Commercial lawyers for growing companies, their founders and the boards that steer them.
Our practice areasFellgate is a commercial law firm of seventy lawyers in Edinburgh, London and Dublin, built to keep growing companies on firm ground when the stakes rise.
Three litigators founded the firm in 2009, tired of advice nobody could act on. We still answer in plain English, in writing, within one working day.
How we practiseEach practice is led by partners who still draft, argue and negotiate themselves. Most of our clients use two of them within their first year.
Funding rounds, acquisitions, buy-outs and the shareholder agreements that hold a growing company together. We draft for the deal you want and for the dispute you hope never comes.
Talk to the corporate team
Commercial disputes settled early where we can and fought to judgment where we must, in the courts of three jurisdictions or in arbitration.
Talk to the disputes team
Contracts, restructures, senior exits and tribunal claims, for employers who would rather keep their people and their reputation.
Talk to the employment team
Leases, acquisitions and planning consents for the offices, warehouses and sites that companies grow into.
Talk to the property teamWe set them down in 2009 and have not needed to change a word. If we break one, the next month of work on your matter is on us.
How our fees workEvery matter is led by a named partner whose direct line is printed on your letter, from the first call to the last invoice.
You approve a fixed or capped fee before we start. Any change reaches you in writing, with its reason, before it is spent.
A recommendation and the reasons for it, in plain English, never a memo of options to decode.
Every message gets a real answer within one working day, even when the answer is when we will know more.
We look for the settlement first. Most disputes we take on end with a letter, not a hearing.
Clients described with their permission; outcomes as they stand in 2026.
| Year | Client | Matter | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Robotics manufacturer, Leeds | £48m Series C led by a US growth fund, with a secondary sale for early staff | Closed in nine weeks |
| 2025 | Family hotel group, Highlands | Shareholder dispute between three generations of owners | Settled by mediation, no hearing |
| 2025 | Software company, Dublin | Restructure of a 140-person team across four countries | No tribunal claims |
| 2024 | Logistics operator, Midlands | Acquisition of six warehouse sites and their leases | Completed on the agreed day |
| 2024 | Fintech founder, London | Exit of a co-founder and a buy-back of her shares | Agreed in one meeting |
| 2023 | Food producer, Fife | £2.1m supply contract claim against a national retailer | Recovered in full before trial |
From Edinburgh, London and Dublin we act across Europe, with partner firms in Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Milan and five more countries, briefed in one call and billed through us.
1 Example Street, Edinburgh EH1 0ZZ
+44 131 000 00001 Example Street, London WC1R 0ZZ
+44 20 0000 00001 Example Street, Dublin 2
+353 1 000 0000Every client has one of these direct lines from the first call. Their teams do the drafting; they do the deciding.
Tenants
Defending families against unlawful evictions, with the law centres of Glasgow and Dublin.
Charities
Governance and contracts for forty small trusts that could never retain a firm.
Founders
A free first-contract clinic every second Thursday, for founders who have not yet raised money.
Most matters run on a fixed or capped fee. Hourly work comes with an estimate we hold ourselves to. Each bar shows how far the bill can move from what you agreed.
One price for a defined piece of work: a shareholder agreement, a lease, a funding round.
It changes only if the scope does, and only with your signature.
An estimate with a ceiling, for work that cannot be mapped in advance: a negotiation, an early dispute.
Below the cap you pay for the time used; above it, we carry it.
Partner and associate rates for litigation and open-ended work, with a written estimate for every stage.
We tell you before an estimate is reached, not after.
Anything else, ask the partner on the call. It takes thirty minutes and costs nothing.
Book a first callNo. The first thirty minutes with a partner are free. On that call we tell you whether we are the right firm and what a fixed or capped fee would be.
For founders, directors and senior executives, in matters connected to their companies: exits, disputes with co-founders and employment terms. We do not handle family or criminal matters.
Usually within the same week. For an urgent injunction or a deal with a deadline, the same day: say so when you call.
Yes. Our teams cover Scots, English and Irish law, and our partner firms cover twelve more countries under the same engagement letter and one invoice.
Then it is our problem first. Capped fees stay capped. On hourly work we tell you before an estimate is reached, and you decide whether we go on.
The partner you meet leads it and signs off every piece of advice. Associates draft where that saves you money, and you will know their names from the first day.
Urgent, out of hours
+44 7700 000000