Birmingham-based commercial law firm Harper James has been commended for New Law Business of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2026, recognising its model for making senior legal expertise more accessible to ambitious, growth-focused SMEs.
The commendation reflects Harper James’ continued growth and commitment to offering scaling businesses a practical alternative to the traditional law firm model.
The Lawyer Awards are widely regarded as one of the legal profession’s most prestigious accolades. The New Law Business of the Year category recognises firms that are challenging established ways of working through innovation, strong performance and meaningful client impact.
Founded by Toby Harper in 2014, Harper James was created to support entrepreneurial businesses with legal advice that is responsive, commercially focused and built around their needs. Its model gives clients access to experienced commercial lawyers, many with in-house experience, supported by transparent pricing and technology that’s designed to make legal services more efficient.
The firm has now supported more than 8,000 businesses at different stages of their journey, from early-stage companies to established SMEs navigating investment, recruitment, commercial contracts, disputes, acquisitions and expansion.
Toby Harper said: “To be commended in this category is a brilliant moment for the whole Harper James team. When launching the firm, we were asking clients and lawyers to back a different way of doing things. That only works if people believe in the model and if you keep proving it delivers.
“Our clients have trusted us with some of the most important moments in their development, and our people have taken that trust and consistently delivered the quality, judgement and care those moments deserve. That is what I’m most proud of and what makes this recognition so rewarding.”
