Field Seymour Parkes LLP

Alex Illingworth

Alex is a member of the Banking and Finance team and has advised on all finance related legal issues since qualification. Alex advises major clearing banks, private investors and corporate clients on facilities made available for the purpose of funding corporate transactions in addition to property development and property investment. Alex has advised on many different types of facilities of all sizes from £100,000 to £150,000,000. Alex also has significant experience of preparing and reviewing wholesale finance documentation for clients in the motor industry. Alex is recognised for providing banking advice that is tailored to her client’s objectives and is focused on getting the deal done. As a result, Alex has built solid, long lasting relationships with her clients. Alex is also a member of the corporate team and has considerable experience of advising on corporate transactions and corporate finance work in addition to all aspects of general corporate work. Her experience includes acquisitions and disposals of companies, businesses, MBOs and MBIs in addition to general company law issues.

Ben Oliver

Ben is a Partner in the Wills, Trusts and Estates team. Ben regularly assists a broad range of private clients with structuring their lifetime affairs, including advising on Will drafting, preparation of lasting powers of attorney, inheritance tax planning and the creation of trusts. In addition, Ben regularly deals with the administration of both trusts and estates and has particular expertise in the income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax issues arising in the course of such administrations. Ben joined Field Seymour Parkes in 2011. As well as being a qualified solicitor, he is also a Chartered Tax Adviser and a member of the Association of Taxation Technicians.

Bethan Thomas

Bethan is a Partner and head of the Family & Matrimonial team who advises on all aspects of relationship breakdown, including divorce and separation, financial settlements, pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, cohabitation disputes and private law children matters. Bethan has considerable experience in advising clients in cases involving complex financial disputes, including trusts, inherited wealth, complex pension arrangements and international cases. Bethan also has particular expertise in representing clients where there are complex disputes regarding the arrangements for children, to include those where there are allegations of abuse and parental alienation, and where one parent wishes to relocate with a child, both internally within the UK and overseas. Bethan is a member of Resolution, the leading membership organisation for specialist family lawyers and is Chair of the Thames Valley Family Lawyers Society. Bethan has been ranked for many years by both Chambers UK and the Legal 500 as a leading individual in her field. She is currently ranked as a ‘rising star” by The Legal 500 and has been described as “assertive and fearless”. Bethan is also listed as an ‘associate to watch’ by Chambers UK and has been praised for her ‘steely determination to achieve the best result for her client’. Bethan recently acted on behalf of the Appellant father in the Court of Appeal in Re A (A Child) (Habitual Residence: 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention)[2023] EWCA Civ 659, successfully appealing a decision of the High Court concerning the jurisdiction of the courts in relation to a child wrongfully retained in Zambia.

Bill Dixon

Partner in the dispute resolution and litigation team. Handles a wide variety of business disputes and has considerable experience of all forms of litigation, arbitration and mediation. Has particular experience in international arbitration; breach of warranty claims and corporate disputes; construction; fraud and asset tracing; pensions and trust litigation; interim injunctions and search orders.

Cathrine Ripley

Advises and negotiates a wide range of commercial contracts for clients in sectors including IT, manufacturing, food, automotive and, in particular, construction. Also advises on data protection (including breach notifications and preparation for GDPR) and intellectual property issues (primarily patent licensing and copyright). Oversees FSP’s UK and EU trade mark work.

Dan Barnhouse

Dan is a Legal Director in the Banking and Finance team at Field Seymour Parkes. Dan advises clearing banks, private investors and corporates on financing arrangements for acquisitions and other event-driven transactions as well as general financing needs. Dan is recognised for his calm, methodical approach, managing the needs of stakeholders on transactions with a professional manner whilst remaining focused on delivering for the needs of his clients. He has worked in the Thames Valley since 2011, having trained with an international law firm.

Dean Bickford

Dean’s specialist areas of practice include: acting for house-builders, land owners and promoters on all aspects of strategic land and development; representing lenders on all types of development and investment secured lending; acting for corporate occupiers on portfolio management, and for landlords and tenants; acquisitions and disposals; dealing with property aspects of insolvency and corporate recovery including advising insolvency practitioners.

Hazel Eccles

Hazel is a partner and head of our agribusiness team. She handles a wide range of rural property and development work, acting for farmers, landowners and landed estates. Hazel advises clients on a full range of agricultural and commercial property matters including acquisitions, disposals, tenancies and the grant of ancillary rights. Hazel’s agricultural expertise includes: sales and acquisitions of land, estates, residential houses, and commercial land, buildings and businesses, including letting of business units, such as converted farm buildings and other diversification projects, along with the registration of land, establishing rights and obligations, advising on such issues as adverse possession and lost deeds, and the granting easements, licences and farm business tenancies. For strategic land, Hazel specialises in drafting and negotiating option, promotion, and joint venture agreements, acting predominantly for landowners but also for promoters/developers, overage provisions, section 106 agreements and unilateral undertakings, along with dealing with the eventual sale from landowner to developer following the grant of a planning permission. Hazel also deals with many aspects of renewable energy projects, such as granting commercial leases to wind or solar power developers and/or businesses. Hazel is a member of the Agricultural Law Association, and is on the committee for the Thames Valley branch of Women in Property and the Berkshire branch of the RABI Charity.

Ian Machray

Ian heads the Field Seymour Parkes Business Services team and is a Partner in the Employment team. He specialises in complex TUPE matters, the enforcement of restraints of trade and high value or technical tribunal litigation. Ian has brought cases before the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal and has an outstanding success rate in litigation.

Ian Wood-Smith

Corporate finance advice to buyers, sellers and lenders, particularly owner-managed businesses. Member of corporate recovery group advising insolvency practitioners, lenders and businesses on insolvency and restructuring. Advises on sports law and is non-executive director of Reading Football Club.

James Burgess

Partner in commercial property team specialising in development funding and investment transactions, also landlord and tenant.

Jeremy Parkes

Partner specialising in corporate finance work for buyers, sellers or lenders. Acted as lead corporate lawyer on a number of MBOs and MBIs. Head of banking group.

Julia Mactear

Julia is a Legal Director in the Property Litigation team at FSP. Julia is one of our most experienced litigators and has advised on a broad spectrum of property related matters over the years including disputes over property ownership, prescriptive rights, adverse possession, option and overage agreements, boundary disputes, break clauses, the termination of leases, enforcing secured loans for lenders, compulsory purchase and on agricultural tenancies. Julia has extensive experience of running cases through the Courts/Tribunal but takes a commercial approach to cases and will always look to explore other avenues, where appropriate, to assist in resolving disputes in as cost efficient a way as possible such as negotiation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication. Julia is a member of the Property Litigation Association.

Katharine Riley

Katharine Riley is a Partner and head of the Will Disputes and Contentious Probate team. Katharine trained in the City of London and has over 20 years experience dealing with complex dispute resolution. She specialises in all aspects of disputes concerning wills, trusts and inheritance. Katharine has represented individuals, charities and professional indemnity insurers in a large number of disputes involving wills trusts and probate. Katharine has extensive experience of advising in relation to challenges to the validity of wills including in relation to testamentary capacity and undue influence, forgery and fraud. She has acted in numerous claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, and disputes regarding executors and trustees. She also deals with contentious Court of Protection work. Katharine is experienced in resolving disputes by Alternative Dispute Resolution, particularly mediation. She has written and lectured on all aspects of contentious probate matters.

Katie Burley

Katie is a Partner and Head of the Employment team. She has been ranked as a next generation lawyer/rising star in the Legal 500 for the last 5 years. Katie acts for a wide range of clients, from multinational corporations to smaller owner/trustee-managed organisations. Her areas of expertise include defending employment tribunal claims, senior executive appointment, dismissal management and advising upon restrictive covenants. Katie also works closely with our corporate and commercial property teams on the employment aspects of acquisitions, disposals and investments, as well as providing general day-to-day advice and training to clients on all types of employment issues. Katie is an astute negotiator and always seeks to find practical solutions to client problems, giving informed, tailored advice. Her experience of advising across a range of business sectors means that she is conversant with the challenges her clients face and has an empathic drive for supporting clients through often difficult times. Katie is also the head of the education group and uses her invaluable inside knowledge of the workings of independent schools and extensive experience in providing advice to educational establishments to the full advantage of the firm’s sector based clients. Katie is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.

Kelsie Essenhigh

Kelsie is a Legal Director in the Real Estate team. Kelsie has over 20 years of experience in providing advice and support to a wide variety of clients including property investors with substantial commercial property portfolios, several locally based charities, landowners and farmers. Kelsie advises on sales and purchases of commercial buildings, commercial leases – acting for both landlords and tenants, selling and buying farms and agricultural land and Farm Business Tenancies. Kelsie is a member of the Agricultural Law Association.

Marcus Francis

Clients include corporate occupiers, high-street banks, investors, residential and commercial developers, landed estates and farmers.

Mark Banham

Mark is a Partner in the Property Litigation team, specialising in commercial and residential contentious property matters. Mark has experience in advising clients on possession and dilapidation claims, adverse possession, boundary and right of way disputes and landlord and tenant issues including where such issues arise in insolvency situations. Mark has represented clients in the County Court, High Court and in the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). Mark advises businesses in relation to any licencing issues they may have. In particular, Mark has experience in premises licence applications and representing clients at licencing review hearings. Mark is a member of the Property Litigation Association and the Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners.

Michael Higgin

Partner in the team dealing with corporate and retail occupation, commercial property investments, property disputes and lending secured on commercial property. Leader since 2018 of FSP’s “strategic land contracts” team dealing with site assembly and the grant and taking of options, promotion agreements, hybrid agreements and overage.

Penelope Garden

Head of Private Equity and Venture Capital and partner in the corporate team. Penelope regularly advises both companies and investors on venture capital and trade investments as well as private equity backed buy-outs. She also has extensive experience advising buyers and sellers on M&A transactions across a range of sectors. Penelope also advises clients on general company matters such as shareholder agreements, group reorganisations and share buy backs.

Philip Stephenson

Partner in the corporate team advising corporates, owners managers and private equity funds on the sale and purchase of companies and businesses. Philip also advises investors, private and AIM listed corporates as well as management teams on equity investments. Philip also advises regularly on corporate life cycle matters including group reorganisations, shareholder/joint venture agreements and share options / buybacks.

Rachael Maunder

Partner in the corporate team who has significant experience in advising corporate clients and investors on both acquisitions and disposals with values ranging from £50,000 to £70,000,000. Whilst working on such corporate transactions frequently coordinates multiple professionals, both internally and externally, to ensure that all advisors provide a cohesive approach within target deadlines. Rachael also advises clients on general corporate governance and corporate structuring for companies, LLPs and individuals and is part of FSP’s private equity and venture capital team advising companies and investors on the terms on which investments are made and received. In addition, Rachael leads Start Up with FSP a group which is a group of multi-disciplinary lawyers who help new and early stage businesses set off on the right track so they can grow whilst being confident they are making the right choices for their business.

Richard Higgs

Richard is a partner in the Real Estate team. He has worked in the commercial property sector in the Thames Valley for over 20 years, having represented clients from blue chip companies to SMEs and individuals as well as extensively in the public and third sector. He deals with all aspects of non-contentious commercial property work, including high value development and investment acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant work, options, land promotion and overage, as well as complex commercial lending transactions.

Rob Crowther

Partner in wills, trusts and estates department at FSP. Specialising in complex estate administration, wills, powers of attorney, tax planning and trust administration. Also dealing with contentious probate matters with experience of high-value, complex and cross-jurisdictional disputed estate and trust matters

Sue Vandersteen

Head of wills, trusts and tax planning, probate applications and estates administration, charities and not for profit and partnerships and LLPs. Sue is a member of education, farming and estates, powers of attorney and deputyship, contested probate groups, pensions and tax groups.

Susan Baker

Partner specialising in family law including divorce and separation, disputes regarding children including complex residence and contact disputes, relocation cases and adoption, including high-value financial proceedings within divorce. Qualified in all issues involving family mediation. Specialist also in contentious probate involving challenges to wills and claims persuant to Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

Tom Maple

Tom is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution and Litigation team. Tom specialises in commercial dispute resolution and is experienced in advising commercial clients in a broad range of industry sectors. Tom has particular expertise in the Automotive and FMCG Sectors, and heads up our automotive team. Tom’s clients include international vehicle manufacturers, international suppliers to national supermarket chains, national parts suppliers, national and national and international produce suppliers and fleet hire companies. Since the introduction of the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (GSCOP), Tom has advised a number of clients of their rights against retailers under GSCOP as well as advising on the enforceability of contractual terms regularly used by retailers in supply agreements. Tom is also in the privileged position of taking a case to arbitration under the Dispute Resolution procedure available to suppliers in the event that a retailer breaches their rights under GSCOP. As well as advising his automotive clients on a variety of legal issues, Tom regularly gives training to his automotive clients on how to manage risk and resolve disputes (Tom has recently advised on matters pertaining to the changes to the law of termination in light of the Covid-19 pandemic). Tom’s broader commercial litigation practice involves advising on breach of warranty claims, s. 994 minority shareholder claims, partnership disputes, breach of contract and negligence claims. Tom’s recent cases include: Acting for a large supplier in a multi million pound arbitration under GSCOP. Advising an international vehicle manufacturer on a c. £2m breach of contract claim under a sponsorship agreement. Defending on a £20m breach of warranty claim brought by a Canadian venture capital fund. Advising a recycling company and its insurer client in a multi million pound negligence claim. Tom began his legal career at Lawrence Graham in London and joined FSP in 2013 from Henmans LLP in Oxford.

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