Agriculture & Rural Affairs

Types of work handled:

The large and multi-disciplinary Rural Services Team at Coodes handles the full breadth of legal services required by farming businesses, landed estates and generational farms. They cover commercial property (farm sales, purchases, leases, development, renewable energy), commercial disputes (partnership, property, contractual, boundary, tenancy, planning), corporate and commercial (succession, governance, M&A, diversification), private client (wills, probate, estate planning), family law and regulatory/crime (environmental, animal welfare).

Categories of clients:

Clients include large-landed estates, tenant farmers, multi-generational and individual farms, start-ups, diversified rural businesses, and high net worth landowners. The team regularly receives referrals from other professionals, such as accountants, surveyors and land agents, as well as other law firms.

Recent work highlights:

Facilitated farm transfers, boundary and tenancy disputes, pollution incident defence, and succession planning for family businesses, often involving multi-million-pound assets, handling very high value divorces involving complex farm assets, partnerships and businesses, coordinating with valuers and accountants.

Specialisations:

The team has 5 fellows of the Agricultural Law Association which demonstrates their considerable expertise in rural law. They are embedded in and provide continual support for the farming community, giving them real insight into rural business.