Real estate, estates, and business law across Southwestern Ontario.
Peter Norris is a partner at George Murray Shipley Bell LLP. He acts for people buying and selling property, families putting their affairs in order, and owner-managed businesses — from offices in London and Sarnia.
Most legal work of this kind is not complicated so much as consequential. A purchase closes once. A will is read once. The value of good counsel is that the thing is done properly the first time, and that you are told plainly what is happening and what it means.
Areas of practice
Real estate. Purchases, sales and refinancing of homes, and commercial property and leasing. Title searches, mortgage instructions and closing — handled so that the keys change hands on the day they are supposed to.
Wills and estates. Wills, powers of attorney, and the administration of estates — including estates holding shares in a private corporation, where the legal and tax work has to be coordinated with your accountant.
Business. Incorporations, shareholder agreements, commercial leasing, and the purchase and sale of businesses — advice on how the pieces fit together, not just the document in front of you.
What working with this office looks like
You will know who is doing your work
1
Files here are handled by Peter with a team of law clerks. You are told at the outset who is working on your matter and how to reach them.
You will hear about problems early
2
Title defects, missing discharges and lender conditions are far easier to fix three weeks before closing than three days before. Files are reviewed on the way in, not on the way out.
You will get an answer you can act on
3
Advice is given in plain terms, with the commercial trade-offs set out, so that the decision remains yours.
One file, two offices
4
Whether your matter begins in London or Sarnia, it is handled by the same office and the same people, under the same file.