Seema McWilliam

Partner

Contact Seema

smcwilliam@butcher-barlow.co.uk
Seema McWilliam
Butcher & Barlow LLP,
3 Royal Mews,
Gadbrook Park,
Northwich,
CW9 7UD
+44 (0)1606 334 309

I am a Partner based at the Firm’s dedicated Commercial and Agricultural office at Gadbrook Park, Northwich.

As a Commercial Property Solicitor I have experience in a broad range of transactions including development work, real estate acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant matters, property management and corporate transactions for a range of clients across a variety of sectors including retail (both high street and shopping centres) office, leisure and industrial.

I am originally from N. Ireland coming across the water to study law at Hull University before becoming a trainee Solicitor at Kuits in Manchester. After qualifying as a Solicitor I worked at a regional practice before moving to Eversheds Sutherland in Manchester where I became an Associate. I had an enjoyable 5 years at Eversheds Sutherland working for many corporate clients before having a career break to start a family, rejoining the legal profession in 2016 and joining Butcher & Barlow in 2021.

My work typically includes :-

Sales and acquisitions of freehold and leasehold land;
Landlord and Tenant matters;
Property investment transactions;
Conditional contracts, option agreements and rights of pre-emption; and
Development Agreements or Promotion Agreements.

I have enjoyed an extensive career in commercial property and some of my more memorable transactions which demonstrate the breadth of my work are:-

securing an international client’s first leasehold office premises in the UK.
negotiating a 5 year option over mineral rights and subsequently dealing with the £8 million completion once the option was exercised.
winning a contract race on a very tight timescale for a developer client on a £1.3 million acquisition.
managing a team dealing with all aspects of a corporate client’s national property portfolio.

I am a commercially aware, versatile and reliable Solicitor with a practicable approach to problem solving with many years of legal experience. My clients like my plain English advice and approachable nature and I am honoured to be named in the Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner.

Outside of work I am busy raising my family and enjoy keeping fit, when time allows, and am an active member of my local book club.

What our clients say about Seema

Seema is a true professional with exceptional legal acumen. She understands her subject and is able to explain difficult concepts with ease. Seema has excellent interpersonal and communication skills, is very dependable and can be relied upon to provide sound legal advice and deliver excellent results on time.

Thanks so much to Seema and the team for steering us through the purchase of our commercial property. We have not been involved in the purchase of commercial property before and the process pushed us hugely out of our comfort zone! Seema maintained a calm voice of experience and professionalism throughout, and we completed the purchase to the required timescales. Communication was excellent. I would not hesitate to recommend.

I have dealt with Seema McWilliam now on several occasions and have always found her to be most reliable, dependable and competent. I have no hesitation in recommending her.

Seema McWilliam is extremely capable, conscientious and diligent. Seema has excellent communication skills and always responds promptly. She goes above and beyond to ensure full client satisfaction and excellent outcomes.

Excellent Service. We have exchanged on a recent deal and it was seamless, very professional and concise.

Thank you so much for your really brilliant work for us.

We have relied on Seema for at least 6 years. She has looked after our property in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, originally acquired by our grandfather in the 1940s. She advises us in all our dealings with our tenants and in all things legal. On her move to Butcher & Barlow, we were anxious not to lose her expertise or her ability to work well with our other advisers, so our business followed her. When Richard Price suffered a stroke a few years ago, Seema’s patience and understanding in helping with his resulting communication difficulties was much appreciated.

We required advice on our factory premises lease renewal. Seema provided very clear, prompt and easy to understand advice across a number of months during the review process. The rates quoted were also very good and Seema made sure I was aware if there were any additional charges I should be aware of. We would highly recommend Seema and Butcher & Barlow.