Oury Clark Solicitors A new approach to professional services - Offering an integrated range of legal services specifically designed to assist companies looking to invest in the UK or those already established.

James is a dual qualified practicing lawyer and accountant and is strategic head of its Technology, Life Science and Financial Services practices.

James focuses on commercialising technology within the UK, EU and transatlantically. He is closely associated with the Institutions of Imperial College, Kings College, Oxford and Cambridge.

James has assisted numerous US companies entering the UK and European markets, with a regular presence in the United States and is active in the start-up world, growing such companies as DNA Electronics (www.dnae.co.uk).

He is one of the architects of the firm’s pro-bono strategy which has led to the representation of death row clients across the world and more recently of victims affected by the 2005 London bombings.

James is regularly consulted by both Government, the International Bar Association and other agencies.

Juliet is one of the founding Partners and the Managing Partner of Oury Clark Solicitors. She is a member of Liberty, the Immigration Law Practitioner's Association and the Employment Lawyers Association. Her expertise, primarily in the areas of Employment and Business Immigration, is invaluable to overseas clients wishing to set up in the UK. She also advises business owners across all sectors, high net worth individuals and acts as General Counsel for many companies.

Juliet has an extensive record of criminal and human rights work, including representing and finding assistance for Caribbean prisoners. Through her many trips to Jamaica, Juliet has become a trustee of the Jamaican School resources and Caribbean Capital Cases Trust.

When she manages to break away from her desk, she enjoys travelling and spends the majority of her holidays in the ghetto communities of the Caribbean, where she can be found beating the locals at dominos.

Martin is a partner and the head of the Corporate and Commercial team. He is involved in the full range of corporate, commercial and finance work, including private equity, takeovers and mergers (both public and private), acquisitions and disposals (UK and international), joint ventures and cross-border mergers. He also provides advice on general corporate matters to companies and company directors. Prior to joining Oury Clark, he worked for several major national and international law firms, including Norton Rose, McDermott Will & Emery and Dundas & Wilson. He was also seconded to Diageo plc, where he was involved in the merger aspects of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan plc, advising on the integration of various divisions in the UK and in other parts of Europe. In addition, he has acted for telecommunications companies.

He has published various articles including “Duties and Liabilities of Company Directors”, “Personal and Corporate Guarantees”, “Warranties and Indemnities”, and “Turning the Spotlight on Partnerships”. He was also a specialist visiting law lecturer at both Glasgow Caledonian University and Napier University, and a business law lecturer at both the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Institute of Corporate Treasurers.

He completed the professional examinations of the Law Society of Scotland in 1993 and in the same year completed his Diploma in Legal Practice at the University of Glasgow. He also has a Higher National Diploma in Legal Studies from Glasgow Caledonian University. Martin was admitted as a Solicitor in January 1994. Martin is dual-qualified as both a Scottish and an English solicitor and is admitted as a member of the Law Society of England and Wales.

Ashi was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in 2001 and joined Oury Clark in November 2011 having previously worked with City firms Metson Cross and Carter Lemon Camerons LLP.

Ashi heads our commercial property department and specialises in advising on all forms of commercial property transactions ranging from acquisitions and disposals of businesses and properties and undertaking all forms of leasing activity for landlord and tenant clients.

His experience of property related work includes:

• Acting in the acquisition of property portfolio for foreign investors and general acquisitions of high net worth residential properties in the UK.
• Acting for tenants taking new leases of office space and advising on dilapidations and repairing obligations, service charge capping, different forms of rent reviews and the associated documents that maybe required in connection with rent deposits, guarantors and alterations.
• Advising landlords on granting new leases of a commercial property and granting a Licence to Assign to an existing tenant, which can include making investigations into whether the in-coming tenant is financially sufficient and seeking where necessary a rent deposit deed, personal guarantees and an authorised guarantee agreement from the out-going tenant.
• Advising clients purchasing existing business. Recent business acquisitions include an off-licence, hairdressers, pub-restaurant, nightclubs and hotel.
• Preparing bundles and drafting the special conditions for the contract for clients selling their commercial building at auctions.
• Representing property developers and advising on all stages of the construction and development of real property including site acquisitions, development agreements, preparing leases and sales packs for new properties and for sale of off-plan properties.
• Acting for both landlords and tenants in lease negotiations at the end of the contractual term of the lease.

Career highlights include:

• Acting for Barclays Wealth in securing their lending to a pop star for the purchase of a property.
• Working on the sale of two high net worth apartments in central London on behalf of a Chelsea FC footballer.
• Advising a client on a multi-million pound sale of a development site to a major housing development company which include the lease-back of the commercial units.
• Acting for a major printing company in London to sub-let its offices in Farringdon.
• The acquisition of two new-build penthouses on Regent Street for a US resident through his off-shore company based in the BVI for a combined price of £8.6 million.

Ross is Head of the HR and Employment team. He is also a member of the Business Immigration team.

His experience includes:

Employment Law

• Advising international clients on UK set ups including drafting Service Agreements, Contracts of Employment, and Staff Handbooks
• Advising Employers in Private (small, medium, and large) and Public Sectors on various employment matters ranging from general advice on non-contentious issues to contentious issues including Discrimination Law, TUPE, Redundancies (both individual and collective), Bullying and Harassment, Data Protection, Terminations of Employment, and Unfair Dismissal
• Reviewing and Drafting employment documentation on behalf of employers
• Advising employers on employment aspects of Corporate Transactions
• Acting on behalf of high net worth or senior employees in relation to employment issues in the workplace
• Representing employers and employees in Employment Tribunal Proceedings

Business Immigration

• Advising international clients who wish to set up their businesses in the UK
• Advising employer clients on general Business Immigration Law issues
• Advising high net worth or senior individuals on Visa options
• Drafting Business Immigration documentation on behalf of clients

Ross is also a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association.

Omar began life at Oury Clark as a paralegal.

After completing his training contract with the firm, he qualified in February 2009.

Omar is a member of the firm’s Corporate and Commercial team working particularly with the firm’s SME clients. Omar has developed a broad depth of expertise in both the corporate and commercial arenas, including the following:

• Company secretarial and administrative matters
• Company re-structuring and shareholder relationships
• Agency, distribution and licensing arrangements
• Software Licensing/Development/Maintenance agreements
• Terms and Conditions
• Website terms/Privacy Policy
• Data Protection
• Protection of trademarks, confidential information and know-how
• Licensing intellectual property
• Private equity investments
• Acquisitions and Disposals