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International Trade

Our clients rely on the global market to drive business growth – we help our clients keep trade moving.

International trade can be complex and the current geopolitical landscape certainly doesn’t make it any easier. But we know that you need to move your goods, services, people and data across borders – and you need someone to help cut through the noise.

Visit our Made for Trade page here.

Our clients choose us to guide them through the complexities of import and export, sanctions, trade controls and associated regulations, as well as providing advice on related financing. And if things go wrong which, of course, sometimes they do – you can count on us to help resolve any disputes.

We help make the complex legalities and regulations easier to navigate and we make sure that you understand exactly your position so that you have what you need to keep trade moving.

What we do

Clients come to us because they need help with trade contracts, distribution agreements or agency agreements. We help them enter into contracts to get deals done.  We protect their interests and de-risk where possible.

We guide clients through complex product compliance and conformity issues: individual countries have different requirements which all need to be met. Brexit has made things more complicated, and the UK regime is undergoing change.

As members of staff (often senior) move around or join the business, clients often need help moving people across borders. This is personal and of huge importance to businesses, so we make the process as simple and hassle free as possible.

Our clients may establish or acquire businesses in the UK and need a presence here, as well as to navigate unfamiliar competition issues.

Of course, we also support our clients when things go wrong and they need help resolving issues.  We can help prepare them for difficult scenarios and we provide the specialist help they need if they have to enforce their rights through the courts or arbitration.

We provide advice on export controls and sanctions, the latter being something which is particularly important since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Where fulfilling an existing contractual obligation may mean breaching sanctions, we’ll help our clients navigate next steps. And we can help organisations plan for all of this far better, by having a trade compliance framework. We’ll make sure you know who you’re dealing with throughout the whole supply chain.

We also help with ‘the technical stuff’ – assistance with import and export requirements, customs, duties and tariff issues. We’ll make sure you know what you need to pay, where and when.  We’ll also make sure it’s viable for you to do so.

Who are we?

We’re a team of multi-disciplinary international trade lawyers. Many of us do international trade work within our own practices and have international connections. We provide joined up expertise from across the whole of the firm – meaning you get exactly the support you need.

Download our leaflet to see how we can help you keep trade moving, and find out more about our supply chain health check here.

Insights

“Working with Andrew is always a pleasure. He is professional, responsive and always tries to take a commercial approach, which is not always easy when dealing with regulatory matters that leave little scope for flexibility.”

Chambers & Partners

“James is an extremely reliable and technically strong, commercial contracts lawyer. He is very pragmatic and extremely easy to deal with, for both lawyer and non-lawyer clients alike. He is a skilled draftsman and can apply his knowledge and skills to almost any situation. He has one of the best negotiating styles I have ever come across; firm, yet with a natural ability to find a conciliatory way through difficulties when required. As a commercial contracts lawyer, he would be my “go to” wherever he is”.

“Claire Burrows is exceptional. She is incredibly responsive and knowledgeable, and has a brilliant eye for detail for her clients.”

Legal 500

“I would definitely recommend you to any future clients that may need this service.”

“Your assistance has been wonderful”

James
Crayton

Partner

Head of Commercial

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James's contact details

+44 (0)113 283 4475

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Nick
McQueen

Partner

Dispute Resolution

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Nick's contact details

+44 (0)113 283 4426

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Andrew
Northage

Partner

Regulatory & Compliance

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Andrew's contact details

+44 (0)113 283 4543

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Claire
Burrows

Director

Regulatory & Compliance

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Claire's contact details

+44 (0)113 283 2617

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Shabana
Muneer

Director

Employment & Immigration

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Shabana's contact details

+44 (0)113 283 4401

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