Geldards LLP

Adam Thomas

Adam is a property lawyer experienced in all aspects of real estate work, including landlord and tenant, development, acquisitions and disposal, secured lending and property finance. He has significant experience acting for a range of property investors, financial institutions and end-users across the public and private sectors, including retail, investment, manufacturing and healthcare. Adam works with clients to understand their transactional and wider business objectives and by focussing on what is important to the client, helps them to achieve their strategic goals. Adam has a broad range of property experience from straightforward commercial leases, to complex multi-party forward-funded developments.

Adrienne Donneky

Adrienne Donneky is Senior Associate and heads up the family team. Adrienne is a highly experienced solicitor having practised in the area of family law for over 16 years. She advises individuals on a wide range of family matters including divorce and disputes between parents in relation to their children. Adrienne has particular expertise in cases concerning the resolution of financial issues on divorce and between unmarried couples on separationAdrienne is also experienced in the preparation of prenuptial, postnuptial and cohabitation agreements.Adrienne has acted in numerous high net worth and middle income cases including those with complex business, trust or pension elements and those in which one party is reluctant to engage in the court process.Adrienne is known for her down to earth, no nonsense practical approach to ensure her cases progress in an efficient and cost effective way to achieve a good outcome for her clients. Many of Adrienne’s instructions come as a result of client recommendations.

Alex Butler

Alex is an experienced Corporate Solicitor who specialises in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, equity investments and private equity transactions. Alex has worked in the corporate teams at a number of top tier law firms. He also has experience working as part of a legal advisory team, providing legal advice to the clients of a global corporate services provider. He has particular expertise in corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, equity investments and corporate finance and has acted for a variety of clients, from local owner-managed businesses, start up entities, through to private equity firms and global organisations.

Andrew Morris

Partner

Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones is a solicitor and STEP member with over 25 years’ experience in the private client tax and estate planning field. His areas of specialisation include trusts and trust taxation; inheritance tax planning, especially for entrepreneurs, farmers and clients with high net worth; FATCA; and personal, and estate, income tax and capital gains tax. He has a particular specialisation in the affairs of clients with overseas aspects to their estates – both for non-domiciled clients with UK assets and for England and Wales-domiciled clients with non-UK assets. This includes working closely with overseas lawyers, ensuring that wills dovetail where more than one is used, and in advising on the EU Succession Regulation. Andrew is an enthusiastic trainer on private client law, both as the author of e-learning courses and as an engaging speaker.

Anne Taylor

Anne is a Senior Associate and has over 10 years’ experience as a private client solicitor. She is highly experienced in all aspects of wills, trusts, powers of attorney and estate administration and leads a section of the team dedicated to effective trust and estate administration.  A skilled wealth planner, Anne is a longstanding member of Camelot’s lottery advisory panel, providing expert advice and support to numerous winners over the years.  She has worked closely with several very significant winners to implement effective long term personal planning strategies, and forged strong relationships as their trusted advisor.  Anne is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and is on the committee of the STEP Wales branch. She acts for both professional and lay executors in administering estates and has experience of dealing with high value estates, comprising of business and agricultural assets. Anne also carries out trust administration work. Anne has developed a niche area of practice in relation to compensation protection and court of protection work (including high value statutory will and gift applications and contentious court of protection proceedings). She regularly has matters referred to her by other law firms and other professionals, who recognise her specialism and reputation in these areas (including the Official Solicitor).

Bethan Walsh

Bethan works with a wide range of not-for-profit organisations, from new start-ups to some of the largest charities in the country. The organisations she has advised are diverse, including art and culture, education, animal welfare, religion, community regeneration, youth and age, sport and health. Bethan takes time to get to know her clients and build long-term relationships, offering practical advice and supporting them with their strategic aims. She regularly shares her experience and knowledge by writing articles and speaking at seminars. As a charity trustee herself, Bethan has a strong understanding of the issues facing charities in the real world. Bethan works with all types of charities, foundations and not-for-profit organisations, including charitable trusts, charitable companies, CIOs, Royal Charter bodies, community benefit societies, unincorporated associations and clubs. She advises charities and not-for-profits on issues of charity law, governance, charity formations, restructurings, grant-making, fundraising and regulatory engagement with the Charity Commission, Financial Conduct Authority and Companies House. She also advises charities on mergers and collaborations, constitutional concerns, trustee duties, setting up trading subsidiaries and general operation. Bethan also assists with preparing policies & procedures and delivering training for charity staff and trustees.

Charles Felgate

Charles supervises the Planning and Environmental team, which has a significant contentious and non-contentious practice acting for both the private and public sector. The team advise on planning processes and decision making, appeals, judicial reviews, statutory challenges, enforcement and certificate applications and appeals. They also have expertise in compulsory purchase and associated compensation matters, including certificates of appropriate alternative development and references to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). Charles advised Calderdale Borough Council in relation to the land assembly for a number of strategic transport and regeneration projects. He represented the Welsh Government in relation to the M4 Corridor around Newport proposals and in relation to marine planning policy matters and represented Powys County Council at the Mid Wales Conjoined Windfarm Inquiry. Charles advises all three of the Welsh National Park Authorities and he also has a significant section 106 practice, acting for both the private and public sectors. He recently completed a minerals planning appeal on land at Tir Pentwys, Torfaen, a planning appeal in relation to a mixed use scheme at Castlewood Business Park in Nottinghamshire and defended an application for a declaration that an historic planning permission could be implemented at Aberdyfi.

Chris Williams

Partner

Claire Laviers

Claire is a Senior Associate in the Construction team, experienced in transactional construction matters advising on all aspects of construction contract drafting and negotiation, from standard industry forms to bespoke project specific contracts. She has expertise in assessing and advising on responsibility for construction risk, both during and after the construction period and putting in place measures to mitigate such risks. Claire regularly acts for public sector entities such as local authorities, government departments and higher education establishments as well as private sector banks, energy providers, developers and charities. Claire is adept at advising from differing perspectives whether for a landlord or tenant, contractor or developer, funder or borrower. She provides comprehensive commercial advice to assist the parties in reaching agreement, whilst meeting the client’s objectives and risk profile. In addition to advising on building contracts and the usual ancillary documents, much of her private sector work involves advising on and drafting construction elements of property sale agreements or agreements for lease.

Donna Makin

Partner

Ed Meggitt

Partner

Gillian Crouch

Gillian is an experienced Senior Associate in the Probate and Estates administration section of the Private Client team. Although Gillian advises on all areas of private client work, she specialises in the effective administration of high-value estates, probate, complex trusts and matters and vulnerable beneficiary trusts. Gillian acts for and advises lay executors and trustees, as well as dealing with estates where Geldards are appointed as executors, or act as Trustee via the Geldards Trust Corporation. Gillian deals with numerous high-value trusts for vulnerable beneficiaries and works closely with the vulnerable person and those who support them. She puts in place investment strategies in conjunction with independent financial advice, to ensure that such benefit may be provided for the vulnerable person. Gillian works closely with executors, trustees, beneficiaries and family members providing empathetic and pragmatic advice and support to her many clients.

Giselle Davies

Gosia Evans

Gosia’s experience spans across two jurisdictions (Poland and England & Wales) as well as working in-house assisting leading beauty brands. Her commercial expertise includes commercial contract disputes, IT/tech/software disputes, professional negligence cases and cross-border international disputes. She also advises clients in respect of trade mark, copyright, design and patent law protection and disputes (including breaches of licensing and other types of IP agreements), as well as matters involving passing off and breaches of confidentiality and trade secrets. She has a particular interest in AI and digital space and online infringement issues. Her IP expertise also includes brand development and strategy advice and conducting IP Audits. Gosia is our principal contact in respect of all IP Audit enquiries.

Harriet Morgan

Harriet is head of the Charities and Third Sector team, a specialist in charity property. She is ranked in the Legal 500 and Chambers directories as a Leading Individual. She regularly advises a broad range of local and national charities on property and governance matters. She also advises on charity structures and incorporations, as well as group structures for housing associations and charities with trading arms. Charities that Harriet acts for include; English and Welsh housing associations, the Royal Voluntary Service, Arts Council of Wales, Wales Millennium Centre, Assemblies of God Churches, and the Church in Wales. Harriet advises churches of all denominations, specialises in Ecclesiastical law, and is the Registrar of the Diocese of Llandaff in the Church in Wales. She advises churches on incorporating to become charitable companies or CIOs, guiding them through the process of registration at the Charity Commission and the transfer of assets, as well as on constitutional and property issues. Harriet’s work in the Housing sector includes advising general needs housing associations on residential and mixed-use developments, social and intermediate rented properties as well as low cost home ownership. Supported living structures and developments are a niche area of expertise.

Ioan Owen

Ioan is a senior property Partner in the Cardiff office. He advises a wide range of private, public and third sector clients including office owners and occupiers, national retailers and investors. Ioan works primarily in the landlord and tenant sphere of property, acting for landlords, tenants or investors. He acts for a number of investor landlords and office occupiers on acquisitions disposals renewals and estate management issues. Ioan has extensive experience advising national retailers on their retail leases across England and Wales and also acts for a number of companies on their office portfolio requirements including lease renewals termination and dilapidation issues. His experience includes advising a FTSE 100 company on a £60m new headquarters development, comprising a purpose-built 12 storey 220,000 sq. ft building. Ioan advised on all pre-letting requirements, approval of funding, construction and overage requirements. Ioan also advised on a £20m 80,000 sq. ft development which included dealing with all pre-letting requirements approval of funding and associated issues

Joga Singh

Joga is an experienced employment and immigration lawyer who has extensive experience in providing strategic advice in complex employment law, immigration and HR matters. Joga has a wealth of experience in tribunal litigation and regularly appears in the Employment Tribunal defending all types of claims, from single day hearings for unfair dismissal claims to multi-day hearings for complex, high value claims, such as discrimination and whistleblowing. Joga’s diverse client base includes national employers from a variety of sectors, including fintech, insurance, retail, manufacturing, life science and healthcare. Joga also acts for local authorities and governmental departments. Joga acts for clients in contentious and non-contentious matters providing advice on all aspects of employment law. He specialises in providing advice on TUPE, business restructure, collective consultation, redundancy, contractual disputes, enforceability of restrictive covenants, complex high-value industrial action, discrimination, workplace disputes and performance management. Joga also advises on employment law issues relating to corporate mergers and acquisitions. With regards to immigration law, Joga advises clients in relating to obtaining a sponsorship licence and ongoing compliance with the sponsor requirements. He also delivers bespoke training sessions on a variety of employment law and HR issues.

Jonathan Griffiths

Jonathan is an experienced dispute resolution Partner, advising both public and private sector clients on a range of disputes and litigation issues. He is currently most active advising on public law disputes in the Administrative Court and in procurement-related cases. He also advises on contract, defamation and sports-related issues and has participated in public inquiries. His work has involved acting for commercial organisations, central government (and central government-sponsored bodies), local government and other public bodies. He also acts for sports governing bodies and occasionally individuals. Jonathan’s cases in the Administrative Court have involved judicial review applications in relation to planning and procurement decisions as well as the exercise of powers. He has also conducted numerous statutory challenges and statutory appeals. Since 2020 he has successfully represented contracting authorities on five separate challenges to contract award decisions and managed to avoid legal action in each case. In addition, he is experienced in representing clients on procurement disputes in the Technology and Construction Court where litigation has been issued. He has also been involved in advising on sports disciplinary procedures and where those procedures have been escalated to Court action and before Sports Resolution Arbitration panels. He has resolved disputes via mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution across the entire range of his practice.

Justin Harrington

Partner

Karl Baranski

Partner

Kim Howell

Partner

Laura Alliss

Laura is a Partner who specialises in the area of disputed wills, trusts and probate. Laura is regularly instructed by charities, executors, trustees and beneficiaries in relation to the challenge of wills/trusts, disputes between executors/trustees and beneficiaries, claims for reasonable financial provision, court of protection proceedings and professional negligence claims. In 2018 Laura was recognised as a specialist in the field of contentious probate and trusts when she was accepted as a member of ACTAPS (the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists). Laura is also a member of the Court of Protection Practitioners Association (CoPPa).

Liz Ganderton

Liz specialises in commercial property and acts for a broad range of clients including national plc’s, educational and broadcasting institutions and registered social landlords. She has particular expertise in the fields of social housing, utilities and telecommunications. She advises national plc’s such as Western Power Distribution and has dealt with all aspects of their property portfolio since 2000, including their operational and investment properties and their portfolio of telecommunications sites. She also has substantial experience of acting for registered social landlords, both in relation to developments sites and secured lending. Liz deals with all aspects of commercial property including acquisitions and disposals, leasehold and freehold. She has particular experience in the utilities and telecommunications sector, having dealt with many telecommunications agreement acting for both landlord and tenant and has written articles and given lectures on the subject. She also has expertise in the social housing sector, in particular in relation to secured lending, having dealt with many securitisation transactions, some involving many hundreds of units. She has been recognised by Legal 500 for a number of years as a “Leading Individual” in the social housing sector.

Llinos Davies

Llinos is a Senior Associate in the Property Dispute Resolution team. She has acts for a wide variety of clients, including well-known high street retailers, charitable organisations and utility providers. Llinos advises on a wide range of property disputes and assists senior members of the team on complex and high value litigated matters. Llinos has developed an excellent working relationship with a number of national retailers and frequently advises these companies on lease renewal proceedings under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. She prides herself on understanding the commercial requirements of clients and her approach to litigation is tailored accordingly. She has experience in advising clients on recovering possession of property against former tenants and trespassers, having recently acted on behalf of a Local Authority to recover possession of its land to enable planned development to proceed in accordance with the client’s timetable.

Lowri Phillips

Partner

Michael Lindsey

Partner

Michael Evans

Michael is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution team, advising national and regional businesses, public bodies and third sector clients. He is a responsive and experienced commercial litigation solicitor, providing tailored, practical and effective dispute resolution advice. Michael specialises in commercial disputes, advising on commercial contracts claims, competition law claims and disputes involving director, company shareholders and/or partnerships, as well as professional negligence claims. Michael regularly assists clients to recover debts of various values and complexity. He also advises clients and officeholders in relation to personal and corporate insolvency matters. Michael regularly advises clients on contractual disputes covering a wide variety of breach of contract claims, including for example; general breaches, debt recovery and breach of warranty. In addition, he works with clients to resolve professional negligence claims and disputes between shareholder(s) and/or director(s) and within partnerships. Michael has experience in handling high value, complex multi-party disputes and of working on cross-border disputes with international clients and issues. Michael regularly advises clients, insolvency practitioners, creditors and debtors in relation to personal and corporate insolvency. He has also successfully resolved disputes using alternative dispute resolution methods, including virtual and in-person mediations.

Mike Jeffs

Mike has advised a wide range of commercial real estate investors, developers and funders. He advises both individual and corporate investors dealing in properties in the retail, leisure, office, health care, industrial, manufacturing and residential portfolio sectors. His expertise extends to a range of private and public sector clients including the Welsh Government, the Ministry of Defence, universities and housing associations. Working with our Construction team, he has advised developers and funders on construction projects ranging from offices and hotels to sports stadiums and wind farms. Mike has over 30 years of experience in the funding of commercial property, investment, acquisition and development projects and expertise in all aspects of secured lending, including syndicated lending transactions and portfolio finance. Lender clients include major clearing banks, second tier funders, building societies and public sector finance providers.

Nicola Lawrence

Nicola is a Partner in the Property Litigation team. With an emphasis on commercial property, she is experienced in all aspects of real estate and landlord and tenant practice both commercial and residential. She specialises in portfolio management for landlords, including high-value dilapidation disputes, break clause compliance, forfeiture, interpretation of lease covenants, restrictive covenants/easements, adverse possession claims, trespass and nuisance. She acts for national corporate clients, public bodies, utility companies, building societies, and equity investment companies providing advice on: Termination of commercial tenancies including advising on conditions connected to the operation of a break provision; service of statutory notices and common law notices to quit. Lease renewal proceedings, including contested and uncontested applications for a new lease. Enforcement of lease covenants, including forfeiture for non-payment of rent or other breaches of lease covenants high-value dilapidation disputes. Representing clients in the First-tier tribunal (Property Chamber) in claims for adverse possession. Representing clients in professional negligence cases, including surveyors and solicitors in connection with property transactions. Advising on nuisance claims arising from interference with easements.

Paul Hopkins

Partner

Rachel Kirby

Rachel is an experienced Senior Associate who specialises exclusively in medical negligence work. She represents claimants and their families who have suffered as a result of negligent care, pursuing both private and NHS medical practices. Rachel has a varied caseload which includes claims relating to obstetric/gynaecological negligence, delayed/misdiagnosis of cancer, fatal claims, surgical errors and claims involving children. She has a particular interest in orthopaedic injuries including avoidable amputations. Rachel is an approachable, compassionate and pro-active lawyer who believes in always putting the interests of her clients first. Prior to specialising in medical negligence cases, Rachel handled complex, high-value personal injury claims, having trained at a niche clinical negligence and personal injury firm. She has considerable experience in dealing with clients who have suffered serious life-changing injuries and acting on behalf of bereaved families. Rachel sensitively guides her clients through the medical negligence process and treats all cases equally irrespective of value. Rachel is recognised in the Legal 500 as a key lawyer in her field. Awards & Accreditations

Spencer Collier

Partner

Susanne Bradley

Susanne is a senior property Partner with over 30 years’ experience in delivering real estate and development advice. She is head of the property department in Cardiff and her work covers a variety of property transactions in both private and public sectors; including buying and selling individual properties and investment portfolios, granting and taking commercial leases, estate management, providing strategic advice, leisure, retail, office and mixed use development and major public regeneration schemes. Susanne’s varied caseload ranges from a private two-plot luxury housing development, to major town centre regeneration schemes, from the sale of a motorway service station to the purchase of an industrial warehouse for conversion to a ballet studio and from a small anaerobic power generation plant in rural Wales to a city-centre shelter for the homeless. She deals with public and private sector projects in equal measure and her insight into the driving factors for each sector aids her in assisting the parties to reach agreement on a project where both sectors are involved.

Tomos Phillips

Tomos is a member of the Public Law team specialising in planning, environmental, highways and compulsory purchase law. He regularly acts for local authorities, landowners, developers and statutory undertakers on all aspects of planning law and matters concerning development, including drafting and negotiating complex section106 planning obligations and highway adoption agreements. Tomos has significant experience in compulsory purchase and compensation, having successfully acted on numerous schemes for local authorities as well as objectors. He has experience of major planning and compulsory purchase inquiries, judicial review and statutory challenges in the High Court and Court of Appeal. Tomos is experienced in acting for local planning authorities and developers in negotiating complex section 106 agreements relating to major developments. He also advises on all aspects of development control and regularly advises on matters concerning planning committees and appeals. Tomos is very experienced in compulsory purchase law, particularly in relation to highway schemes. He has successfully acted on all stages of the process on numerous schemes, from the preparation of orders through to obtaining confirmation of the orders and their subsequent implementation. He has also acted on statutory challenges and proceedings in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).

Tony Norris

Tony is a Member and heads up the National Infrastructure & Construction Team. He specialises in project work, disputes and has been an accredited Adjudicator for 20 years. His clients include central government bodies, local and other public authorities, regulatory bodies as well as acting for specialist private sector contractors in the infrastructure & construction space. Projects – he regularly advises on frameworks, call offs, joint ventures, public and privately funded projects under JCT and NEC; the Welsh MIM model and has particular experience in the waste sector with MF/1 and IChemE contracts. Disputes – renowned as a specialist, particularly in adjudication having been involved in adjudication under DOM/1 before the 1996 came into being but also with substantial experience in Arbitration, Litigation and Mediation. He is seen as an industry expert and sits on the Board of Constructing Excellence Wales and also has been chair of the South East Wales Club for over 10 years.