CM Murray LLP

The firm: CM Murray LLP is a leading specialist employment, partnership and regulatory law firm which advises multi-national companies, senior executives, professional practices and their equity partners.

Preserving careers, Protecting reputations, Managing risk

Principal areas of work
Employment law: The employment law practice focuses on advising overseas companies, senior executives and founders. It advises overseas companies on all aspects of establishing, managing and, where necessary, restructuring their UK operations and has a market-leading reputation in advising UK and international senior executives and founders on their appointment, termination and equity arrangements (together with related contentious and non-contentious disputes). Advising on senior executive and founder investigations, exits, high-value discrimination, sexual harassment and whistle-blowing claims, team moves, and enforcement of restrictive covenants is core to the firm’s practice. Many of those employment law matters will have cross-border aspects, and the firm has extensive experience in handling cross-border and UK investigations and litigation.

Partnership law: The partnership law practice advises many international professional partnerships, LLPs and their equity partners (individually or collectively), on UK and cross-border partnership issues, particularly in the legal, accounting, patent attorney and financial services sectors. CM Murray LLP has market-leading expertise in both partnership disputes and partnership advisory and non-contentious work. The firm advises on partner departures, team moves, partner restrictive covenants, partner maternity arrangements, partner sexual harassment and other misconduct investigations, discrimination and whistle-blowing claims, and related litigation. The firm also has significant experience in advising the exiting partners of investment management firms and hedge funds.

The firm’s non-contentious Professional Services Advisory and LLP M&A practice advises on all aspects of non-contentious partnership, LLP and M&A work, from governance, partner remuneration and internal restructuring to joint ventures and LLP conversions. The firm specialises in professional services firm M&A and advises US firms on establishing SRA regulated operations in the UK. Leading partnership law specialist, Corinne Staves joined CM Murray LLP as a partner in September 2022. Corinne has a wealth of experience in advising both firms and individual partners on a wide range of matters, including new firm launches, partner admissions, mergers and demergers, LLP conversions and capital events, risk management and compliance matters, governance and structuring as well as partner and team moves.

Managing partner Clare Murray was a founder member of the Association of Partnership Practitioners (APP), the leading UK Association for partnership advisers; senior partner Sarah Chilton is a member of the APP Management Committee, partner Zulon Begum is D&I Officer of the IBA Law Firm Management Committee and Program Officer for the IBA Alternative and New Business Law Structures Committee. and Senior Associate Wonu Sanda is a member of the ‘Up and Coming’ Committee of the APP.

Professional regulation and discipline: Professional discipline specialist Andrew Pavlovic has substantial experience in regulatory and professional discipline matters, having previously acted for the SRA in some of its biggest and most high-profile cases in the Courts and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. With Andrew’s expertise, the Firm is able to advise on the regulatory aspects of employment and partnership disputes in-house, as well as providing stand alone regulatory advice and representation in disciplinary proceedings. We offer a full-service offering in partnership, employment and regulatory matters, cementing CM Murray LLP as the “go-to” firm for law firms, individuals, and professional services firms more generally.

 International : The firm is a founding member of international employment law alliance, Innangard, and its senior executive-focused arm, Innangard Executives, whose members are leading specialist employment law practices around the world: www.innangard.global. CM Murray LLP has a market-leading reputation for its expertise in handling international and cross-border employment and partnership law issues. Managing partner Clare Murray established, and is past chair of, XBHR, a global think tank for cross-border HR experts: www.XBHR.com.

The firm regularly collaborates with overseas employment lawyers on client matters and international projects and has particularly strong links within the US. The firm is the founder of the International Forum of Senior Executive Advisers and hosts the Annual International Senior Executives and Founders Conference in London, focusing exclusively on risk, reward and reputation management issues for senior executives and founders.

All lawyers in the firm are active members of and, in many cases, officeholders in leading international associations, including the American Bar Association (ABA), the International Bar Association (IBA), International Association of Young Lawyers (AIJA), and the European Employment Lawyers Association (EELA). All lawyers in the firm regularly speak at international conferences on employment and partnership law matters. The firm regularly provides comment on employment and partnership law issues in the press and broadcast media.

Sectors: CM Murray LLP advises clients across a wide range of sectors, with particular expertise and experience within the professional services and financial services sectors, including law firms, accountancy firms, investment management and hedge funds, private equity firms, luxury brands, and the technology sector. The firm’s advice is strategic and pragmatic; its approach is direct, firm and focused squarely on achieving its clients’ commercial objectives and timescales. Preservation of client reputation is a core objective of the firm at all times.

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