Mills Selig > Belfast, Northern Ireland > Firm Profile

The firm: Mills Selig is one of Northern Ireland’s most innovative and progressive corporate and commercial law firms. It acts for leading plcs, private equity funds, entrepreneurs, private companies and businesses, property developers, leading retailers and national and international media organisations.

Its expert lawyers also advise on English law and are regularly involved in high-level property, corporate and commercial transactions in Ireland, Great Britain, mainland Europe and worldwide.

Notable clients include First Derivatives plc, Bank of Ireland, Devenish Nutrition, ITV, DCC Energy, Murdock Group, Hughes Insurance, Wine Inns, SDC Trailers, and White Rock Capital Partners. The firm has experienced considerable growth over the past few years in restructuring, liquor licensing, banking, construction, energy and environment.

Principal areas of work
Banking and finance: Mills Selig advise borrowers and lenders on property and corporate finance transactions across many different sectors and can assist individuals and businesses as well as banks on all aspects of financing transactions. The firm’s experienced team have expertise in advising on recovery of secured debt and fixed charge receiverships.

Commercial: Well-drafted commercial agreements are fundamental to successful business. Robust terms and conditions and distribution agreements are imperative in today’s competitive environment. Mills Selig’s commercial contracts team are experts at striking the balance in their advice so that client contracts are both workable from a day-to-day business perspective but also offer all appropriate safeguards to limit the risk of contract disputes.

Commercial property: Mills Selig’s dedicated commercial property team have the technical edge to offer sound and decisive commercial property advice in Northern Ireland, England and Wales. The team works closely with clients and their agents to deliver effective, business-minded solutions in all areas of commercial property law.

Construction: Mills Selig is a market-leading construction specialist employing a dedicated team focusing entirely on construction-related issues — the team has a proven track record of dealing with high-value and technically complex cases. The firm sets itself apart by providing solution-focused advice in relation to live construction projects and provides the full construction legal package.

Corporate: Mills Selig’s corporate team is made up of market-leading specialist corporate lawyers and solicitors who combine superior technical expertise with substantial transactional experience of high-value, complex transactions both nationally and internationally. The team’s approach is based on clear, direct, problem-solving advice driven by business needs and objectives to get the deal done.

Dispute resolution and litigation:
Mills Selig has a highly successful, market-leading team adept at handling all types of litigation — with notable experience in managing high-value and complex cases. The litigation team is particularly skilled at adopting a trusted advisor approach and providing not only commercial but strategic advice.

Employment: Mills Selig’s highly regarded employment team is recognised for its experience in all types of employment matters. In this specialised and complex area of law, the firm’s dedicated team focus on delivering expert advice with a strong commercial focus.

Energy and environmental: Mills Selig’s energy and environmental team draws on key sector knowledge from across the firm’s practice areas, including corporate, commercial and property. The team has advised a wide range of clients involved in the generation of energy from renewable and non-renewable sources, as well as businesses operating in the supply chain.

IP and technology: Mills Selig offers legal expertise across all aspects of IP. The firm advises businesses on strategies that enable their intellectual property assets to be fully protected and commercially exploited – this includes copyright, trademarks and design rights through to joint venture collaborations, franchising and licensing.

Licensing: The licensing team at Mills Selig are recognised market leaders, combining detailed knowledge and practical experience of a wide range of licensing applications. Chambers and Partners ranks the Mills Selig licensing team Band 1. The team’s services include; applications for new licences for public houses, hotels, off licences and restaurants, all types of renewal application, transfers, sale and purchase transactions, protection orders, amendments/additions to licence terms, objections to applications and social club applications.

Media and defamation: Mills Selig’s media and defamation team are recognised experts, representing national newspapers, broadcasters, book and online publishers as well as high-profile individuals. The team enjoy longstanding recognition in Chambers UK legal directory as a leader in defamation and reputation management and have been involved in many of the major libel and media cases in this jurisdiction— including Northern Ireland’s first-ever State Immunity case.

Private client: Mills Selig’s specialist private client team assists individuals and families for whom wealth preservation is a fundamental objective. The team is trusted locally and throughout the UK and Ireland to handle all private client matters sensitively, professionally and with unparalleled expertise. The team has extensive experience in a range of private client matters including wills, trusts, business succession, estate planning and creating bespoke structures to protect personal and family wealth.

Residential property: Mills Selig’s restructuring and insolvency team advises debtor companies, secured and unsecured creditors, financial institutions, banks, insolvency practitioners and failing businesses needing support on all aspects of recovery, turnaround and insolvency. The team is highly regarded for its expert, timely guidance, which has on several occasions helped businesses avoid formal insolvency arrangements.