Business Legal Advice for Fast-Moving Companies
Commercial, company secretarial and employment law support, integrated with the finance side of your business. Based in Bristol, working with established firms across the UK.
- SRA-Regulated Solicitor
- Legal, Finance & FD
- Ambitious by Design
400+ growth-focused businesses trust WCL
A solicitor who already knows your business inside out.
Legal advice that understands your business
Most legal advice arrives cold. A solicitor who doesn’t know your structure and has to be brought up to speed before they can help.
That’s not how it works here. Sarah Whittock is a practising solicitor, authorised and regulated by the SRA. She’s part of the same team that handles your finances. When a contract has tax implications or a shareholder change affects your accounts, nothing gets lost between advisers because there’s only one team to begin with.
WCL is not a law firm, but it gives you what other firms rarely can: legal advice that’s already woven into the rest of your business.
Commercial, company secretarial and employment law, properly covered
Practical legal support for the situations that carry real risk, from contracts to compliance.
Commercial support
Contracts, shareholder agreements and the sale of shares or a business, drafted and negotiated properly the first time.
Company secretarial
Statutory books, board and shareholder minutes, Companies House filings, and pre-legal due diligence before a sale or merger.
Employment law
Contracts, senior executive agreements, policies and handbooks, plus straightforward HR advice when something needs handling.
Take legal support as an ongoing arrangement or bring us in for a specific piece of work.
The WCL difference
A solicitor working alongside your accountant catches things a separate law firm never sees. Here’s what that means for you.
Legal, finance and compliance working as one team
Business law runs alongside accountancy and FD support in one team, so nothing gets lost between advisers.
A practising solicitor, properly qualified
Sarah Whittock is authorised and regulated by the SRA personally, with two decades of experience in commercial and employment law.
Advice that starts from what we already know
No cold instructions. We already understand your business, your numbers and where you’re headed before the conversation starts.
A long-term partner in your business’s growth
Built for businesses with ambition, we’re here for the next contract and the one after that.
Getting the numbers right, before the big decisions
Multi-Company Manufacturing Group // Shareholder Strategy
When a group of six companies had almost no visibility of the monthly numbers behind any of them, WCL worked alongside the shareholders on the strategy behind their next move: selling two non-core businesses and reinvesting the cash in the main, largest company. We continue to produce statutory accounts and corporation tax returns for the remaining four, giving the shareholders one reliable view across the group.
Need legal support without hiring in-house counsel?
That’s exactly where we come in. Here’s how it works.
Let’s talk
Book a call. We’ll talk through what’s going on and where legal support would make the difference.
The right level of support
One-off instruction or ongoing retainer, scoped around what your business needs.
A solicitor who gets it
You get practical commercial advice from someone who already understands your business as well as the law.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get started?
Start with a call. We’ll get a sense of what you need, then arrange a meeting if it makes sense to go further. No cost, no obligation.
How much does it cost?
It depends entirely on the work involved. We scope it properly first, then put together a proposal with no surprises in it.
Is there a minimum contract?
We don’t lock anyone in. Take us on for a single piece of work or an ongoing retainer, whichever suits.
Is WCL a law firm?
No. Sarah Whittock is a practising solicitor, authorised and regulated by the SRA personally. WCL itself is not regulated by the SRA, though it is registered with them. Complaints relating to our accountancy work are handled through our CIMA registration.
What size businesses do you work with?
We work with everyone from sole traders to £30m turnover groups, but we’re at our best with ambitious, owner-managed businesses in the £3m to £10m range.
Can you handle my accountancy and legal work together?
Yes, that’s the whole point. One team looks after your finances and your legal position, so nothing falls between the two.
Let's talk about the legal side