Arnold Fooks Chadwick LLP | AFC solicitors | legal advice and legal services

"Our clients - Our culture"

AFC has an unrivalled reputation for professional, personal service. We have provided comprehensive legal advice since 1830 and are proud of our varied and international client base.

We focus on specialist support for the needs of commercial, private and charity clients. This means direct, affordable solutions, not formulae. Access and continuity are key, so for detailed review you will deal with a single, specialist solicitor throughout your case.

We know that straight-talking advice and close consultation with experts in all sectors is essential to business success. Our aim is to provide the best range of services to be a truly 'one-stop' law firm.

Legal update:

Company & Commercial

Expert legal advice will make a significant contribution to your business performance. At AFC, we do not just tell you the law: we provide solutions.

From Incorporation to Mergers, Sales and Listings, we advise corporate clients and entrepreneurs on all aspects of Partnership and Company Law. We work closely with company management and industry specialists on strategy, with key emphasis on prompt action and regular communication.

Our areas of expertise include:

Company formation & advice on start-ups
Joint ventures
Shareholder protection
Partnership agreements / LLP
Succession planning
Acquisitions, Mergers and Share issues
Service and Employment contracts
Commercial contracts
Tax

Contact: Roger Millman and Tim O'Callaghan

Insolvency

We take and defend proceedings concerning Insolvency Act transgressions. We work for individuals and companies on a conditional fee basis, ensuring creditors are dealt with equitably and in order of statutory priority.

Matters include:

Corporate and Private Insolvency
Actions involving insolvent companies and individuals
Rights and obligations of partners and landlords following insolvency
Wrongful Trading
Fraudulent Preference

Contact: Roger Millman

Intellectual Property & Media

We help clients protect what is often their most valuable asset, advising on the creation, registration and protection of Intellectual Property Rights.

Examples include:

Patents
Copyright
Design right
Trade Marks
Passing-off Actions
Distribution contracts and licences

We have particular experience dealing with issues affecting fashion and luxury goods industries.

Contact: Tim O'Callaghan

Litigation

Litigation is the biggest single discipline in this practice and covers both commercial and domestic disputes.

With a strong litigation arm, we aim for the active rather than reactive approach. Our technical expertise, in consultation with industry specialists, ensures an early understanding of issues. Our advice will always balance the attainable end result against the cost of getting there.

We advise on a range of disputes including:

Sale of goods and services to consumers
International Trade
Breach of contract
Negligent Professional advice
Shareholder protection and disputes
Breach of duty
Protection of trading interests
Landlord and Tenant
Property disputes
Constructive Trusts
Bank disputes
Contested Probate and inheritance claims
Tax

Contact: Roger Millman

Employment

Our approach emphasises a practical and comprehensive knowledge of Employment Law. We assist both employer and employee at each stage of the relationship - from commencement to termination.

This is a dynamic area of law: we therefore maintain regular contact with clients to advise on new legislation.

Our work includes:

Service Agreements
Contracts of Employment
Redundancy
Disciplinary, Competency and Grievance Procedures,
Dismissal
Compromise Agreements
Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE)

Contact: Tim O'Callaghan

Personal Injury & Clinical Negligence

Our personal injury team ensures you receive fair compensation for your injuries.

We work for claimants, largely through referrals and recommendations from other solicitors. We aim to settle our own pleadings and are happy to accept work on a conditional fee basis.

In acting for insurance companies we adjust as well as defend cases, providing a pragmatic and cost-effective approach.

Personal Injury claims include road traffic accidents, accidents at work, and 'slip and trip' cases. We offer a fast, direct service, facilitating phone calls out of office hours as well as home visits to go through paperwork and take evidence.

Success in cases of Clinical Negligence often hinges on the strength of expert opinion. We have many years experience selecting expert witnesses and offer a large body from which to chose. We listen to the specific needs of victims as no two cases are ever the same.

Please note we do not deal with legal aid work.

Contact: Nina Varma

Matrimonial

In matrimonial disputes, support and understanding are as important as complete knowledge of the law. We look for solutions that defuse issues, rather than exacerbate an already difficult situation.

Our paramount aim is to achieve a fair and sensible division of assets and a realistic maintenance agreement that will protect the interests of minor children.

Accounts can be revealing and may expose an attempt to conceal the true financial position of a spouse. In such cases, a more vigorous approach will be taken.

Contact: Nina Varma

Property

Our desire to provide a full service to our clients results in comprehensive coverage of all aspects of property work; residential and commercial.

Freehold and leasehold residential conveyancing

A house move is said to be the third most stressful event in life. We can guide you through the maze of legal terminology and documentation. We offer detailed advice on the purchase of freeholds by joint leaseholders, the setting up of Management Companies, and the ramifications of joint ownership, supported by Declarations of Trust.

Commercial

Commercial clients value clear advice on business tenancies: for example, whether they should be inside or outside the protection of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, rent review clauses and their interpretation, and the terms of leases.

Leasehold enfranchisement

In conjunction with experienced surveyors, we advise on extension of leases and the setting up of leasehold management companies.

Town and Country Planning

Planning permission affects all property matters. Appeals against planning refusals or enforcement notices need to be dealt with by written representation or public enquiry. Working in conjunction with planning experts, we are equally at home with both.

Development

Unlike most small firms, we are experienced in development work and have given advice on numerous projects. In structuring development deals, we work closely with company / commercial lawyers, financiers, accountants and project managers within the construction industry.

Contact: Bruce Young

Tax & Estate Planning

(Trusts, Wills & Probate)

We recognise that creation and preservation of personal wealth is a necessary adjunct to the advice we give clients in relation to both their business affairs and their own inherited wealth. Our role in estate planning is to ensure that assets are in the best system of ownership for maximum control, tax benefit and inheritance planning.

We advise on a range of options including:

Trusts (UK and offshore)
Enduring or Lasting Powers of Attorney
Living Wills (Advance Directives)
Wills and Memoranda of Wishes
Partnerships and companies
Investment portfolios (through stockbrokers and IFAs)
Domicile
Immigration
Gifting to charities
Tax havens
Insurance products (through IFAs)
Contingency plans for illness and old age

Have you written a will? When did you last review it? Have your personal circumstances changed? Has the law changed?

An up-to-date, tax-efficient will is an essential part of financial planning. Selecting the right trustees, executors and legal guardians is critical to protecting young or incapacitated beneficiaries.

AFC members often work as co-trustees or executors alongside a trusted family member, which saves time and legal costs.

Contact: Joff Bates and Paul Denza

Charities

The firm has provided legal advice to charities since 1830. It is a reputation that has earned us a place in the 'UK Legal 500'.

With increasing demands on charities and their trustees, it is important to take early advice. We work closely with leading professionals for the most comprehensive approach.

We have particular expertise acting for Catholic Religious Orders and Dioceses. This involves a detailed understanding of the interaction between Charity Law and Canon Law.

Educational Institutions

Schools and colleges occupy a special sector of Charity Law. We advise on:

Governors' duties and powers
Relationships with Heads and Bursars
Foundations and Funding Institutions
Capital Projects
Raising capital and marketing
Formation of companies and charitable trusts
Parents' contracts
Staff employment
Exclusion policies
Health & Safety
School closures or transfers

Land Transactions

Under the unique constraints of the Charities Acts, we deal with all aspects of land transactions on behalf of charities.

Contact: Joff Bates

The Members

Arnold Fooks Chadwick LLP - The Members

Roger G. Millman BSc

Head of Commercial Law

Roger G. Millman BSc Roger joined AFC in 1974 and today heads the commercial law team. He has extensive experience dealing with mediations and keeping costs in check, and is also recognised for being tough when needed. Roger has a number of reported cases to his credit, including a case that is now a leading authority on priority of charges over land and constructive trusts. Professional memberships include the Civil Litigation Group and the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association.

Jonathan ("Joff") E. Bates BA TEP

Head of Charities and Private Clients

Jonathan ("Joff") E. Bates BA TEP Joff led the Private Clients work at Beale & Co. before moving to AFC (1990) to head the Charities and Private Clients teams. He acts as trustee and executor for several estates and is a member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP) as well as the Law Society's Probate and Charities Panels. For more than 25 years Joff has supported charities, both independently and professionally, through the Haberdashers' City Livery Company. He has worked as governor and chairman for several schools in both the maintained and independent sectors.

Tim O'Callaghan LLB

Tim O'Callaghan LLB Tim Joined AFC in 2000 having previously worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers on Company Law and compliance matters. Today he specialises in Company, Commercial, Employment and Intellectual Property Law. Tim has a niche interest in the fashion and luxury goods industries.

Arnold Fooks Chadwick LLP - Consultants

D.Bruce S. Young BA

Head of Property Law

D.Bruce S. Young BA Bruce joined AFC in 1984. He heads the Property Law team with expertise in Residential and Commercial conveyancing, Landlord & Tenant issues, Commercial Leases, and Town & Country Planning Law. Bruce enjoys the human interaction of the job, supporting clients through the detail and difficulties of property issues. His other great passion is tennis: he competed in the European Club Championship (Austria, 2004) and won the British National Veterans Doubles Championships (Wimbledon, 2005).

Arnold Fooks Chadwick LLP - Assistants

Nina Varma LLB - Associate

Nina's expertise lies in Personal Injury, Clinical Negligence, and Matrimonial law. Nina has been with AFC since qualifying in 1989. She set up the Personal Injury department within her first year and now oversees a small but highly successful team. Professional memberships include the Law Society Personal Injury Panel and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

Paul Denza BSc - Associate

Since qualifying in 2003, Paul has gained broad experience in contentious and noncontentious matters. He specialises in Wills, Trusts, Probate and Tax but has also developed expertise in Intellectual Property and Property. He acts frequently in Landlord & Tenant disputes and successfully took the reported case of Beckenham MC Ltd v Centralex Ltd and others on appeal to the High Court. Paul has strong links with the Hurlingham Club having served on the main Committee, captained the tennis team and directed theatre there.

Ben Pilbrow BSc - Associate

Raised in Hong Kong and educated in the United Kingdom Ben has benefited from a range of cultural influences and language skills. He is a litigator with particular experience in Probate, Insolvency, and Landlord & Tenant disputes. Ben recognises the need to meet the most cost-effective resolution of disputes, whether through direct confrontation or mediation. He recently worked on the prominent Queen's Club case, where he also shared an interest as a Club member.

Florence Arbuthnott BA - Associate

After gaining a First Class Degree in Ancient History, Florence converted to Law and trained with AFC to specialise in Charities, Wills, Trusts, Property and Employment. Florence speaks Italian, having spent a year studying Ancient History at the Università di Bologna. She is a marathon runner and also a regular group leader caring for hospital pilgrims on Lourdes pilgrimages.

Other Fee Earners and Support Staff

Accounts Staff, clerks, trainees, paralegals and legal secretaries all provide support to the firm's solicitors. They are essential to the cost-effective processing of legal work and form an invaluable part of the team.

Contact

Arnold Fooks Chadwick LLP
15 Bolton Street, Mayfair
London, W1J 8AR

T: +44 (0)20 7499 3007
DX:140547 Piccadilly 5
F: +44 (0)20 7491 4695

info@afclaw.co.uk