain language, always
Every opinion, contract, and email is written to be understood the first time. If we can't explain it without jargon, we haven't finished thinking about it.
Fixed fees, no surprises
Most work is priced as a fixed fee, agreed before we begin. You'll never open an invoice from us and wonder what happened.
Partners do the work
No handoffs to junior associates you've never met. The partner you meet in the first consultation is the one who drafts, negotiates, and sees your matter through.
- 200+
- Founder clients advised
- 16
- Years in practice
- 94%
- Resolved pre-litigation
- 24h
- Response to new enquiries
Whitfield & Grey turned a term sheet I didn't fully understand into a round I closed in six weeks. They talked me through every clause until it made sense — and never once made me feel like an amateur.
Our supplier contracts had been patched together for years. They rebuilt the whole set on a fixed fee, and the first renewal negotiation went our way without a single argument.
A dispute that two other firms wanted to take to court was settled in a fortnight. The advice was calm, honest about the risks, and cheaper than the fight.
The partners
WG
James Whitfield
Managing Partner · Corporate & M&A
AH
Clara Ashworth
Partner · Employment
RL
Robert Lindqvist
Partner · Dispute Resolution
MK
Meera Kapoor
Partner · Commercial Contracts
FAQ
Questions founders ask us first
What happens in the first consultation?
Thirty minutes, free of charge, with a partner. You describe where the business is and where it's going; we tell you honestly whether you need us, and if so, what it would cost. There is no obligation and no follow-up pitch.
How do fixed fees work?
After the first conversation we quote a single fee for the defined piece of work — a contract, a funding round, an employment handbook. If the scope changes, we agree the change with you before any extra cost is incurred.
Do we need a lawyer yet?
Often, not yet — and we'll say so. Many founders we meet need a one-hour conversation, a checklist, and a year before their next legal decision. We'd rather be your first call than your most expensive one.
Can we work with you remotely?
Yes. Around half our clients work with us entirely by email, video call, and secure document sharing. Some we've advised for years without a single meeting at Finsbury Square.
Contact
Start with a conversation.
- Address
- 18 Finsbury Square, London EC2A 1AN
- Telephone
- +44 20 7946 0318
- Office hours
- Monday – Friday, 08:30 – 18:30
Free 30-minute consultation
A call with a partner, not a sales team. Bring the question that's been sitting in your inbox; leave with a clear answer and a fixed quote if you'd like one.
Book a consultationWe reply to every enquiry within one working day.