Business Law for Business People
Murrell Associates is a specialist team of corporate/commercial lawyers, with experience in large London and West Country legal practices, providing commercial legal services to UK and international businesses from its offices in Truro and Bristol.
Why we are different? Unlike most legal practices we offer defined corporate/commercial services which reflect the specific requirements of our business clients. By focusing on these areas of expertise we are able to provide a more personalised, pragmatic and ‘tailored’ service which is in turn more responsive and relevant to our clients’ commercial needs.
Adapting to a sophisticated business market
We recognise the need for the legal profession to adapt to what is a more sophisticated and specialised business market. We acknowledge the critical need for lawyers to provide their advice in a more commercial context and be prepared to convince their clients of the value of the services they provide.
For this reason, we believe strongly that you cannot be ‘all things to all people’ but instead need to define your services clearly and provide your clients with the appropriate support and referral arrangements where required. We have developed key referral arrangements with other specialist legal providers and where required we can provide a project management service to ensure that the client obtains the relevant advice in the context of the particular transaction.
We believe it is critical that legal advice is not provided in isolation without any clear reference to the client’s business or commercial requirements. That is why we are interested in understanding our clients’ businesses and how they work. We actively encourage an initial dialogue prior to any instruction in which we can explain how we work and in turn learn how the client’s business works.
Without this process we think it is very difficult to provide meaningful pricing for the legal work required. Gone are the days of the hourly rates and the uncomfortable surprise at the end of the transaction. We understand that like any other commercial service the customer requires certainty in terms of cost. As far as possible we provide a fixed price for each piece of work we carry out for our clients.
Managing director Hugh Murrell founded the firm after coming back from London in the early 1990’s, having previously worked for a large city corporate practice. He was convinced that there was a place in the market for a niche commercial law firm offering a more defined and progressive service to businesses in Cornwall and the South West.
With this ethos in mind, Murrell Associates was set up in 2007 and quickly established a strong client base in a variety of sectors; with a number of these clients being regular clients of the firm to the present day. A number of specialist solicitors went on to join the firm, cementing the firm’s ability to offer expertise and commercial experience to our clients.
In March 2015 Chris Wills was appointed a director of the Company joining Hugh on the board of Murrell Associates Limited. In 2015 the firm expanded, opening a boutique office in Bristol’s Clifton Village to support the firm’s geographically expanding client base. With the firm’s continued expansion in terms of turnover and staff numbers, Murrell Associates is delighted to expand its services to an ever-growing client base at both a national and international level.
Today the firm consists of a number of specialist solicitors, assisted by trainee solicitors, graduate CILEx members, paralegals, executive assistants, legal assistants and administrative assistants. Being committed to retaining talented staff, the firm offers a competitive trainee scheme for trainee solicitors, with the opportunity to pursue a career in the firm following enrollment as a solicitor.
“Twenty years on with a team of specialist corporate/commercial lawyers, an ever increasing commercial client base and year on year growth in turnover I remain absolutely convinced that what business clients are looking for is clearly defined specialist legal services that are accessible, commercially relevant and cost effective.”
We strive to be actively involved in the community, and as many of the firm’s staff members are local to Cornwall, there is a particular emphasis on helping the local Cornish community. In December 2015 the firm donated a box to the Cornwall Christmas Box project, which provides a box of food to enable a disadvantaged family to enjoy a Christmas meal. The firm also organised a charity Bake Off event to raise funds for Cornwall Hospice in May 2015, which resulted in very competitive baking!
The firm is also involved in community work at an international level, recently assisting fresh2o with their life-saving “Water for Life” campaign. We have funded a family of four in Ambodiaradihy, Madagascar to enable them to have access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene education, to prevent needless deaths due to drinking contaminated water.
has been a Trustee of BF Adventure, a registered charity since 1998. BF Adventure (formerly known as The Bishop’s Forum) which was established in 1989 helps disadvantaged children and young adults in Cornwall offering activities such as basic problem solving, various water sports, abseiling, archery, bushcraft and survival skills, camping and independent living skills etc.
The firm regularly engages with sponsored events for BF Adventure, such as its annual assault course event. Never one to shy away from a challenge, our Executive Assistant & Marketing Coordinator,
We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it. This will not only ensure we can try and resolve the complaint but also help us to improve our standards and procedures.
Please see the link provided for a copy of our Complaints Procedure:
