Howes Percival LLP

Howes Percival LLP

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Sobia Ahmad

Sobia Ahmad

Sobia advises clients on a wide range of employment law matters – both contentious and non-contentious – and adopts a clear, commercial and practical approach. She has acted for employers and employees within a range of sectors and has experience of handling employment tribunal claims, advising on day-to-day employment issues and drafting and negotiating settlement agreements and contracts of employment. Sobia joined the employment team as a newly qualified solicitor in September 2019. She works across our Northampton and Milton Keynes offices.
Anna Bithrey

Anna Bithrey

Anna advises on a broad range of both contentious and non-contentious matters and her clients find her advice practical, helpful and clear. Anna has experience of bringing and defending multi-claim employment tribunal cases, advising on day-to-day HR issues (including disciplinaries, grievances, redundancy, family friendly rights and holiday pay) and drafting and negotiating service agreements, employment contracts and settlement agreements. Anna has acted for both employers and employees across many sectors including media and creative industries, healthcare and professional services.
Cathleen Blackburn

Cathleen Blackburn

Cathleen Blackburn joined Howes Percival in January 2024 after 12 years at Maier Blackburn where she was a co-founder. Cathleen specialises in intellectual property law, with particular emphasis on copyright, publishing and trade mark licensing. She acts for publishers, authors, libraries, museums and other cultural and heritage organisations. She also advises on commercial agreements and transactions generally. She is a member of the Association of Learned Professional and Society Publishers. Ranked in Legal 500 2024’s “Hall of Fame”, she is described as “the consummate counsellor to publishing and media clients”.
Jenna Bruce

Jenna Bruce

Jenna is a Director in our Intellectual Property and IT team. With over 15 years’ post-qualification experience in the field, Jenna’s practice encompasses both commercial and contentious Intellectual Property and IT matters. She has a particular interest in the following: \tDrafting and negotiating Intellectual Property and IT agreements (e.g. IP licences and assignments, software licences (including SaaS provision), software development and maintenance agreements, end user licence agreements, acceptable use policies, and reseller agreements); \tEnforcement of rights in software; \tAdvertising standards/compliance matters; \tTrade mark portfolio management and enforcement; \tSupporting the firm’s corporate teams in respect of IP, IT and data protection aspects of transactional matters. Jenna is also a member of the firm’s Data Protection Team, advising clients in relation to all aspects of data protection compliance and related matters. Jenna joined Howes Percival’s Intellectual Property and IT team in October 2008, having worked (and qualified) in-house at ITV Plc which equipped her with a sound understanding of commercial clients. Jenna acts for clients in a variety of sectors, including food and beverage, IT and e-commerce, fashion, media and creative, and education.  She is recognised in the Legal 500 for her experience in Intellectual Property, IT and Telecoms, and Media and Entertainment.
Marcus Carter

Marcus Carter

Marcus is Head of the Commercial Property team in the Milton Keynes office which he re-established when he joined the firm in June 2021. Since joining, the team has more than doubled in size and made its presence felt in the Milton Keynes' property market. The team’s goal is to offer pragmatic legal advice that is commercial and jargon free. Marcus’ specialism is acting for corporate occupiers of commercial property and dealing with investment acquisitions and disposals. He has significant experience in working with clients on expanding their portfolios or managing their existing portfolio and enjoys working with clients as part of their team to achieve his client’s goals. Marcus has worked with a number of household names but also enjoys working with local businesses either starting out or moving premises. Marcus’ advice and approach to any transaction will be driven by the client’s aims and wishes and he prides himself on offering not only sound legal advice (which is probably a given) but advice which is commercial and practical. Marcus is recognised as a leading individual in The Legal 500 (2023 Edition).
Satnam Chayra

Satnam Chayra

Satnam is a leading litigator based in Leicester with vast experience in both property litigation and commercial litigation. Her expertise in commercial litigation includes dealing with: breach of contract claims, misrepresentation, issues relating to the sale of goods and supply of services, consumer credit claims, unpaid invoices, agency claims, director issues, minority shareholder claims, and partnership disputes. Satnam also deals with property related disputes, with a focus on issues concerning land (e.g. trespass, title disputes, nuisance, restrictive covenants, overage disputes, adverse possession, disputes relating to option agreements, interference with rights of way and building disputes). Her landlord and tenant experience includes dilapidations claims, break notice disputes, contested and uncontested lease renewal proceedings, repossessions, landlord’s consents and rent arrears. Based in the Leicester office, Satnam regularly advises a range of high profile clients including national retailers and household names. She has a formidable reputation for her no-nonsense, direct and commercial approach, with the Legal 500 directory describing her as “very bright” and “able to think outside the box”. Her clients describe her as a “knowledgeable and approachable lawyer who achieves good results” and “always has her client’s best interests at heart”. Clients and contacts especially enjoy the seminars and in-house training sessions provided by Satnam throughout the year.
Simon deMaid

Simon deMaid

With a number of high profile Milton Keynes clients, Simon heads up our Milton Keynes operations. Simon is a well-known and highly respected member of the Milton Keynes professional community. He is a member of the MK Business Leaders Partnership. As an employment law specialist, and Partner, Simon provides local companies with support and assistance with employment related problems. His proactive approach is creative, commercial and pragmatic (and also preventative where possible!). As well as assisting clients with disciplinary matters, grievances, ill health and discrimination issues; Simon also advises businesses on the employment aspects of complex restructures; business acquisitions; outsourcing arrangements; and corporate transactions. With a particular interest in disability discrimination claims, Simon takes a pro-active role in managing Tribunal claims for his clients, including advocacy at Tribunal hearings. Simon regularly delivers training sessions and workshops in the Milton Keynes area and is renowned for his fun and interactive delivery. Simon is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association. Simon is also a member of the firm’s Data Protection Team, advising clients as they prepare for the introduction of the GDPR in May 2018.
Gemma Evans

Gemma Evans

Gemma is an accredited specialist on the Family Law Panel and specialises as a family law solicitor advising clients in relation to all aspects of family law. Based in our Milton Keynes office, her services include divorce, separation, financial settlements, co-habitee disputes, domestic injunctions and arrangements for children. She is also a trained Collaborative lawyer and able to offer clients different options regarding how they wish to deal with matters following separation. Gemma has worked in family law since 2006 and is committed to assisting clients resolve matters by agreement where possible but also has experience representing clients in Court, providing pragmatic advice and robust representation.
Amanda Glass

Amanda Glass

Amanda is a highly experienced family law partner with extensive expertise in all areas of family law, divorce and separation, with a particular focus on financial remedy cases. She specialises in complex financial matters, including pre-nuptial agreements, and represents high net worth clients with diverse assets. Amanda combines a firm approach to Court proceedings with a strong emphasis on achieving a fair settlement through mutual agreement. Her primary focus is on wealth protection and her clients include high net worth individuals, with a mix of family and private wealth, as well as successful business owners and directors. Amanda has over 30 years of experience in family law, having qualified as a solicitor in March 1991. Her vast experience comes from training and working at prestigious City and "magic circle" law firms.
Charlotte Harrison

Charlotte Harrison

Charlotte joined Howes Percival in 2023 having practised with numerous London firms. She endeavours to provide a first class legal service driven by the client’s needs and priorities. Charlotte has a wide range of commercial real estate and development experience, acting for national and regional house builders throughout the lifespan of their schemes from site acquisition and building out through to residential and commercial third party disposals and ultimate end disposal. Charlotte also has extensive property management experience having assisted numerous clients in managing their property portfolios, to include dealing with security of tenure issues as well as lease renewals and surrenders and tenant consents. More generally, Charlotte also acts for corporate occupiers of commercial property and has extensive knowledge of commercial landlord and tenant matters having also represented a multinational technology company in its various leasehold negotiations. Charlotte has a particular expertise in social housing transactions having advised numerous Registered Providers with their own developments and acquisitions.
Alexandra Hornsby

Alexandra Hornsby

For over 14 years Alexandra has been advising wealthy individuals and business owners on estate planning and succession matters, including complex inheritance tax and capital gains tax issues. Alexandra is also experienced in advising trustees, drafting and administering trusts, and dealing with estate administration. She is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Alexandra qualified as a solicitor in 2004 and subsequently worked for almost ten years in a specialist private client practice, gaining a wealth of experience in complex estate planning and trust matters.
James Howarth

James Howarth

James helps clients with media issues and disputes regarding intellectual property. With a particular focus on contentious matters, he has extensive experience of matters involving trade marks, passing off, copyright (whether artistic, literary or software), database rights, design rights, patents and domain names. His practice also regularly features work involving defamation and privacy issues. James is a member of the firm’s Data Protection Team, advising clients on compliance, subject access requests and handling data breaches. James has acted for major corporations, SMEs and private individuals in various forums including the High Court, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, the UK Intellectual Property Office and WIPO. Having trained as a lawyer after a career in publishing, James joined the IP/IT team at Howes Percival as a partner in October 2015. He is primarily based in the firm’s Oxford office, but looks after clients in locations across the UK.
Graham Jones

Graham Jones

Graham has worked for a number of years in the Milton Keynes area. Graham assists both local and national clients with various types of property transaction including commercial landlord and tenant matters, purchases and sales of freehold and leasehold premises, and corporate support work. Graham also has a great deal of experience in electronic communications matters, having previously specialised in that area. Graham has a particular eye for detail and enjoys understanding the exact requirements for his clients to ensure he tailors his approach and advice accordingly. He was mentioned in the Legal 500 for 2022 as a key lawyer.
Courtney L\'homme

Courtney L\'homme

Courtney is a Senior Associate who specialises in acting for individuals on all aspects of wealth preservation and succession planning. Courtney can assist with the preparation of Wills, creation and administration of trusts, inheritance tax planning and powers of attorney. Courtney also provides advice on the administration of estates and re-sealing of Grants issued in the commonwealth. Courtney prides herself on being able to take her clients on a journey to achieve positive outcomes and solutions.
Jennifer Laskey

Jennifer Laskey

Jennifer is an experienced contentious probate and trusts specialist. She is ACTAPS (The Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists) qualified and has over 20 years’ experience in advising clients in Will disputes, claims against Estates, challenges to Will validity and issues arising from the administration of Trusts. Jennifer has also represented clients in a rare Presumption of Death application. As well as acting for Executors or Trustees and beneficiaries in Wills and Trusts disputes, Jennifer has been appointed as Trustee on a number of multi-million pound Trusts and can act as an Independent Administrator or Trustee. Jennifer works with her clients to achieve realistic and pragmatic results, ensuring that disputes are dealt with as cost-effectively as possible. She has a wealth of experience advising clients in complex Wills and Estate disputes and has dealt with claims taken all the way to trial as well as those settled following successful mediation. Clients say she is “very clear, focused and helpful” and that her advice is “invaluable”
Rebecca Littlewood

Rebecca Littlewood

Rebecca is a Director and specialises in assisting individuals with their succession planning, to include the preparation of Wills, the creation and administration of trusts, probate and the administration of estates, the creation, registration and revocation of powers of attorney and inheritance tax advice. Rebecca is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and a fully accredited member of Association of Lifetime Lawyers. Rebecca prides herself on being able to guide her clients through the process with clarity and ease with her empathetic approach. Rebecca qualified as a solicitor into the discipline in 2009 and has gained valuable experienced at regional and national law firms. Rebecca returns to Howes Percival having worked with the firm upon qualification.
Kelly Longmore

Kelly Longmore

Kelly specialises in division of finances on divorce and private children matters. Kelly joined Howes Percival in October 2023 having worked in local firms in Northampton and Milton Keynes. Kelly is a member of Resolution and adopts a non-confrontational approach in resolving family issues in a constructive way. Over the years Kelly has dealt with divorce and finance, dissolution, cohabitation disputes between unmarried couples, private children matters including child arrangement orders, prohibited steps orders, specific issue orders and domestic abuse.
Faye Meredith

Faye Meredith

Having previously trained with the firm, Faye re-joined Howes Percival in March 2023 as a Director in our Banking and Finance team. Faye has a wealth of experience of advising both lenders (including banks, funds, alternative lenders and private capital) and borrowers on all aspects of banking and finance transactions including general corporate banking and acquisition, leveraged and real-estate finance. Faye’s experience spans both domestic and cross-border banking transactions. Faye joined Howes Percival in March 2023.
Hannah Pryce

Hannah Pryce

Hannah has considerable experience of providing contentious and non-contentious employment law advice to a broad range of clients. She has particular expertise in tribunal litigation, including complex discrimination and whistleblowing claims. Hannah is experienced in contentious senior exits and gives “good, down to earth advice”. She also delivers in-house training for clients and is responsible for delivering training on Equality & Diversity and Anti-Bullying & Harassment for staff within Howes Percival. Hannah is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.
Tom Redman

Tom Redman

Tom is a corporate, M&A, private equity and venture capital specialist and also Head of the Firm’s Automotive Sector Group. The winner of the inaugural "Corporate Lawyer of the Year" at the Insider Central and East Dealmakers Awards 2023 and the only lawyer to have been shortlisted “Emerging Dealmaker of the Year” by Insider Central and East Dealmakers Awards 2022, Tom regularly advises on some of the firm’s highest profile transactions. He has experience of advising all types of businesses, from owner-managed through to large, listed multinational groups having spent more than 5 years at international law firm, Dentons. He has significant experience in complex domestic and cross-border corporate transactions, spanning the tech, retail and manufacturing sectors, with notable expertise in buying and selling motor dealerships, regularly acting for several of the UK’s largest automotive retail groups in the AM top 100. As part of his private equity practice, Tom acts for both PE fund investors and also vendors and MBO teams. His venture capital work has seen him act for founders, start-ups, scale-ups and venture capital funds both in the UK and internationally across a myriad of sectors and at all stages of an emerging growth company's development life cycle.
Nick Ripper

Nick Ripper

Nick is a Partner in the Commercial Property team. He advises on an extensive range of landlord and tenant matters for both landlords and tenants, including agreements, leases and subleases, variations, and various licences. Nick also deals with commercial property sales and acquisitions, acting for many different types of clients, from pension funds and public limited companies to property investment companies, high net worth individuals, charities and SIPPs/SSASs across varying sectors and in relation various types of properties including, offices, light industrial, storage and distribution warehouses, and pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels. Nick looks to provide pragmatic and commercial advice to clients in conjunction with understanding what their business and personal objectives and requirements are in order to achieve their goals.
Matthew Talbot

Matthew Talbot

Matthew specialises in all areas of UK and European Intellectual Property law, particularly contentious matters. He advises clients regarding trade marks, copyright, design rights, passing off, patents, European food protection and defamation. He also has substantial experience in IT disputes and has frequently appeared before the English Courts, the European Court of Justice and the UK and European Patent Offices. Matthew is the Head of the IP/IT team at Howes Percival, having joined in November 2006 to set up their IP/IT offering. He acts for clients across the UK and Europe covering all areas of intellectual property and large IT disputes. Matthew is also a member of the firm’s Data Protection Team, advising clients as they prepare for the introduction of the GDPR in May 2018.
Chris White

Chris White

Chris is a very experienced commercial and technology lawyer advising on a wide variety of trading arrangements, including complex manufacturing and distribution arrangements, procurement, service provision and supply and licensing arrangements. Chris’s technology and e-commerce advice includes hardware procurement, software development, licensing and support, including SaaS/PaaS agreements and data protection issues. Chris is recognised as a key lawyer in the Legal 500 for both commercial and technology work. Prior to joining, Chris worked for major international and city law firms advising businesses from small owner-managed businesses to major multi-national conglomerates. Chris has considerable experience in advising on logistics and warehousing issues having spent 6 months working on secondment with one of the UK’s major retailers and advising some of the UK’s major supermarket chains. Chris also has specific expertise in sports related work, having advised the UK’s premier motorsport venue, a premiership rugby team and one of the world cup organising bodies on a variety of contracts including licensing, sponsorship, hospitality, merchandising and outside broadcast agreements.