In this article, Trainee Solicitor Bethany Pinner explains stamp duty in more detail and outlines what the current rates are.
James Privett
James is a Solicitor within the Corporate & Commercial team working in our Wimborne office.
Work
James graduated from Bournemouth University in 2022 with a law degree and commenced at Frettens as a Legal Secretary in the Commercial Property team.
After completing a year as a Legal Assistant in the Commercial Property team, James was offered a training contract as part of the Frettens’ Graduate Scheme, commencing in September 2023, whilst also studying for the SQE.
Knowing he wanted to qualify into a commercial area of law, James undertook seats in three departments; Commercial Property, Insolvency & Restructuring and Corporate & Commercial.
James qualified as a Lawyer in June 2025 into the Corporate & Commercial team.
Experience:
- Assisting on the sale of the entire issued share capital of an engineering company, deal worth c.£4m, which involved advising on the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
- Acting on a company reorganisation for a property development company, transaction value c.£3.9m
- Acting on a buyback of shares for a veterinary company, deal worth c.£350k.
- Acting on the purchase of the business and assets of a funeral company, deal worth c.£225k
- Leading on various commercial matters for the firm’s specialist social housing team, including drafting and negotiating service level agreements for various social housing providers.
Play
Outside of work, James enjoys running, hiking and socialising with friends. He's also a keen follower of Formula 1.
