H E C K F O R D
N O R T O N
S O L I C I T O R S
For the legal
expertise you need
H E C K F O R D N O R T O N . C O . U K
“Heckford Norton will always
put the needs of the client first...”
Heckford Norton was founded in Letchworth, Hertfordshire in1919 by
Mr Harry Heckford. From the outset the firm distinguished itself by its
adoption of modern business methods, and in 1923 became one of the
first to employ the then revolutionary cylinder-type Dictaphones! In 1958
the Stevenage office was opened, and in 1969 the firm acquired the
Saffron Walden office, which has been in existence as a law firm since
1806.
The Stevenage office is located at Tudor House in Stevenage Old Town and dates from the late 15th / early 16th centuries. It was originally a Tudor hall and has many medieval building features. Nevertheless it is surprisingly adaptable and convenient for modern office needs.
We are an accredited member of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme and are on the Law Society’s Family Law Advanced panel. We are also members of Resolution, which provides a code of conduct for resolving family and matrimonial disputes. Seema Solanki, one of our partners, is a member of STEP (the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners).
Committed to providing an
individual personal service
A full range of quality legal services
Residential Property Employment Commercial Property Litigation + Disputes Wills, Trusts + Estates Elderly Issues Business Family + Divorce Agriculture Crime Stevenage
Tudor House, 2 Letchmore Road Stevenage, Herts SG1 3HU
Tel:01438 312211
Fax:01438 740805
Letchworth Garden City
19 Leys Avenue
Letchworth Garden City, Herts SG6 3EB
Tel:01462 682244
Fax:01462 673433
Saffron Walden
18 Hill Street
Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1JD
Tel: 01799 522636 Fax: 01799 513282 1 2 3 2 3
Our offices
We are also pleased regularly to provide work experience for keen students interested in
the law and we attend local school careers fairs.
H E C K F O R D
N O R T O N
S O L I C I T O R S
02
Heckford Norton Brochure 201503
1 Will Aid
2 Make a Will week for St Clare Hospice 3 Make a Will week for Addenbrookes
Charitable Trust
4 Cancer Research UK Free Wills
5 The Institute of Cancer Research “Will for Free” 6 The Alzheimer’s Society’s “Will to Remember” 7 “Remember a Charity in your Will Week” 8 Jeans for Genes
9 Support Breast Cancer Campaign (Going Pink!) 10 Macmillan Cancer Support coffee mornings
We are proud to support many charities and we actively participate in
charitable fundraising through various schemes including:
We sponsor The Late Harvest Luncheon for Saffron Walden Macmillan Cancer Support. We participate in the Saffron Walden annual Carnival for charity. We have also sponsored the Knebworth Disabled Basketball Team.
Residential
Property
04
Heckford Norton Brochure 201505
Broader legal areas which may be relevant include:
Trusts, boundary and other property disputes, rights of way and transfers of equity.
Our residential property specific services include:
Sales and purchases, buy-to-let, gifts, tenancy agreements, re-mortgages, leaseholds and commonhold properties.
Our efficient, personal service ensures
the transaction happens as quickly and
smoothly as possible. At Heckford Norton
our experienced conveyancers will guide
you through your transaction, providing clear,
jargon free advice and regular updates. We
can also help you on many other aspects of
property law, including residential lettings,
rights of way and property disputes.
Moving house doesn’t
have to be stressful.
R E S I D E N T I A L P R O P E R T Y
06
07
Wills, Trusts
+ Estates
Ensuring your loved
ones’ futures.
Making a will and keeping it up to date is essential to ensure that
your property is left to those you wish to benefit after your death. At
Heckford Norton we have many years’ experience in preparing wills,
obtaining grants of probate and administering estates. We can advise
on tax and retirement planning and can help you secure your future
with a power of attorney, for those times when you may not be able to
look after your own affairs.
Broader legal areas which may be relevant include:
Retirement planning, care home funding options, lifetime gifts and investment trusts.
Our wills, trusts and estates specific services include:
Wills, codicils, powers of attorney, living wills (advance directives), trusts, grants of probate, administration of estates and inheritance tax planning.
W I L L S T R U S T S + E S TAT E S
H E C K F O R D
N O R T O N
S O L I C I T O R SWe can also set up and
administer trusts to benefit
others in your lifetime and
in the future.
E N Q U I R E O N L I N E : H E C K F O R D N O R T O N . C O . U K / W I L L S - T R U S T S - E S TAT E S . H T M L
08
09
C O M M E R C I A L P R O P E R T Y
E N Q U I R E O N L I N E : H E C K F O R D N O R T O N . C O . U K / C O M M E R C I A L - P R O P E R T Y. H T M L
Commercial
Property
Wide ranging expertise in all areas.
For landlords and tenants.
Commercial property work is one of our key service offerings and
many clients – both landlords and tenants - take advantage of our
considerable expertise in this area.
Broader legal areas which may be relevant include:
Joint ventures, funding agreements, shareholder agreements, employment law, retirement and tax planning.
Our commercial property specific services include:
Drafting and advising on new leases, renewals of leases, rent reviews, notices, assignments of leases, dilapidations, sale and purchase of freehold commercial property, property developments, landlord and tenant negotiations and insolvency.
10
11
Business
Impacting on your business
success. Working with you
to achieve results.
We have many years’ experience in
providing practical advice and assistance
in all areas of business law for all types of
transactions.
Broader legal areas which may be relevant include:
Commercial property, tax planning and retirement issues.
Our business specific services include:
Directors duties, commercial agreements, business disputes, business start-ups, sole trader and partnerships, joint ventures, company formations, shareholder issues, acquisitions and sales, employment, franchising, insolvency, terms and conditions of trade, commercial contracts, IT contracts and intellectual property rights.
E N Q U I R E O N L I N E : H E C K F O R D N O R T O N . C O . U K / B U S I N E S S . H T M L
B U S I N E S S
Agriculture
Heckford NortonBrochure 2015
12
13
For many years we have provided practical advice to farming and
agricultural clients. Our experience in general business law and
commercial property enables us also to advise on diversification -
increasingly necessary due to the challenges faced by the agricultural
community. Whether it is a transfer of land or the acquisition or sale
of a business, we have the expertise.
Rural business specialists. Supporting
local farming families for generations.
A G R I C U LT U R E
Broader legal areas which may be relevant include:
Business start-ups, companies and partnerships, employment law, commercial disputes, environmental issues, trusts and settlements.
Our agricultiure specific services include:
Sale and purchase of farm land and buildings, property development, commercial contracts, trading terms, business tenancies, smallholdings and tax planning.
Employment
Practical advice for employers and
employees. Helping you use the
law to your advantage.
Acting for both employers and employees
we advise on all aspects of employment
law. For employers we can help you use
the law to your advantage and ensure your
business remains compliant. For employees,
we frequently advise on settlement (or
compromise) agreements and on disciplinary
and grievance proceedings.
06
Heckford NortonBrochure 201514
15
Our employment specific services include:
Dismissal, settlement agreements, bullying and harassment, post termination restrictions and staff handbooks including policies and procedures on such matters as discipline, grievance, equal opportunities, discrimination, bribery, IT misuse, sickness absence, maternity rights, parental leave, flexible working, health and safety, data protection and social media.
E M P L O Y M E N T
H E C K F O R D
N O R T O N
S O L I C I T O R SWe also provide
representation in
Employment Tribunal
proceedings.
E N Q U I R E O N L I N E : H E C K F O R D N O R T O N . C O . U K / E M P L O Y M E N T. H T M LElderly
Issues
Our elderly issues specific services include:
Wills, trusts, grants of probate, administration of estates, court of protection, living wills (advance directives), inheritance tax planning, retirement planning and options for care home funding.
Later life can be complicated. Our
advice can make things simpler.
16
Heckford NortonBrochure 201517
Broader legal areas which may be relevant include:
Tax planning, lifetime gifts and investment trusts.
Legal issues affecting the elderly are many and complex. We can
assist with all such issues from wills and powers of attorney, to tax
planning and administration of estates. We also advise and act for
clients dealing with a death who need a grant of probate to administer
the deceased’s estate.
E L D E R LY I S S U E S
06
Heckford NortonBrochure 201518
Litigation
+ disputes
Experienced dispute resolution
lawyers for out of court
settlements and litigation.
Involvement in litigation and disputes can be stressful and costly. Our
experienced team will be happy to discuss your case and give you
an honest opinion on your prospects of success. We will advise on
the likely costs of pursuing or defending a claim, including the costs of
taking it to court. At Heckford Norton we have many years’ experience
dealing with a wide range of cases from debt collection to high
court commercial disputes and injunctions. We will
always explore whether your case can be
settled on satisfactory terms to avoid
the high costs of litigation.
19
E N Q U I R E O N L I N E : H E C K F O R D N O R T O N . C O . U K / L I T I G AT I O N - D I S P U T E S . H T M L
Our litigation and dispute specific services include:
Debt collection, boundary and other property disputes, breach of contract, commercial disputes, landlord and tenant disputes, possession proceedings, building disputes, contentious probate matters and injunctions.
L I T I G AT I O N + D I S P U T E S
Broader legal areas which may be relevant include:
06
Heckford NortonBrochure 201520
21
Family
+ Divorce
Stressful times need compassionate
people. We provide a discreet,
sympathetic service.
Our family and divorce specific services include:
Divorce proceedings, separation, property disputes, maintenance, pensions, children issues, domestic violence and unmarried couples.
Family break up is emotional and upsetting, and the legal issues
surrounding it can be just so. With our experienced and sympathetic
approach, we can help you resolve the issues with as little stress
as possible. We are members of the Law Society Family Panel
and Resolution, and as such our objective is to promote a
non-confrontational solution-focused approach to family law.
FA M I LY & D I V O R C E
06
Heckford NortonBrochure 201522
23
Criminal/road
traffic offences
Fighting your corner. From arrest
to court, we’re with you.
For any type of case, from speeding, to fraud, to murder we can help
from arrest to trial and appeal to the higher courts. We are proud of
our strong track record of success, working for individual or corporate
clients.
C R I M E
E N Q U I R E O N L I N E : H E C K F O R D N O R T O N . C O . U K / C R I M E . H T M L
Specific areas where we can help include:
Road traffic offences, police station interviews, magistrates court, crown court and appeals.
Stevenage
Tudor House, 2 Letchmore Road Stevenage, Herts SG1 3HU Tel: 01438 312211 Fax: 01438 740805
Letchworth Garden City
19 Leys Avenue
Letchworth Garden City, Herts SG6 3EB Tel: 01462 682244
Fax: 01462 673433
Saffron Walden
18 Hill Street
Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1JD Tel: 01799 522636
Fax: 01799 513282
H E C K F O R D
N O R T O N
S O L I C I T O R S
“...Our philosophy is to focus on the client’s
objectives and desired outcome, and to
try to achieve this in the most cost-effective
way. In short, we hope you will find us to
be friendly and approachable, while at the
same time being dedicated to providing a
thoroughly professional service.”
David Pidgeon – Partner