What Kind of Lawyer Do I Need To Sell My Business

This article was last updated 0 months ago and may not represent current law.

So you’re looking to sell your business, but you aren’t really sure whether you need a lawyer, a solicitor or a barrister, and if so, whether you need a commercial or corporate one, an M&A one, or some other jargon title!

You’re at the right place. Let me try to explain.

Solicitor vs barrister?

Barristers do not tend to be involved in day-to-day contact with clients like you; they are really court specialists and advocates.

So we’ve narrowed it down. If you are looking at a business sale (or purchase) you need a lawyer, and most likely a solicitor.

That said, the legal work required to buy or sell a business is what is known as unregulated legal work, meaning anyone can practise in that area of law and they do not need to be a solicitor. Solicitors, on the other hand, are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

With a solicitor working in an SRA regulated firm you get a number of really key benefits:

1. They are regulated! Meaning they have a very detailed code of conduct to follow, which keeps standards up.
2. They have an independent and external complaints body should things go wrong. Unregulated firms simply deal with complaints internally.
3. They have mandatory professional indemnity insurance requirements, again should things go wrong.

Corporate, commercial, business, M&A?

For a business sale or purchase, you are typically looking for an M&A lawyer (mergers and acquisitions) or a corporate lawyer. M&A tends to be used by lawyers and law firms dealing with huge transactions, multi-million pound deals, perhaps cross-border or international ones. They like the title.

Corporate law is the label used by most law firms in the UK, meaning a lawyer who deals with business sales and purchases (along with other company law matters, from setting up a company to restructuring it, and anything to do with private company shares and the like). A commercial lawyer usually means someone who deals with a business’s contracts.

I do corporate and commercial work, but to be honest, a straightforward business sale/purchase lawyer suits me fine.

Whatever title they use, the thing to check is that the person you’re speaking to regularly acts on business sales and purchases. That’s most of what I do, so if you’re selling (or buying) and would like a quote, get in touch.

Written by Steven Mather, a business solicitor acting on company sales and purchases. This is general information about the law, not legal advice on your situation. Law correct as at 7 October 2026.