Alison is a construction lawyer who specialises in non-contentious building procurement matters. Her experience includes work for both the private and public sector organisations.Alison has experience and expertise in drafting and amending building and engineering contracts, including all versions of the JCT suite of contracts and NEC and institutional forms of contract.She also advises on the drafting and amendments of consultant’s appointments (industry standard and bespoke), warranties, bonds, guarantees, development and funding agreements, agreement for leases, novation agreements and ancillary project documentation.Alison has previously spent five years working in the public sector for two different County Councils. Her experience there includes advising on public procurement procedures and issues such as state aid, internal governance, and the setting up and operation of framework agreements.
Freeths LLP
Lawyers
Amy advises on a variety of corporate matters including general corporate governance, acquisitions, disposals, reorganisations and investments. Amy is an associate and has a particular interest in private equity transactions.
A highly experienced local government solicitor, having previously worked both in private practice and in house for district, county and unitary authorities, providing advice on a wide range of commercial, contractual and governance matters. She has most recently been involved in advising on many innovative projects involving new ways of working for a range of local authorities.She also has extensive experience of acting for local authorities in relation to academy conversions and their education functions.
David is an experienced property litigation partner based in our Birmingham office. He is the co-author of “Enforcement and Debt Recovery: a Guide to the New Law”, published by the Law Society.He specialises in all commercial and residential disputes including rights to light, possession actions, dilapidations, consent to assign/sub-let, rent disputes, property fraud and insolvency.David has recent experience in the FTT involving the appointment of a manager and in complex property fraud cases.
Edward specialises in commercial property work, with particular emphasis on energy, landlord and tenant matters, acquisitions and disposals and general property management issues.He has experience acting for a wide range of clients including pension funds, private investors, corporate occupiers and Further and Higher Education Institutions.
Partner with over ten years experience of advising on a number of complex and innovative infrastructure and project finance transactions, including a number of PFIs, PPPs, joint ventures, outsourcing and M&A deals across a diverse range of sectors, both within the UK and overseas. James has particular experience in the health sector and in secondary market PFI transactions. Clients include Amber Infrastructure, International Public Partnerships, Transmission Capital Partners, Calvin Capital and Care UK.
Jonathan specialises in intellectual property and advertising law and regulation, providing pragmatic, commercially-focussed advice and solutions. His practice encompasses contentious work in the English Courts, at the UK and EU Intellectual Property Offices, Company Names Tribunals and various forums dealing with domain name disputes. He also assists clients with complaints and investigations at the Advertising Standards Authority.Jonathan has particular expertise in trade mark enforcement in online contexts and in the interface between trade mark law and advertising regulation. He also has in-house experience, having spent 6 months on secondment to a telecommunications business. Before becoming a lawyer, Jonathan worked variously in online marketing, retail and the construction industries.
Kishan is an expert in IP and Media law. He leads the firm’s service offering for brands and private individuals on Reputation Protection. This includes key areas such as defamation, privacy, breach of personal data, image rights and online harassment. His specialism covers pre-publication advice and strategy, bespoke reputation protection audits and consultancy, through to providing solutions for all reputation related disputes. He is particularly skilled in solving problems arising through online publications including on social media such as Facebook and Twitter.In relation to IP, Kishan has substantial experience in advising on the creation, management, exploitation and protection of Intellectual Property rights, including trade marks, rights in passing off, copyright, registered and unregistered design rights, patents, confidential information and trade secrets. His practice includes the drafting and negotiation of all IP and reputation related contracts including non-disclosure agreements and undertakings aimed at protecting confidential and private information.
Leanne is a Senior Associate in the corporate finance team, specialising in acquisitions and disposals of companies and businesses of large corporates, SMEs and owner managers.Leanne has a particular focus on MBOs, private equity investments and equity release arrangements – acting for both management teams and private equity houses.Leanne also advises on all aspects of company and partnership law matters including directors’ liabilities, directors’ duties, shareholder disputes and minority shareholder protections.
Partner and office head of insolvency department. Specialising in corporate and personal insolvency acting for funders, insolvency practitioners and corporates.
Nicola is a commercial contracts lawyer, working across multiple business sectors and with both private and public sector experience. Nicola’s work includes helping clients with their business projects and their day to day trading relationships.Nicola assists clients with contractual drafting, termination and ongoing contract management. Examples of contracts which Nicola has drafted and advised on includes contract manufacturing, supply agreements, distribution and agency agreements, and collaboration agreements. Nicola also advises on data protection issues.
Raymond is a partner in the Birmingham office of Freeths LLP, specialising in all types of commercial law and dispute resolution, with particular emphasis on construction, engineering and health and safety. He is regularly appointed as a mediator in commercial disputes and as an adjudicator.
Partner and head of employment in Freeths’ Birmingham office. Advises on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law, including wrongful and unfair dismissal, discrimination law, executive terminations, TUPE, large scale reorganisations, employment aspects of mergers/acquisitions/outsourcing and litigation in the Civil Court and employment tribunal. Regularly speaks at HR seminars and provides bespoke employment law training.
Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution, Birmingham office Richard has acted for individuals to PLCs in disputes up to £500m, both at home and abroad. He has particular experience in representing clients in complex chancery/commercial and corporate disputes. He also acts for companies and individuals in prosecuting and defending restrictive covenant claims within an employment context. Recent cases include acting for: an independent UK manufacturer of diesel generators and power generation systems in successfully defending a claim issued by a company based in the Caribbean;several defendants (including corporate and individuals) in relation to a multi-million pound, multi-jurisdictional shareholder dispute;an equity partner in the dissolution of a law firm;a partner in a multi-party high value partnership dispute;an exiting an equity partner from a law firm;a finance director summarily removed from his position and the consequential dispute arising over his shares;a European wide provider of specialist care in dispute with a supplier; andvarious individuals/companies in relation to professional negligence disputes in the building, surveying and legal sectors. In addition to providing strategic and focused advice in the context of litigation, Richard understands the importance of avoiding litigation and has acquired a wealth of experience in advising clients in relation to methods of alternative dispute resolution such as mediation. Client feedback: "Having engaged the services of Richard Coates and his team over the past 30 months to support me with a number of commercial legacy issues I inherited I can highly recommend him. He is not only fiercely strategic and crucially proactive but also objective and pragmatic. He is without doubt the solicitor you should have on your team”. “Confidence in the ability and integrity of your most senior legal adviser is paramount in managing a successful commercial organisation in today’s ever moving business environment. Richard Coates provides unerring confidence to our board members whenever legal advice is required ensuring business decisions are taken from a trusted legal position”. Duncan Williams Excool CEO Legal guides Recommended in Legal 500, 2015. Described as “pragmatic” and “focused”, Legal 500, 2014
Managing partner (Birmingham) and partner dealing with development, investment and property finance transactions, as well as professional indemnity claims with emphasis on property and construction issues.
Simon is an intellectual property lawyer based in Birmingham. Qualified since 2000, he has many years’ experience in advising business on intellectual property related matters; covering trade marks, patents, designs, copyright and confidential information.A seasoned litigator of intellectual property disputes, Simon leads a team that is focussed on resolving disputes by keeping in mind the commercial objectives while ensuring there is understanding of all possible outcomes.Specialised with a team of dedicated lawyers, Simon’s practice is holistic. He offers intellectual property well-being with a fully integrated service that is necessary for efficient management and effective enforcement of intellectual property rights.Simon has acted in numerous cases before the UK courts, at the UK Intellectual Property Office and at the EU Intellectual Property Office. He has also appeared before the General Court in Luxembourg.
Stuart advises across the full spectrum of Intellectual Property (IP) rights. These include copyright, trade marks, passing off rights, databases, designs, patents and confidential information.From a contentious side, his experience ranges from the resolution of IP infringement disputes at an early pre-action stage, through to litigation in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court and IPEC Small Claims Court. He also specialises in trade mark oppositions at the UKIPO and EUIPO, as well as domain name and company name disputes at NOMINET, WIPO and the Company Names Tribunal.From a non-contentious side, Stuart specialises in the provision of strategic IP advice, trade mark filings, product clearance, advertising and marketing issues as well as corporate transactional work.Before joining Freeths, Stuart worked in-house for an American multinational entertainment company in the City where he also specialised in Intellectual Property. He is also a fluent Dutch speaker.
Zoë advises public and private sector clients on all areas of planning and highways law in relation to major residential, retail, commercial and mixed use developments – as well as enforcement and proposed enforcement. Her areas of expertise include the Section 106 planning agreements and Section 106A Deed of Variation, and Highways Agreements under s38 and 278 of the Highways Act 1990.She can also give advice in respect of planning enforcement notices, planning due diligence work, advice on liability for Community Infrastructure Levy and village greens.