Partnerships fall into three main categories:
- traditional unlimited partnerships, in which the partners enjoy certain tax advantages, as compared with the shareholders in a company, but are exposed to unlimited liability for all the debts of the partnership.
- limited partnerships, which offer the same tax advantages, together with limited liabilty for some of the partners, but only if they play no part in the management of the partnership.
- limited partnerships, which combine the internal flexibility and tax advantages of a traditional partnership with the benefits of limited liability for all members.
RadcliffesLeBrasseur advises on all aspects of partnership law, including:
- clarifying the intentions of the parties and the objectives of the partnership
- determining the most advantageous structure
- advising on tax considerations
- negotiating the division of profits between respective partners
- drafting the partnership agreement and related documentation
- advising on, and drafting all documentation relating to, the raising of finance for the partnership
- advising on partnership disputes
- advising on the dissolution and merger of partnerships
- handling all necessary filings at Companies House
- advising on all regulatory matters
Philip Peacock, the head of our Corporate Department, is a member of the Association of Partnership Practitioners.
Some examples of recent work are:
- advising doctors and other medical practitioners on partnership agreements and disputes
- advising architects, surveyors and other professionals on the transfer of partnerships to LLPs
- advising an accountancy firm on the restructuring of its partnership and the provisions for the admission of new partners
- acting for a professional services partnership on the enforced retirement of equity partners
- advising on the setting up and structure of limited partnerships for property investment and fine art investments, under the Limited Partnerships Act 1907
- acting for numerous professional services partnerships in their mergers with other partnerships, particularly in accountancy, legal, surveying and architectural professions
- acting for a professional services partnership in its demerger from its existing partner and the creation of a new partnership
- advising many partnerships in different sectors on disputes between partners and on managing their relationships with creditors