Corporate advisory and transaction support for founders, boards and investors dealing with growth, investment, governance and complex shareholder matters.
Arbor Law’s corporate lawyers work with founders, boards and investors on the transactions, structures and strategic decisions that shape what the business becomes next: clear advice, commercially grounded, delivered by people who have done this kind of work before.
Our corporate practice spans two related but distinct areas of work. Corporate advisory covers the ongoing legal dimensions of running and shaping a business: board and shareholder matters, founder and investor alignment, governance design, equity structures and the legal decisions that accumulate as a business grows. Corporate transactions covers the discrete deal work: acquisitions and disposals, fundraising rounds, joint ventures, restructurings and the legal process of getting a transaction from heads of terms to completion. In practice, the two are closely connected, and many of the businesses we work with use us across both.
When you instruct Arbor Law on a corporate matter, you work directly with senior lawyers who have run deals of this shape and size at City and international firms before, and many of whom have served as General Counsel or head of M&A inside the kind of business you are running. We will assess the position quickly, set out the options in plain English, and run the matter at the pace and shape of engagement that suits you. The arrangement is simple: you stay in control of the strategy, and we get on with the work.
What you get when you instruct Arbor on a deal
At Arbor Law you work directly with senior lawyers from day one: there are no associates learning on your deal, no layers between you and the lawyer you are paying for. The person advising you has the experience and the judgement to take a view, and the seniority to stand behind it when it matters, with an average of over 25 years’ PQE, with prior partner-track roles at Baker McKenzie, Dentons, CMS and Maclay Murray & Spens, and senior in-house roles at FTSE 250 companies and major international businesses.
Many of our lawyers have held senior in-house roles, as General Counsel, Head of Legal or head of M&A, alongside time at leading City firms. That dual experience counts for a great deal on a transaction: we know how a deal looks from inside the business, what a board needs to hear at the right moment, and how to handle the pressure points that always arrive in the back half of a deal without losing momentum or goodwill.
Corporate transactions can run aground when the legal process loses sight of what the deal is actually for, and we have all sat through enough of those to want to run them differently. Our approach is to keep advice proportionate, decision-oriented and aligned with what you are trying to achieve: the legal work clears the path rather than blocks it.
Some businesses want intensive support through a single transaction; others want a longer-term relationship as their corporate needs evolve. Our model is built to flex either way: a focused engagement for one deal, or ongoing senior input across a programme of corporate work as the organisation grows.
Our model gives you access to senior, City-trained corporate lawyers through a structure that is lean and proportionate, with none of the leverage and overhead of a traditional firm: the advice you receive reflects the quality of the lawyer’s judgement, not the size of the team behind them. There is nothing wrong with the bigger firms; it is just that most clients we speak to do not want to pay the Magic Circle premium for every share purchase agreement or shareholders’ agreement.
What the engagement looks like in practice
A corporate matter run well looks different from one run badly long before completion: the difference usually comes down to two things, how quickly the right senior lawyer sees the file, and how well the legal work is calibrated to what the business is actually trying to achieve rather than only the document in front of it.
Most of the value on a deal is created in the first three to four weeks: getting the structure right, scoping the diligence properly, drafting the heads of terms in a way that holds, and walking into the first negotiation with a clear view of where you can move and where you cannot. Each of those things materially changes how the rest of the deal runs, and how much it costs.
Where the deal is more complex, multi-jurisdictional, regulated, or involves a difficult counterparty, the same disciplines apply, and we run the matter with a consistent focus on what protects your position: the right structure, the right protections in the documents, the right pace through the negotiation. If the commercial case for continuing ever changes, we will say so and recommend the alternative: that is the conversation an experienced GC or head of M&A tends to want, and it is one we are comfortable having.
When you instruct Arbor on a deal, you can expect a senior-led view on the position quickly, an agreed scope before any meaningful work begins, and a single named lawyer accountable for the matter from term sheet to completion.
Our corporate legal services to support growth, investment and change
Corporate matters can take many forms, but the underlying need tends to be the same: experienced legal support that protects your position, keeps momentum where it matters and helps you make important decisions with greater certainty. We advise across a wide range of corporate issues, working closely with you to shape the right approach for the stage your business has reached.
When you are buying or selling a business, the quality of the legal work has a direct line to value, risk and the speed of execution. We advise on the full M&A process, from initial structuring and due diligence through to negotiation, documentation and completion, with the kind of senior, transactionally experienced input that helps deals progress with confidence rather than collapse into complications.
Our lawyers have run significant transactions at major international firms and from within substantial organisations, so the advice you get is informed by a genuine understanding of how deals work in practice: what matters most at each stage, where the real risks sit, and how to negotiate terms that stand up under scrutiny.
Joint ventures and strategic alliances can unlock real opportunity, but their success usually turns on how clearly the terms are set at the outset and how honestly the awkward questions are answered before signing. We help you structure arrangements that protect your interests, set out governance and decision-making in a way that supports a stable working relationship, and plan for how the arrangement will evolve or, if necessary, come to an end.
That includes advice on equity structures, shareholder agreements, the allocation of commercial risk and exit provisions: the foundations strong enough to make the partnership genuinely productive rather than a slow-burning dispute.
Whether you are a lender, a borrower or an organisation navigating a complex financing arrangement, the legal framework around the transaction needs to reflect your commercial position accurately. We advise on banking and finance matters across the full range of structures, from bank facilities and term loans to security documentation and more specialised lending arrangements.
Our lawyers have represented banks, corporate borrowers and alternative lenders, and that breadth of perspective shows in arrangements that are clear, workable and properly aligned with what each party actually needs from the deal.
Getting the right corporate structure in place from the outset, and keeping it properly maintained as the business evolves, gives you a stronger foundation for growth and prevents the avoidable complications that turn up at the worst possible moment, usually a fundraise or a sale. We advise on formation, directors’ duties and shareholder rights, changes in share ownership, and the full range of structural matters that arise as organisations develop and change.
Whether you are establishing a new entity, managing transitions in an existing company or reorganising in advance of a transaction or new phase of growth, the advice you receive will be clear, practical and focused on what works for your specific situation.
Access to the right investment at the right stage can be transformative for an ambitious business, but the legal scaffolding around it has to be set up carefully if the terms are to hold over time and support the working relationship between founders, management and investors as the business grows into them. We advise on capital-raising across the full range of structures, from seed and angel rounds through to venture capital, private equity and venture debt.
That includes advising on investment structures, negotiating term sheets and shareholder agreements, and helping you approach conversations with investors from a well-prepared and legally informed position. The aim is to put you in the strongest possible position as you bring new capital into the business.
There are many reasons a business might need to restructure: operational efficiency, financial pressure, preparation for a transaction, or a change in strategic direction. Whatever the driver, the legal and commercial issues involved demand careful management.
We advise on company reorganisations, share capital reductions, debt refinancing and related matters, with a focus on helping you navigate the process clearly and reach an outcome that is properly structured for what comes next.
Acquiring a business can create real opportunity, but it also brings execution risk, regulatory exposure and the harder problem of understanding what you are actually buying once you look past the data room. We help you assess the position thoroughly, negotiate the right protections and complete the acquisition in a way that supports your wider strategic aims.
That includes due diligence, contract negotiation, regulatory compliance and support on post-acquisition issues, so that the transaction is not only completed with care, but leaves you in a stronger position afterwards.
For governance matters that sit alongside or arise out of corporate work, see our Corporate Governance practice.
For fundraising and investment rounds specifically, see Fundraising and Investment.
For the commercial contracts and supplier arrangements that accompany a transaction or restructuring, see our Commercial Contracts practice.
For businesses with an international dimension, see International Expansion and Market Entry.
If a corporate matter is on your desk, the sooner the right lawyer sees it the better. Send us a short note about what you are working on and one of us will come back to you personally, often the same day, to talk it through. The first conversation is on us, and if we are not the right firm for the job we will tell you and, where we can, point you to someone who is.
