Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP

Adam is a partner in the corporate team and is based in the Birmingham office. With more than 20 years’ experience in advising on all types of transactional work, he acts on a variety of M&A deals, private equity transactions, corporate reorganisations and shareholder arrangements. His clients include many entrepreneurs and directors of mid-market businesses for whom he can provide both a strategic overview and tactical advice. He is also recognised for offering specialist support to companies that are going through a legal process for the first time.

Adam Carling

Adam is a partner in the corporate team in London. He advises on transactions on the equity capital markets as well as public and private M&A. His main sectors of focus are energy, technology and real estate. His clients include some of the leading mid-market investment banks in London; he also acts for listed (Main Market and AIM) and private companies. The deals he works on often have a cross-border element. He has extensive experience of pan-European M&A and regularly advises North American clients on acquisitions and financings. He has advised on a number of public M&A transactions, including takeover offers and schemes of arrangement. He led the team which advised AIM-listed Rotala plc on its take-private transaction, which won the ‘Deal of the Year (£10 – 50m)’ category at the Insider Midlands Dealmakers Awards 2024.

Adele Ashton

Adele is a defamation and privacy specialist with over 15 years of experience. She advises both claimants and defendants in relation to defamation, privacy, breach of confidence, data protection and reputation management. She also regularly provides guidance in relation to forthcoming publications. Her clients have included private individuals, companies, charities, high profile figures and sportspeople. Recent work highlights include: successfully settling privacy claims for a number of 56 Dean Street patients following the disclosure of information by the sexual health clinic; acting for three individuals in misuse of private information claims arising out of Operation Elveden, an investigation into allegations of inappropriate payments by journalists to police officers and other public officials; acting for PC Toby Rowland in his high profile libel claim against Andrew Mitchell MP in relation to what became known as ‘Plebgate’; representing leading businessman Peter Cruddas in his libel action against The Sunday Times; acting for defendants Carmarthenshire County Council and its chief executive in a libel claim brought by a blogger and a successful counterclaim by the chief executive against the blogger.

Adrian Moss

Director in charge of the trust and personal tax administration team. Specialist in the taxation of UK trusts, personal taxation of beneficiaries of UK and non-resident trusts. Recognised in Private Client Practitioner’s ‘Top 35 Under 35’ list.

Alex Prew

Alex is a partner in the real estate team in London. He specialises in real estate acquisitions and disposals, leases and asset management, and development projects. He also advises on the real estate aspects of financing transactions and corporate acquisitions. He acts for a broad range of clients including private and institutional investors, family offices, corporate occupiers and developers. Alex is regularly engaged by corporate occupiers to advise on their office headquarter requirements and assists FTSE 100 companies, pharmaceutical companies, insurers, law firms and recruitment companies.

Alex McIntosh

Alex is a partner in the London office and a member of the firm’s shipping and international trade teams. He advises on disputes arising under charterparties, bills of lading, shipbuilding and restructuring contracts, as well as wet work, including casualties and LOFs. He is also experienced in trade, including letters of credit, sale and purchase contracts, factoring, debt collection, insurance (both marine and non-marine), coverage advice, facility agreements, transactional documentation and policy wordings. Alex's clients include shipowners, insurers, P&I clubs, charterers, traders, manufacturers and logistics providers. He has run court proceedings and arbitrations in many jurisdictions and has obtained and challenged arrests, injunctions and security measures worldwide. Alex lectures extensively on many legal and practical aspects of trade and shipping including charterparties, procurement and arbitration. He is the course director of the Lloyds Maritime Academy Certificate in Charterparties Distance Learning Course.

Alexander Fox

Alex is a partner in the commercial dispute resolution group with particular expertise within the areas of technology, IP and media and insolvency. He advises on a variety of significant commercial disputes, including arbitrations, financial services, complex technology/healthcare disputes, regulatory issues, public/procurement and substantial national, and cross-border claims. Notable recent cases include the following: advising on the reported case of Jordan Grand Prix Ltd v Tiger Telematics Inc; R v Cockburn; advising Grant Thornton on the administration of Aquarius Limited; advising on the effect of the collapse of the split capital trust market and SWAPS claims.

Alison Hills

Alison Hills is the head of the pensions team at Penningtons Manches Cooper. Alison has a broad range of pensions experience and provides her clients with well-reasoned, practical advice, having taken into account the relevant technical complexities and important reputational, commercial and personal factors. She is based in London but also works out of the Guildford and Basingstoke offices. Advising on all aspects of pensions law, her clients range from individuals and small self-administered schemes to trustees and sponsoring employers of large defined benefit multi-employer schemes with assets in excess of £350 million. Alison is well versed in advising overseas clients who may be less familiar with their UK pension obligations. Areas of particular specialism include advising on governance, pensions aspects of corporate restructurings/transactions including employer scheme-exits, section 75 debts, implementing flexible apportionment arrangements, member disputes, maladministration claims, implementing scheme benefit structure changes (including closure to accrual), liability management exercises such as pension increase exchange and enhanced transfer exercises, auto-enrolment compliance and salary sacrifice implementation. She is an associate of the Pensions Management Institute and a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers’ Education and Seminars Committee.

Alison Appelboam-Meadows

Alison is a partner in the PI and clinical negligence team, which handles a range of personal injury and clinical negligence cases. She has over 30 years’ experience in the field, with particular expertise in clinical negligence cases involving obstetric negligence. She has handled many cases on behalf of children with cerebral palsy as a result of ante-/peri-/post-natal events, running the cases to trial, if necessary, to achieve the best outcome for her clients, eg Zhang v Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Massey v Tameside & Glossop Acute Services NHS Trust. She also acts on behalf of adults who have sustained brain damage as a result of meningitis or hypoxia, eg Napoli v Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust, and those who have suffered significant spinal cord injuries.

Alison Johnson

Alison handles a wide practice covering the full spectrum of clinical negligence matters but with an emphasis on complex neurology cases, oncology, general practice, gynaecology and maternal injury, and paediatric claims. She is very focused on client care and ensuring that clients are looked after during the investigation process and then fully compensated. Alison has advised on a number of maximum severity claims recovering damages settlements of £10 million+, but she also has considerable experience of managing mid-high value claims, including fatal claims, often on a conditional fee agreement basis. Alison is an accredited solicitor with both the AvMA and Law Society specialist clinical negligence panels and receives enquiries through them. She is also a trained AvMA helpline volunteer and speaker. Alison is a mental health champion and culture and welfare partner for the personal injury and clinical negligence team and splits her time between the Basingstoke and Oxford offices.

Alison Lewis

Partner in the real estate department specialising in investment and retail work, with expertise in the petrol station sector acting for Malthurst.

Amanda Andrews

Amanda is a partner in the family team and a member of Penningtons Manches Cooper’s private wealth group. She offers a depth of resource for clients and brings more than 25 years of experience in all aspects of family law, but especially complex children matters and high finance including offshore trusts, complicated property aspects and corporate structures. She also regularly negotiates complex pre- and post-nuptial agreements. Amanda is a trained mediator who strongly believes in resolution without recourse to court proceedings wherever possible. She approaches all her cases with the same pragmatic and empathetic approach, seeking to find sensible and fair solutions at the earliest opportunity be it in relation to children or the financial aspects of relationship breakdown.

Amy Fox

Amy is a partner in the family team. She has experience in all aspects of the legal issues arising from relationship breakdown including the financial consequences of separation, arrangements for the care of children and obtaining financial relief after overseas proceedings. She has particular expertise in complex financial disputes, often with an international element. Amy has written a number of articles for New Law Journal and she drafted Penningtons Manches Cooper’s response to the government consultation on the reform of the legal requirements for divorce.

Andrew Casstles

Partner specialising in social housing involving land acquisition and development, stock rationalisation/portfolio sales, planning and infrastructure agreements, nominations agreements, management agreements. Commercial property expertise within commercial conveyancing as well as development and landlord and tenant.

Andrew Haywood

Partner specialising in both contentious and non contentious employment law issues. He has particular experience in the areas of age discrimination and the enforcement of post-termination restrictions. His corporate practice is drawn from a number of sectors including media, retail and financial services where he advises on day-to-day and post-employment issues. Andrew also acts for several household names in the technology sector. He has specialist expertise in the sports and entertainment industry and heads up the firm’s sports and entertainment sector group. He has been instructed by sports clubs, agents and professionals on a variety of matters including disciplinary and contractual disputes. On the individual side, he advises many senior executives and non-UK domiciled high net worth individuals.

Andrew Mellor

Andrew is a partner in the real estate team in Birmingham. He advises property developers, owner occupiers, landlords, tenants and property investors on all aspects of non-contentious commercial property work. He specialises in commercial development and investment matters (including forward funding and joint ventures). Andrew has acted on a wide range of complex long-term mixed-use developments and redevelopments. He has particular experience in the industrial and logistics, research and development/high tech manufacturing, student accommodation and build to rent sectors.

Anna Frankum

A partner in the firm’s commercial, IP and IT team. Specialises in intellectual property, especially copyright and trade marks; and commercial contracts including agency, distribution and supply agreements.

Anna Worwood

Anna is the head of the family law department, and specialises in matrimonial, financial and children cases. She has extensive experience in cases of a complex nature (including those with international aspects) and a particular interest in international relocation cases. She represented the father in Re C [2003] 1 FLR 1066, the mother in Re D [2006] Fam Law 1006 and the father in Re C (International Relocation) [2015] EWCA 1305. Anna was included in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 2016. She is a trained collaborative lawyer.

Anthea Christie

Anthea is a partner in the employment team in London. She advises on a range of contentious and non-contentious employment matters, and has particular expertise in discrimination, whistleblowing claims, regulatory issues, large group claims and test litigation. Dealing with tribunal, county court, High Court and appellate litigation, she represents clients from a wide range of industry sectors. She regularly assists staff associations and trade unions on all aspects of employment law, including regulatory issues and internal policies and procedures. She also provides advice to their members.

Ben Law

Ben is a partner in the real estate team in London. He is experienced in acting for developers, investors, occupiers, UHNW private clients and funders across a wide range of asset classes including offices, retail, industrial and residential property. Ben frequently advises on the sale and purchase of investment properties and the acquisition and structuring of commercial, mixed-use and residential development sites. He also acts for serviced-office operators.

Ben Robinson

Ben is a partner in the real estate litigation team and leads the team’s fire safety practice. He works closely with institutional landlords, investment funds and social housing providers in relation to policy level guidance on fire safety strategy across their portfolios, and provides ongoing advice in relation to the Government’s Non-ACM Building Safety Fund. Ben offers holistic landlord and tenant advice regarding the effective management of their portfolios, including on development disputes, breaches of covenant, forfeiture and the recovery of arrears. His expertise also extends to providing comprehensive advice on complex residential property issues including rent and service charge disputes (most recently the Supreme Court case of Aviva v Williams), enfranchisement claims, party wall disputes, boundary disputes and adverse possession claims. Ben also specialises in property-related professional negligence claims and vacant possession strategies for large-scale development sites. He has spoken at a number of events, such as the National Housing Federation’s annual ‘Leaseholder and Tenant Service Charges’ conference, and the Asset Management Conference (Housing Quality Network), where he leads peer-to-peer discussions on service charges and fire safety works, discussing apportioning and charging for fire safety improvements. Separately, he regularly contributes to articles on the issue (including a fire safety podcast for the leading real estate publication, Estates Gazette), together with seminars and bespoke training sessions for clients and other property professionals.

Binder Bansel

Binder is a partner in the employment team. He joined Penningtons Manches Cooper in 2017 from another leading City law firm where he was a partner for over 16 years. He advises on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious employment and partnership matters and is recognised, in particular, for his expertise in complex discrimination claims, class actions, collective labour and trade union law. Binder is experienced in all forms of employment litigation, both in the High Court and tribunals, as well as discrimination (in employment and partnership), regulatory issues and industrial action injunctions. He works for a wide range of staff associations and their members and, in addition, acts for senior employees and partners, frequently in relation to discrimination claims. Recognised as a leader in his field by a number of legal directories, Binder has been described as ‘extremely knowledgeable’; ‘excellent in his dealing with members and highly regarded for his expertise in discrimination and industrial action claims’; ‘knows his law and gets good results for his clients’; and ‘one of the very best employment lawyers in the UK. His ability to spot the key issues in a case is unrivalled and his legal analysis is always spot on. He is a modest but brilliant lawyer’. He is a past treasurer of the Employment Lawyers Association and is a frequent speaker within the profession and to clients. He is a regular media commentator on employment issues.

Charles Seaward

Charles is a consultant in the real estate team. His areas of expertise include the acquisition and disposal of land and buildings for occupation, investment and development, by way of agreements, leases, promotion agreements and joint ventures. He acts for clients in the office, wholesale and retail sectors, landowners seeking to maximise the value of their land holdings, and property funds. He has a particular interest in the entertainment sector, advising recording studios and record and music publishing companies.

Charlotte Hill

Charlotte is a partner in the commercial dispute resolution team and an experienced commercial litigator. She advises on a broad range of complex, high-value cross-border disputes across a number of commercial and business sectors, including financial services (having previously been on secondment at a large institutional bank), company disputes, corporate insolvency and civil fraud. She has specialist expertise in digital assets where she advises clients about cryptocurrencies, NFTs and blockchain disputes, and she successfully acted in one of the very few contested cryptocurrency disputes. In 2023, Charlotte won the esteemed title of ‘Woman of the Year – FinTech/Crypto Innovation – UK’ at the Citywealth Powerwomen Awards, for the impact of her work in the sector. She sits on the Law Society Council on behalf of civil litigators (non-personal injury) and is also the chair of EMEA for Multilaw's Young Lawyers Group.

Chris Bates

Chris is a partner in the construction advisory and dispute resolution team in London, specialising in construction and related insurance disputes. He focuses on handling high value and technically complex disputes, such as those in relation to post completion defects, professional negligence, payment claims, delay and prolongation, and termination issues. He is experienced in disputes arising from large-scale civil infrastructure schemes across all major sectors, as well as commercial building projects. He also regularly advises on construction insurance coverage matters, including undertaking complicated coverage investigations and disputes. Chris also specialises in building safety issues, acting for developers, owners, contractors, professionals, and insurers on a range of cladding and other fire safety related disputes. He has been consulted by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities over the practical impact of the changes introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022. He is experienced in all forms of dispute resolution used in the construction industry, including multi-party TCC litigation, arbitration, adjudication and mediation. He also regularly advises clients in the background on live projects to mitigate or avoid escalation into formal disputes.

Chris Syder

Chris is a partner in the employment team in London, with more than 25 years’ experience as a UK employment law specialist. His practice covers all aspects of English employment law, ranging from HR advisory to cross border compliance, trade union and employee relations issues, collective redundancies/restructuring, restrictive covenants, and whistleblowing. Chris also advises on employment tribunal claims, handling senior level grievances/disciplinaries and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regulatory issues. As one of our North America group lead partners, his role includes working regularly with US and Canadian clients. A CEDR accredited mediator, Chris has a keen interest in employment and commercial mediation. From 2011 to 2017, Chris was the CBI’s governing body representative for the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a specialised agency in the United Nations. Consequently, he fully understands the ILO’s supervisory system and the challenges faced by unionised businesses, especially those that are alleged to have breached ILO freedom of association and collective bargaining conventions. He has been named in the UK Top 100 Corporate Modern Slavery Influencers’ Index, which acknowledges individuals from all business sectors who are raising awareness of modern slavery and labour exploitation. Since 2019, he has collaborated with the Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors (APSCA) by sitting on their disciplinary panels to determine cases of breaches of APSCA’s code of professional standards. Chris was previously head of employment at a London-based international law firm.

Christopher Shelley

Partner in the IP and commercial department, specialising in intellectual property and competition law; practice includes all aspects of these areas of law, principally non-contentious; IP practice focuses on science and technology-based companies, particularly in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, and the publishing sector.

Claire McNamara

Claire is a partner in the firm’s best practice group and a member of the strategy board. As director of knowledge and learning, she is responsible for developing and driving the firm's knowledge management strategy and leading a highly regarded team of knowledge lawyers, knowledge and information professionals and technologists. She guides the learning and development team in delivering and supporting the firm’s training and continuing development programmes. Claire qualified as a construction litigation lawyer in 1999. She has acted for clients across the industry in a broad range of engineering, construction and commercial disputes. successfully concluding cases through negotiated settlements and where necessary at trial including to the Supreme Court. Having established and led knowledge functions at her previous firms, she joined Penningtons Manches Cooper in 2023. With over 15 years of knowledge management experience, her focus is on using knowledge, technology and project management expertise, to ‘makes things better’ - better for clients, better for the business and better for employees. One of Claire’s main drivers for her and the team is to identify opportunities for the firm to collaborate with clients, to help them deliver their own strategic goals. As a keen supporter of Penningtons Manches Cooper’s ambition to be regarded as the most human law firm and a qualified Mental Health First Aider, Claire works closely with colleagues on the delivery of the firm’s inclusion agenda. She is a qualified solicitor advocate and change management registered practitioner. She is a member of several key networks and committees supporting KM and innovation in the legal industry as well as a regular speaker at KM events and contributes to their advisory boards.

Clare Arthurs

Clare heads the dispute resolution division and is a member of the firm's strategy board. A former commercial and public law litigator, Clare led the knowledge function for the commercial dispute resolution team prior to her appointment as partner in 2021, working across a broad range of specialisms including international litigation and arbitration, group actions, professional negligence, reputation management, and regulatory compliance. In recent years she has played a pivotal role in the introduction of new technology, business improvement and team leadership. Her responsibilities have also included organising training for fee earners and drafting and maintaining the department’s precedent documentation. She has devised and delivered a variety of client facing seminars. Clare is an established author in the legal press, writing for journals such as New Law Journal, Solicitors Journal, Commercial Litigation Journal, the International Bar Association Newsletter and Insolvency Intelligence. She has also edited the CDR department’s publications including client updates, topical ebulletins and the Commercial LiteBites series, which aims to provide clients with important practical pointers.

Clare Archer

Clare is a partner and head of the London private client team. She specialises in tax and estate planning to include the administration of large and complex estates, often with an international or contentious aspect; will and trust drafting, elderly client and capacity issues and a wide range of asset protection and equity work.

Daff Richardson

Daff co-leads the firm’s multi-disciplinary education sector group, and is a partner in the employment department. She advises institutional, corporate and individual clients on strategic and high-value employment matters including reorganisations and restructuring. Daff also advises senior executives and employers on boardroom disputes, and executive appointments and terminations. Her employer clients include higher education institutions, household name charities, and technology sector clients. She has advised senior figures in life sciences, IT, and education. Penningtons Manches’ education sector group advises HEIs, private colleges, independent schools and other further and higher education institutions and charities. The group provides a full service to these clients including immigration advice, advice on corporate structures, charities, employment, real estate, governance, compliance and student issues. Daff’s personal practice includes advising individual academics and institutions on employment issues, particularly where disciplinary action is taken. She also advises institutions on student complaint matters. Her clients include a household name educational charity, several Colleges of the University of Oxford and a leading independent school.

Daniel Berry

Daniel advises on all aspects of intellectual property protection and enforcement in the UK and EU including trade marks, passing off, domain names, anti-counterfeiting, design rights, copyright, patents and confidential information. He works for clients across a variety of business sectors with particular expertise in the fashion, travel, food and drink, entertainment, agriculture, automotive and sports industries. His significant track record in all aspects of trade mark and design filing includes the prosecution and enforcement of rights before the UKIPO and EUIPO registries. He frequently advises on the registrability of brands, national and international portfolio management and the commercial exploitation of these rights. Daniel also specialises in IP litigation and has considerable experience before the English and Welsh Court and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, as well as in UDRP proceedings before Nominet, WIPO and the Company Names Tribunal. He has a strong background in anti-counterfeiting matters, customs notices and criminal prosecutions.

Daniel Toop

Daniel is head of the Court of Protection team. He mainly supports those who have suffered catastrophic injuries as a result of medical negligence or personal injury and have been awarded substantial compensation to meet their future needs. With a particular interest in acquired brain injury, Daniel advises on a broad range of Court of Protection and personal injury trust issues for both professional and lay deputies and trustees. His area of specialism is working with and supporting the litigation process, both in clinical negligence and personal injury claims. This knowledge is essential in ensuring that the compensation, which can take many years to secure, is properly protected and managed, either through a personal injury trust or a deputyship.

Darryl Kennard

Darryl is a partner in the marine, trade and energy team in the London office and a key member of the emergency response team. He is one of the few shipping lawyers who specialise in both ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ work from collisions, salvage, groundings, total losses, fires and piracy through to charterparty disputes and claims arising under bills of lading. Based in Norway for one year and in Singapore for five years, Darryl receives instructions from salvors, container lines, dry bulk and tanker owners as well as charterers, traders, P&I clubs and other insurers.

David Kendall

David heads the business services division, with overall responsibility for its strategic direction, and is a member of the firm's strategy board. Senior partner specialising in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity corporate restructurings and insolvency related transactions.

David Niven

David is a partner in the commercial dispute resolution group, specialising in high value, multi-party professional negligence actions against solicitors and other professionals. A leading UK lawyer for group actions, including in claims against solicitors for mis-sold properties, he has an established media profile, client following, and reputation for getting results. David is acting for hundreds of clients in numerous group action claims against solicitors and architects following high-profile unsuccessful off plan property investment schemes with substantial losses. He has recently acted for over 130 claimants in multi-million-pound proceedings which were the subject of an important application to the Court of Appeal (headed by Master of the Rolls, Vos LJ). The appeal concerns the fundamentally important procedure in this field of law of using a single claim form to encapsulate multiple claims, as disputed by the defendant solicitors/appellant. This matter went to the Court of Appeal where the judge ruled in favour of class action claims in a single claim form. David’s team has also acted for a group in cutting-edge High Court proceedings involving a £20 million insurance coverage claim against AIG, which settled recently on confidential terms shortly prior to the November trial.

David Raine

David is a senior partner at Penningtons Manches Cooper who has undertaken leading management roles within the firm over the past 25 years. Appointed managing partner in 2008, he became chief executive in 2013 following the high profile merger of Penningtons and Manches and held this position until October 2022 when he passed the reins to new chief executive Helen Drayton after a six month transition period. Widely respected for his calm and inclusive approach, he continues to support Helen and the leadership team, helping the firm shape and develop its strategy both in the UK and globally. He maintains a strong involvement with the firm’s sustainability agenda as it pursues long-term systemic change and works towards reaching net zero. Prior to taking on the chief executive role, David’s legal experience included a couple of decades as a tort lawyer specialising in clinical negligence, an area in which the firm is regarded as a front-runner, as well as overseeing tortious and contractual claims arising from accidents abroad.

David O'Brien

Partner in the London commercial dispute resolution team acting in all areas of commercial and general dispute resolution and with a particular interest in commercial contract disputes.He is also a key member of the professional negligence team with considerable expertise in handling professional negligence claims.He has a growing specialism in acting for claimants in high value, multi-party actions against solicitors.

Donald Lambert

Consultant specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration work, including physical commodities and a wide range of real estate disputes.

Duncan Taylor

Specialises in and high-net-worth sales and purchases of residential properties within the private wealth sector, particularly for overseas clients.

Elizabeth Carson

Partner with experience in all aspects of family law, and particularly in cases with an international dimension. She often advises clients on complex financial disputes where there are assets in multiple jurisdictions, including offshore trusts. She also represents parents in disputes concerning children, involving issues such as how much time the children should spend with their parents, their health and education, as well as where they should live. She has extensive experience in cases involving the international relocation of children.She works closely with colleagues in the private wealth sector to advise high net worth individuals on all aspects of wealth protection, including cohabitation and nuptial agreements, and financial provision for children.

Emma Bryant

Emma is a partner in the firm’s corporate department and is based in the Birmingham office. She advises on a wide range of corporate transactions, including acquisitions and disposals, private equity transactions, group reorganisations and shareholder arrangements, and is recognised for combining a deep technical knowledge with a practical approach to help her clients achieve their goals. With a particular interest in early stage and growth businesses, she has also acted for large corporates, local authorities, universities and property development companies.

Emma Willing

Emma is a partner in the family team with over 15 years of experience. She offers a depth and breadth of expertise in all aspects of family law and has developed particular capabilities in the resolution of complex and high value financial issues on divorce, private children law matters, cohabitation disputes and the drafting of marital and cohabitation agreements. Her extensive international experience sees her draw regularly on her network of international contacts across her caseload. She works for clients from a wide range of backgrounds including entrepreneurs, family business owners, city professionals, celebrities and the independently wealthy. Emma also has extensive expertise in advising in respect to modern family building whether through surrogacy, assisted reproduction, donor conception, co-parenting and adoption (both domestic and international). She has worked on numerous complex surrogacy cases involving overseas jurisdictions and for clients with international connections. As a qualified mediator, she can also assist clients in seeking to resolve issues outside the context of court proceedings. Emma frequently contributes to the legal press and is a member of Resolution.

Eugene Wojciechowski

Partner in the employment group based in Reading. Practices all areas of both contentious and non-contentious employment law, including advising clients on TUPE, trade union disputes, employment tribunal litigation, enforcing post-termination restrictive covenants and the negotiation of severance deals.

Franco Bosi

Partner specialising in corporate work, mergers and acquisitions, management buyouts, joint ventures, commercial contracts and shareholder agreements. He acts for a wide range of clients, from private companies and professional firms to larger corporates but with an emphasis on owner managers. He is a member of the firm's professional practices group and has advised on a number of partnership acquisitions and mergers.

Gavin Stenton

Gavin is a dual-qualified solicitor and chartered trade mark attorney, working between Penningtons Manches' Oxford and London offices. He is a trade mark, designs and brand protection specialist, advising brand owners in a wide range of industry sectors including fashion, retail, sport, drinks, education, publishing, IT, biotech and professional services. Gavin handles all aspects of trade mark and design filing, prosecution and enforcement, and is regularly involved in complex, multi-jurisdictional filing programmes and cross-border disputes. His practice incorporates all elements of trade mark and design portfolio management, advice to brand owners on the registerability and availability of their brands, and conflict resolution through opposition, cancellation and/or infringement proceedings. He also advises brand owners on the proper usage and commercial exploitation of their brands as well as on the acquisition of third party brands and related due diligence.

Gemma Woodhouse

Partner specialising in employment law both contentious and non-contentious with a keen interest in all aspects of discrimination law. Since qualification, Gemma has been involved with a significant Court of Appeal decision and a number of Tribunal hearings and appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunals. She also regularly provides corporate support in relation to business transfers and reorganisations and day to day HR advisory support for commercial clients. Gemma has also provided guidance to clients on the implications of TUPE and the terms of commercial outsourcing arrangements. Gemma advises a number of independent schools and academies in relation to their employment law issues and was key in starting the 'Independent Schools HR Forums' operated by the firm. She presents seminars internally and externally on a broad range of employment issues and also contributes articles to both external publications and the firm’s regular employment update. She is described by clients as having “a good tactical approach to dealing with HR issues”, being “very swift with her advice” and an adviser who “ acts in the client’s best interests”.

George Mingay

George is a partner in the international trade and commodities group in the London office. He is an expert in the resolution of disputes within the commodities sector relating to oil and gas, metals and mining, soft commodities and trade finance. His expertise extends to the resolution of disputes in the English courts and under international arbitration rules – including those of the ICC, UNCITRAL and the LCIA – and trade arbitration rules – including those of FOSFA, GAFTA, the RSA and SAL. He also advises clients on non-contentious, regulatory and compliance issues. George has advised national oil companies, international trading companies and other clients across the supply chain on disputes arising from drilling rig and FPSO contracts, sale and purchase agreements, and commercial and agency contracts. He frequently deals with non-payment, breach of warranty claims, quality and condition issues and many other contentious matters. George spent six months seconded to the in-house legal department of Shell International in London. He regularly presents internationally at industry events on commodities, the law of the sea, oil and gas, and arbitration generally. He has served on numerous occasions as an honorary legal adviser at the Royal Courts of Justice CAB on a pro bono basis.

Gillian Rivers

Partner. Gillian advises on all areas of domestic and international family law and has an extensive international practice. Gillian is the immediate past Chair to the Family Law Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) and has been an officer since 2007. She is also a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL). She is on the editorial board of the College of Law. She is also a member of the LNTV Legal Expert Panel. She was a recommended member of the Citywealth Leaders’ List in 2015 and also rated as a Super Lawyer in the same year. Gillian has a bias towards the financial aspects of relationship breakdown and regularly deals with highly complex, high-net-worth financial claims. She is also very experienced in private law children disputes and financial applications by a single parent on behalf of a child. She is experienced in private law children disputes, having acted in a number of important reported cases, including Re Y (A Child) (Private Law: Interim Change of Residence) [2014] EWHC 1068 (Fam). She was also involved in the ‘Cinderella Law’ campaign, which resulted in it becoming part of Statute in the Serious Crime Act 2015. Gillian is a respected author and has written for publications such as the ‘Law Society Gazette’ and co-authored on ‘Clarke, Hall and Morrison on Children’. She is often quoted in print media and has broadcast on national radio. She is the co-chair of the IBA Human Trafficking Task Force and is coordinating training in England and Wales to all police forces and the judiciary. She is also an invited member of the Santa Marta Group which has as its aim combatting human trafficking. Gillian’s work with the IBA and Santa Marta Group is carried out on a strictly pro bono basis. She is a panel advisor to Kevin Hyland OBE, Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner. In 2016, Gillian was given Freedom of the City of London and became a Liveryman in The City of London Solicitors' Company.

Grant Eldred

Grant is a partner in the banking and finance team. He specialises in finance law including bilateral and syndicated secured and unsecured lending, trade finance and banking regulation and compliance. He has particular expertise in advising the London branches of overseas banks on a broad range of operational, regulatory and transactional requirements. He also has specific expertise in ship, yacht and structured finance work.

Hannah Gearey

An associate director in Penningtons Manches Cooper’s private client team in Guildford, Hannah advises UK and overseas based clients on a broad range of private client matters including the drafting of wills and tax planning, Court of Protection work, probate and trusts, and has expertise in the establishment and running of charities. She also creates personal injury trusts for vulnerable individuals and acts for the RFU Injured Players Foundation in the creation of trusts for its clients.

Hazar El-Chamaa

Hazar is an immigration partner, known for her pragmatic, solution-oriented approach to solving her client’s immigration problems. She advises on the full spectrum of immigration routes, on citizenship, the EU Settlement Scheme and sponsor compliance. Her role as Chair of Trustees of the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA) means that she often liaises with senior UKVI officials raising policy and operational issues on behalf of the sector. She heads the firm’s private wealth immigration offering, working alongside colleagues to provide a full-service covering tax, family and real estate to those looking to relocate to the UK with their families. Hazar is recognised for her expertise in the education sector, built over 14 years. She advises on all aspects of compliance, risk management, and restructuring. Her clients include universities, independent schools and large private education providers. She is experienced in providing global immigration solutions to large multinational organisations from a wide range of sectors including retail, sports, entertainment and technology. Fluent in Arabic, she has contacts throughout the Middle East, in particular the UAE, and regularly visits the region. Hazar is a frequent speaker on immigration law.

Helen Drayton

Helen is the chief executive of Penningtons Manches Cooper and is responsible for the development and implementation of the firm’s strategy and direction, as well as its day-to-day management, working alongside the strategy, executive and operational boards. Much of the leadership team’s attention is currently focused on integrating the firm behind a shared vision and strategy, which continues to centre around key sectors and niche teams - as well as increasing the offering of the international offices. An additional priority is further understanding of the work the firm does with its clients. By improving on what it does and how it is done, the firm can continue to build on its reputation as a strategic partner delivering high quality, cutting-edge advice to help clients achieve the best real-world outcomes. Helen is a strong supporter of Penningtons Manches Cooper's ambition to be regarded as the most human law firm. She believes that taking a collaborative and caring approach to the work it does – both within teams internally and with clients – is key to achieving its strategic objectives. Accordingly, she personally oversees the continuous development and implementation of the firm's inclusion agenda, which is centred on fostering an environment in which everyone feels valued, motivated and empowered to make the most of their working and personal lives. Prior to taking on the role of chief executive in 2022, Helen, a corporate lawyer, was head of the firm’s business services division and a partner in the corporate team. She has advised a full range of clients on all aspects of company law, specialising in mergers and acquisitions with a particular focus on MBO transactions and property-related disposals and purchases – as well as developing expertise in group reorganisations and demergers.

Hilary Aldred

Partner specialising in all areas of contentious and non-contentious employment, including dealing with all aspects of tribunal work and appeals. Advising on a wide range of HR problems, policies and strategy, including the management of reorganisations and redundancy programmes, as well as having expertise in industrial relations across businesses including trade union matters and collective disputes. Deals with employment-related litigation, including post-termination issues, particularly for clients in the education and technology sectors.

James Harrison

James is a partner in the commercial dispute resolution team. He is an experienced commercial litigator dealing with corporate dispute resolution, whether by formal court/arbitration proceedings or alternative dispute resolution. He has a particular specialism in director and shareholder disputes, often involving a restructuring element. He also works on a wide range of other disputes including banking, breach of warranty and general contractual issues, spread over broad industry sectors including property, general retail and banking. As a result of his role as chair of the Multilaw Young Lawyers Group, he spends considerable time on international matters.

James Hallas

James is a partner in the projects, development and construction team and co-chair of the firm’s ESG/sustainability sector group. He specialises in non-contentious work. As well as expertise across the full spectrum of construction and development, James has particular knowledge of the renewable energy, sustainability, housing and accommodation and care sectors. He works with clients to achieve commercial, real world outcomes and is experienced in negotiating both standard forms of contract including the JCT, FIDIC, NEC and RIBA suites of documents and bespoke agreements. James is also experienced in drafting and negotiating complex engineering contracts linked to infrastructure and energy generation. James has acted on large-scale, mixed commercial and residential, hotel, university and student accommodation schemes as well as hospital projects and care schemes.

James Mackay

James is an associate director in the real estate investors team in the London office. He has wide-ranging experience in real estate development and investment work in both the commercial and residential sectors, having acted for both family offices and landed estates, through to prominent investment institutions and developers. James also has extensive experience of acting for the public sector, having previously spent a number of years working for and advising numerous social housing providers on a mix of project types, including outright development, s106 purchases, commercial lettings and disposals and dealing with energy centre infrastructure and leasing. His main focus is on institutional investment work, together with commercial and residential development for private and public sector developers.

James Severn

James is a partner in the London commercial dispute resolution team. He has a broad commercial litigation and dispute resolution practice with a particular focus on shipping, insurance, and personal injury and fatality claims. His clients include ship owners, marine insurers, cruise and ferry operators, and oil companies. James has particular expertise in investigations by the MCA, MAIB and HSE following accidents and collisions and regularly advises on injuries and death at sea or on offshore installations. He has extensive experience in the offshore and energy sectors and regularly acts for shipowners and their insurers in disputes arising from the operation of vessels in and around wind farms and other offshore installations. He advises on the contracts frequently used in the offshore/energy markets with a particular focus on BIMCO contracts. James also advises on salvage and wreck removal. James’ sports practice focuses on football. He advises players, clubs and intermediaries on transfers, image rights, contract negotiations and disciplinary issues at a club and Football Association (FA) level. He also has significant experience of FIFA and CAS claims and advises on the regulatory requirements of the English FA.

James Went

Corporate lawyer specialising in advising life sciences and technology companies. His transactional work includes acquisitions and disposals, often with an international element; university spin-outs; venture capital funding transactions; joint ventures; corporate restructuring and re-organisations. He works with companies at all stages of their life cycle and many clients are spin-outs from the University of Oxford, Imperial College London, and other universities and technology transfer organisations, who he works with on a long-term basis.

James d'Aquino

James is a partner in the private client team in the London office advising on a broad range of domestic and international issues. He acts for high net worth individuals, families, trustees, banks and entrepreneurs on wills, trusts, and succession planning. He also advises on UK and international tax issues, owner-managed business succession planning, administration of estates and powers of attorney. He has extensive experience in advising clients on regularising their UK tax affairs, particularly in relation to the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility and the application of the Swiss-UK Tax Cooperation Agreement. James features in the Eprivateclient 'Top 35 Under 35' list 2015 for young private client practitioners. He has had several articles published in well-regarded private client journals including the Trusts and Estates Law Journal and Private Client Practitioner.

James McNeilly

Partner in the London real estate team specialising in the acquisition and disposal of investment properties, development work, the property aspects of secured lending, and advising landlords and tenants. He acts for a range of clients including institutional investors, private real estate companies, real estate funds, offshore private trusts, banks, and tenant occupiers.

James Stewart

Described as a ‘guru of international family law’, James Stewart is a fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL) and general editor of the definitive publication on comparative international family law, Family Law: A Global Guide (the ‘Blue Book’). James shines in difficult, often international, cases that need strategic vision, diligent execution and a motivated, able team. With a focus on complex family disputes, marital agreements and cases with an international dimension, including claims for financial relief following overseas divorces (Part III), James has become the family lawyer of choice for family offices, trustees and others who find themselves embroiled in complex English divorce and family proceedings. A leading QC describes James as ‘undoubtedly one of the leaders in family law globally’. In September 2020, James was appointed Visiting Professor of Law at Ulster University and also serves on the Consultation Board for Practical Law – Family. James continues to chair the annual Legal Dinner in aid of the leading peacebuilding charity, Co-operation Ireland. Dual-qualified in England & Wales and Northern Ireland, James is also a family arbitrator and a collaborative family lawyer.

James Nadin

Partner in the London real estate team specialising in all aspects of non-contentious landlord and tenant law, freehold and leasehold acquisitions and disposals (including portfolio sales), site development and property advice for charities.

Jane Mitchell

Head of the family law team in Oxford, specialising in family law, particularly in more complex financial cases and difficult disputes concerning arrangements for children. Accorded top ranking in both Chambers UK and The Legal 500 for many years. A Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, one of only a relatively small number of UK family law specialists outside London who are members.

Jane Craig

Jane has been a senior consultant in the family department since April 2022, having previously headed the department for 16 years. She is a recognised expert in divorce finances with many years’ experience of cases involving trusts, inherited wealth, complicated remuneration structures and assets overseas. Her expertise includes the preparation of pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements. Jane is also a recognised expert in cases involving unmarried couples and has contributed to a number of significant practice guides to the law in this area. Many of Jane’s cases have an international dimension and she is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers (IAFL), a worldwide association of practising lawyers who are recognised by their peers as the most experienced and expert family law specialists in their respective countries. Jane has played a leading role in the development and practice of family law for 40 years. She was the first private law solicitor member of the Family Justice Council, which advises the government on family policy issues. She is an active member of Resolution’s Cohabitation Committee, which campaigns for reform of the law relating to cohabitants. Jane has represented clients involved in some of the country’s leading reported cases, including T v T, a case relating to jurisdiction in European family disputes and Grey, one of the leading Court of Appeal decisions on the impact of cohabitation on maintenance claims for wives and former wives. She has appeared talking about family law issues on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Law in Action’, ‘Woman’s Hour’, ‘Money Box’, ‘You and Yours’ and Radio 5 Live, as well BBC Breakfast, Channel Four News and BBC News.

Jeremy Clarke-Williams

Jeremy is head of the reputation management team specialising in defamation, privacy, data protection, confidentiality and harassment.Acted for PC Toby Rowland in his successful libel action against Andrew Mitchell MP (the ‘Plebgate’ case); for Peter Cruddas, CEO of CMC Markets and former Treasurer of the Conservative Party in his successful libel action against the Sunday Times and two of its journalists; for Carmarthenshire County Council in its successful defence of a libel action brought by Jacqueline Thompson and in the successful counterclaim for libel damages by its Chief Executive, Mark James; and for Robert Murat in successful libel claims against the Sun on Sunday, Daily Mail, Express and Daily Star. Has advised the Police Federation, the NASUWT and the League Managers’ Association and their members on defamation and privacy matters for many years. Publications of note: ‘A Practical Guide to Libel and Slander’ (with Lorna Skinner) (2003 – Butterworths/Lexis Nexis); defamation contributor to ‘Civil Court Service’ (published annually by Lexis Nexis)

Joanne Vengadesan

Partner advising on brand protection and intellectual property; software and IT contracts; electronic commerce and data protection issues; commercial agreements.

Joel Kordan

Partner in the real estate team with a broad range of commercial and residential experience. He has particular expertise in acting for family offices on a range of investment and development matters.He also has extensive knowledge of the automotive, rail and retail sectors, having advised on a number of landmark transactions for multinationals and public sector organisations alike. Examples include acting for a major auto manufacturer on its largest dealership in Europe and for the financial services division of one of the world’s leading automotive companies on its award winning UK headquarters. Joel also sits on the board of the British Motor Museum.His work covers new builds in the private rented sector, regeneration projects, shopping centres, hotels and leisure properties, car dealerships, offices and warehouses.

John Adams

John is an experienced insolvency and civil fraud partner in the commercial dispute resolution team who advises on proceedings at all levels of the English courts. He has significant experience in both domestic and cross-border insolvencies, and has developed a particular specialism in contentious cases arising out of fraud. John has advised on a number of complex, high value matters involving concurrent criminal or regulatory investigations, including the US trustee of Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities LLC, and the estate of Bernard L Madoff. He also has specialist expertise in digital assets where he advises clients on cryptocurrency, NFT and blockchain disputes. He advises on all aspects of asset investigation and recovery, including corporate and personal insolvency, and has assisted in the recovery of all types of assets, from bitcoin and other crypto assets to racehorses and overseas properties.

John Morrison

Partner in the firm’s real estate litigation team, specialising in disputes affecting commercial and residential property.

John Strange

John is a consultant in the marine, trade and energy team, and is based in the London office. He has in-depth experience of a range of maritime problems, particularly those affecting the cruise and ferry industries, superyachts and marine leisure, and the offshore industry. A member of the firm’s 24/7 global response team, John regularly advises shipowners, P&I clubs and underwriters on issues involving collision, salvage and insurance disputes. He also advises clients in respect of marine personal injury and fatality incidents, for which he is regarded as a market leader. With the increase in criminal sanctions in recent years, John has developed a particular expertise in guiding clients through investigations by the MAIB and HSE and in defending prosecutions by the MCA Enforcement Unit and the police. He holds the Diplôme Supérieur de Droit et de Français des Affaires, and is admitted to the Paris Bar.

John Doherty

John is a partner in the commercial dispute resolution department, specialising in product liability, EU competition, regulation and judicial review. Important cases John has advised on include a challenge to the constitutionality of an EU Directive concerning tobacco advertising, which was litigated successfully before the House of Lords and European Court of Justice. Advice and assistance is regularly provided to multinational consumer products manufacturers and distributors on product safety issues (including recalls) and compliance with product labelling and advertising requirements. He has particular experience working with companies from the Americas region.

John Kyriacou

Partner specialising in clinical negligence litigation and defamation.

John Chater

John heads up the firm’s international banking and finance team. He specialises in a broad range of finance transactions including acquisition finance, general corporate banking, real estate and project finance for both lenders and corporate borrowers. He has a particular focus on the real estate, technology, healthcare, hospitality and renewable energy sectors.

Julie Burton

Julie is a deputy and professional trustee in the Court of Protection team. She specialises in Court of Protection, personal injury trusts, elderly law including lasting powers of attorney, tax and care fee planning, wills and estate administration.

Justin Winterbottom

Partner in the real estate team specialising in portfolio management and with considerable experience across the property ownership life cycle. This ranges from acquiring and disposing of single units to multi-let industrial and retail estates, and acting for both landlords and tenants in all estate management matters.Previously acted for National Grid in respect of all operational work, whether electric or gas.

Kamran Rehman

Kamran is head of the commercial dispute resolution team. He advises clients on a wide variety of commercial, financial and property-related disputes as well as on professional negligence actions. Primarily, his work is focused in the banking, finance and real estate sectors, and clients include banks, other financial institutions and real estate funds. Since 2009, Kamran has successfully acted for a large number of banking and finance sector clients in professional negligence actions, predominantly against valuers and solicitors.

Kathy Potter

Partner in the Oxford office and head of the corporate tax team. Advises on the tax position for corporate acquisitions and disposals, reorganisations and restructurings, and corporate finance. This includes advising individuals on tax efficient investments, such as EIS and SEIS, and providing tax structuring advice for a planned exit including advising on the availability of Business Asset Disposal Relief. She also advises clients on VAT and SDLT implications of property transactions, including advising on the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS). She is experienced in advising on the taxation of remuneration and termination packages including IR35 issues, employee incentives, including both approved and unapproved share schemes, and advising on the tax issues surrounding issuing shares to employees and directors.

Laura Hughes

Laura is a partner in the family law team in the Guildford office. She advises on all aspects of relationship breakdown including divorce, financial settlements, children matters, cohabitee separations, TOLATA litigations and pre-nuptial agreements. With a thriving practice which includes a significant amount of work from referrals, Laura provides clear and robust professional guidance in a sensitive and empathetic manner. She is skilled in helping clients during complex situations, focusing on practical solutions while ensuring the best outcome for their needs, be that solicitor-led negotiations, arbitration, court proceedings or private settlement hearings. In 2021, Laura was named Citywealth’s Silver Family Lawyer of the Year - Senior Associate.

Laura Naser

Laura is a partner in the family law team in Guildford. She has expertise in domestic and international family law, including financial cases and disputes concerning arrangements for children, for both married and unmarried couples. She regularly deals with a variety of cross-jurisdictional and high net worth matters, most recently in the USA, Singapore, Dubai, Australia and Europe. She is also experienced in acting for clients in emergency situations, making urgent applications to the court in cases relating to children, finances and domestic abuse.

Laura McCann

Laura is an associate director (FCILEx) in the housing team with over 15 years’ experience in the sector. She acts for housing providers, including housing associations and local authorities, in the sale and purchase of both outright and affordable housing, and has a strong and loyal client following. She advises clients on joint venture/mixed tenure schemes and has significant experience of advising on schemes such as Help to Buy. Furthermore, she deals with all after sales matters including re-sales, staircasing and lease extensions.

Laura Dadswell

UK and international tax planning for high-net-worth individuals, with expertise in dealing with UK/US issues; capital tax mitigation and exit planning for owners of SMEs, will and trust drafting and related advice on trustees’ and executors’ powers and duties. Recognised in Private Client Practitioner’s ‘Top 35 Under 35’ list.

Laura Gorman

Laura is a partner in the Oxford real estate team specialising in commercial property. She advises clients across a variety of sectors including education, life sciences, property development, charities and retail. Laura has particular experience in advising both developers and landowners on residential and commercial development schemes, including site assembly, debt and forward funding and onward sales/lettings. She also acts regularly for clients in the science and technology sectors in relation to leasehold premises, particularly start-up and spin-out companies, and assists those acquiring newly built premises. Laura has significant experience acting for charitable clients on property disposals and advising on compliance with the relevant regulatory regime. She is also a charity trustee in a voluntary capacity.

Linda Storey

Linda heads the firm’s social housing team. She has over 20 years’ experience and specialises in advising housing providers on acquisitions, disposals, associated planning agreements, home ownership transactions (both affordable and outright sale) and lease extensions, as well as advising on Right to Buy and Right to Acquire. Linda has strong relationships with clients including the Peabody Group, L&Q, Bromford, Paragon Asra and Vivid Housing. She pioneers initiatives for clients designed to help individuals to move into affordable home ownership and increased delivery from new providers to the sector. Linda is a regular contributor to sector publications and regularly speaks at leading sector conferences.

Linzi Bull

Partner in the family law team. Undertakes financial orders on divorce/relationship breakdown/civil partnership dissolution; nuptial agreements; Children Act cases, with an emphasis on same-sex disputes; and pre-conception agreements. Regularly contributes to legal journals and writes articles for the gay press.

Lisa Page

Dr Lisa Page is a partner in the intellectual property team in Birmingham who specialises in the life sciences sector. With a client base ranging from pharmaceutical companies to biotech start-ups and spin-outs, she advises on all stages of the drug development pathway including registration, regulatory, pharmacovigilance, pre-clinical and clinical development as well as on multi-party collaborations and spin-outs. She has particular experience in the development stage of new products, covering pipeline, co-development, out-licensing and in-licensing arrangements. Alongside intellectual property and life sciences, Lisa has a separate practice focusing on state aid as it applies to research and development including the R&D&I Framework and GBER. She has advised on a number of high value grant funded and research infrastructure projects in addition to providing guidance to research organisations more generally on state aid compliance. Lisa has a PhD in molecular microbiology and direct practical experience of working in the pharmaceutical industry before re-training as a solicitor. Her scientific background provides a specialist insight into the issues faced by her clients and enables her to speak their language when advising on development programmes and the exploitation of life science technologies. She has held a number of in-house legal roles, including at the Energy Technologies Institute and Coventry University.

Louis Manches

Consultant working with property companies and entrepreneurs, institutions, developers, retailers and other occupiers. Advising on high level strategy and key negotiations, leading the legal team on substantial transactions, disputes and joint ventures. Recent work includes establishing and negotiating joint venture for redevelopment of major London station; advising developer on novel mixed use development in joint venture with leading Housing Association; advising blue chip retailers on strategic property matters; advising Irish developers and retailers on assembly and financing of their London portfolios; restructuring joint venture owning iconic London building; negotiating buy out of minority interests in high profile property company; acting for developers in disputes with funds over final profit payments; acting for owners of major business park on its funding and expansion.

Louise High

Louise is an associate director working across aviation, marine and insurance matters, based in the London office. She specialises in reinsurance and insurance litigation and commercial disputes as well as contentious and non-contentious matters working primarily on complex, high value and multi-jurisdictional disputes. Louise acts for insurers and reinsurers as well as financial institutions in the UK and European market. Her main area of expertise is within the aviation and aerospace industry acting on coverage disputes, maintenance agreements and leasing agreements. She regularly deals with matters including foreign jurisdictions, foreign law, policy disputes and contractual disputes. She has experience of litigation stretching from county courts to the Court of Appeal and has managed high value arbitrations in London with elements of domestic and international law. Louise has also acted for a large multinational corporation in the criminal courts in relation to the Dangerous Goods Regulations and carriage by air.

Lucy Edwards

Partner in the London private client team advising HNW individuals, families and trustees on a broad range of private wealth, tax and trust matters. Her core focus is on wealth and succession planning for UK and international families, including remittance and pre-immigration planning, tax-efficient financial arrangements post-divorce and administering complex estates. She has also built a specialism in advising family businesses.

Maria Riccio

Consultant in pensions team advising trustees, employers and intermediaries in relation to all aspects of UK pension arrangements. Having worked for many high-profile companies and schemes, she has the specialist knowledge to advise on complex legal issues, in particular relating to liability management, scheme changes, mergers, terminations and debt issues following corporate restructuring or insolvency. She has also been involved in high-profile litigation, most notably the leading equalisation case of Foster Wheeler Ltd v Hanley & Others.

Mark Sachs

Mark has a broad practice in shipping, commodity and commercial litigation. He has conducted arbitrations in London, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Stockholm either as counsel or lead partner. He also has considerable wet shipping experience having handled all types of casualties. He has litigated shipbuilding, construction and mining disputes. A fluent Mandarin Chinese speaker, Mark studied in China and is adept at working with Chinese evidence, both oral and written. He was one of the first foreign maritime lawyers to work in China in the late 1980s. In London arbitration he was the lead partner in a significant arbitration arising out of a cancellation dispute involving the vessel Atalanta. This has generated consequential High Court litigation in Westwood Shipping Lines and Weyerhaeuser NR Company v Universal Schifffahrtsgesellschaft mbH [2012].

Mark Lee

Mark heads the firm’s nationally recognised travel team and its insurance and reinsurance group. He is a catastrophic injuries lawyer with particular experience of cases involving severely brain injured claimants, who are involved in accidents abroad. He is very well connected in the travel insurance industry and advises insurers and policyholders regarding travel related disputes, both in a claimant and a defendant capacity. Notable case successes include Evans v R&V Allgemeine Verischerung AG, ABC v AXA France, Vann v Profeta de Sa, Julie Bygrave v Thomas Cook Tour Operations Ltd, and Susan Pimbblet v Kevin Clelland and Ethniki.

Mark Phillips

Mark is a partner in the banking and finance practice with expertise covering investment, development and structured financing advice for borrowers, lenders and junior and mezzanine debt providers. He works closely with other practice areas of the firm, including real estate, social housing, construction, private equity and restructuring.

Mark Sellers

Partner in the social housing team specialising in acting for registered providers on their acquisitions by way of outright purchase, conditional agreements, option agreements, golden brick agreements and associated development agreements.Additionally, Mark advises registered providers on all aspects of home ownership sales including shared ownership, market sales, help to buy, right to buy and lease extensions. He provides guidance on the management of housing stock including stock transfers, deeds relating to rights of light, party wall issues, loft conversions, assured shorthold tenancies and assignments of leasehold properties.Mark also acts for private clients and companies on a range of transactions.

Martin Codd

Partner with more than 30 years’ experience specialising in commercial and residential property in prime central London primarily for high-net-worth individuals and family offices. Main specialisation is in investment (both residential and commercial) and enfranchisement of flats and houses within London. Acts for various private limited property companies and investors, particularly property traders. Also advises on SDLT as well as complicated enfranchisement claims and landlord and tenant matters for both landlords and tenants.

Matthew Martin

Matthew is a partner, and global head of the corporate team. He provides cross border corporate and finance expertise to a wide range of quoted and unquoted mid cap companies. In addition to acquisitions and disposals, AIM listings and fund raising, Matthew advises on acquisition finance, restructuring and refinancing work, acting for both clients and lenders. He has developed expertise in accelerated sale processes and also specialises in asset realisation in the fields of corporate recovery and insolvency. Matthew is co-head of the firm's fashion, luxury and lifestyle sector group with a number of well-known brands in his client portfolio. Through the fashion, luxury and lifestyle sector, he is able to make a valuable contribution to the firm's digital technology expertise, particularly where it overlaps with the retail world. He is also a core member of the firm’s North American group, reflective of his cross border practice.

Meghan Vozila

Meghan is an immigration partner who advises on all aspects of immigration law. She has built up expertise particularly in complex immigration and nationality matters, and provides in-depth advice to a range of clients, from start-ups and SMEs to international household name brands. She is also recognised for her work with HNW and UHNW individuals, particularly in the creative and digital technology sectors and works regularly alongside colleagues in the private wealth department to provide tax, family real-estate and other services to the firm's international clients. A dual US/UK national, Meghan is very active in the firm's North America group, providing full service trans-Atlantic advice to businesses, individuals and families.

Michael Cash

Advises on non-contentious and contentious aspects of private client work; trust and estate litigation both domestic and international, succession planning, and acting for charities.

Michael Cole

Partner specialising in contentious and non-contentious employment matters for public and private sector clients; regularly undertakes advocacy in employment tribunals; advises on a wide range of employment issues; bespoke training for staff on employment issues.

Michael Brown

Partner in the commercial dispute resolution team advising on a wide variety of financial services and complex commercial disputes as well as on regulatory investigations, enforcement actions, and civil fraud claims. He has conducted group litigation for shareholder and investor claimants, and acted in international arbitrations and litigation in a number of high profile cases. His clients include funds, bondholders, investors and investor groups, banks and other financial institutions, high net worth individuals and corporates. Recent claims have involved contracts for difference (CfD), financial spread betting and exchange traded funds (ETF). He is also a solicitor advocate.

Michaela Britton

Michaela is a partner in the corporate team in London advising on a wide range of corporate transactions including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, partnerships, management buyouts, company re-organisations, fundraising, refinancing, acquisition finance, investment agreements, shareholders’ agreements, shareholder relations and corporate governance. She acts for a variety of clients from entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs to high-net worth individuals, family owned and managed businesses, family offices and large multi-nationals. A significant part of her work has an international element and she regularly advises non-UK based clients, with a particular focus on Europe, US, Middle East and Asia.

Mike Busby

Mike heads the real estate division, with overall responsibility for its strategic direction, and is a member of the firm's strategy board. He specialises in: strategic land advice for large landowners and mid-tier residential developers, including advising on promotion agreements, options and conditional contracts; portfolio acquisitions and disposals for high net worths and family offices; retail and leisure, including advising numerous golf course owners and operators; advising on hotel sales and purchases; advising national restaurant operators and retailers on their English portfolio; advising care home developments; and high value landlord and tenant work.

Mona Patel

Mona advises on UK and cross-border acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures and strategic partnerships, management buy-outs/buy-ins, restructurings and mergers, as well as representing stakeholders in sophisticated acquisitions, group restructurings and complex joint venture shareholder arrangements with particular expertise in the marine, trade and energy sectors. Whilst Mona has a predominant focus on investment, M&A and other corporate transactions, she also has an extensive commercial practice assisting clients across various sectors with their commercial contracts, including distribution arrangements, complex and bespoke supply agreements, logistics outsourcing agreements, technology and intellectual property contracts, licensing and collaboration. Mona has worked for clients in several different business and industry sectors including shipping, energy, trade, insurance, software, technology, ecommerce, telecommunications and media. She acts for insurers and other financial institutions, and shipping, transportation, technology, oil and gas companies, in a number of market segments and jurisdictions.

Nick Donnelly

Nick is a partner in the shipping group in the London office and a key member of the emergency response team. His clients include salvors, shipowners, charterers, P&I clubs, hull and property insurers. He specialises in advising on and handling claims relating to marine casualties, collisions, salvage, towage, wreck removal, cargo damage, machinery breakdowns and general average. This includes advising on contractual matters. Nick also has experience of criminal offences at sea matters and regulatory investigations, including Police, MCA and MAIB, following accidents, fatalities and breaches of the collision regulations. He has investigated casualties in the UK, Europe, Africa and South Asia. Prior to becoming a solicitor, Nick worked as crew in the yachting industry and still races regularly. This insider industry knowledge well qualifies him to advise on yachting claims, including racing rule disputes, collisions, product defects, and marina and yard liabilities.

Nick Humphreys

Nick is a partner in the London office specialising in both contentious and non-contentious employment work. He has particular expertise in the international aspects of employment law, industrial relations law and in the employment aspects of sport – particularly professional football. He advises on a wide range of HR problems, policies and strategy including the management of large-scale business re-organisations. His client base includes airlines, telecommunications companies, insurers, commercial marine sector businesses, yacht sector clients, as well as senior executive clients and clients in the employment aspects of sport. Nick provides a full range of advice for his clients which includes document reviews; general employment; employment litigation in the High Court and employment tribunal; industrial relations law advice for employers; the employment law aspects of company sales and business transfers; private international law aspects of employment law; and aviation and maritime employment law. He is the author of Trade Union Law and Collective Employment Rights (Jordan); an editor of the Sweet & Maxwell Employment Law Encyclopedia; and a contributor to Tolley’s Employment Law Service and Tolley’s Health and Safety Handbook. He is recognised by The Legal 500 as being ‘hugely experienced’ and ‘great to have in your corner’.

Pat Saini

Pat is an immigration partner who advises corporate and education sector clients, including the board of various universities and large private sector clients on risk management, sponsor compliance matters, partnership arrangements and the immigration aspects of business restructuring. Pat often liaises with senior UKVI officials on behalf of clients. She also has experience of challenging UKVI decisions to suspend, revoke or other UKVI action against sponsors. Her specialist areas of work also include immigration services for private individuals, many of whom are applying for Tier 1 investor and entrepreneur visas. She has a wealth of experience in dealing with human rights cases, appeals, judicial reviews and Court of Appeal matters. Her clients are spread across the firm’s education, charities, retail, sports and entertainment and technology sectors.

Patrick Slomski

Patrick is a partner in the firm’s aviation and aerospace team and is based in the London office. His practice is both contentious and non-contentious, including insurance coverage disputes, complex claims, and leasing and maintenance disputes. He has a very high profile in the aviation and aerospace sectors internationally, with experience in aviation catastrophes, insurance coverage (aircraft and space systems), products, major commercial disputes, reinsurance disputes, subrogation. He is a former examiner for the Chartered Insurance Institute.

Paul Crane

Paul is a partner in the shipping team and has a ‘dry’ maritime practice, consisting predominantly of P&I and defence matters. He receives instructions from owners, charterers and cargo interests together with their respective insurers. His experience covers a full range of maritime and insurance disputes, involving arbitration, mediation and commercial litigation at the highest appellate level. He has a significant track record in dealing with disputes involving bills of lading and other contracts of carriage, as well as charterparty recoveries. He has also developed particular expertise in handling containerised cargo claims and liquid cargo contamination claims comprising complex technical issues.

Paul Mander

Paul is head of the firm’s 40-lawyer employment team. He advises on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious employment and partnership matters and is recognised, in particular, for his expertise in restrictive covenant and injunction issues. Paul is experienced in all forms of employment litigation, both in the High Court and tribunals, as well as boardroom disputes, discrimination (in employment and partnership), TUPE matters and outsourcings. He works for a wide range of private sector employers, from a major fast food retailer to financial institutions and also acts for senior employees, including partners, founders and FTSE C-suite executives.

Penny Evans

Penny leads Penningtons Manches Cooper’s immigration audit, training and compliance work. She has been practising UK immigration since 2003 and worked as a registered migration agent in Australia before this. She specialises in assisting clients in improving their processes to minimise compliance breaches and finding practical solutions to immigration issues. Penny has extensive experience assisting both corporate and education clients, who appreciate her down to earth style. Her expertise includes leading immigration audits for universities and corporate clients, and providing training on areas such as prevention of illegal working, Skilled Worker and student sponsorship. Penny is a frequent speaker on immigration law and compliance and is often called upon to provide immigration risk assessments to institutions’ internal audit committees.

Peter Massey

Peter is a partner in the construction and infrastructure team leading on housing, development, construction and operational matters. Coming from an engineering background and having worked in house at AMEC plc, Peter has extensive experience of acting for both the public and private sector and clients praise him for his practical approach. His practice covers all aspects of contentious and non-contentious construction including development, joint ventures, building and FM contracts, procurement, ICT contracts, consultants' appointments, partnering agreements, bonds, PGCs and collateral warranties. He also advises on distressed schemes, dispute resolution, tactics and adjudication. Peter has particular expertise in the accommodation sectors including residential development, student accommodation, hotels and housing schemes. He has acted for leading investors, developers, contractors and numerous housing associations. He also has significant projects experience and has acted on some of the highest profile PFI/PPP schemes and he continues to work on health, leisure, education and housing projects in the UK.

Peter McElligott

Partner specialising in real estate and property finance issues.

Peter Stockill

Peter is a partner in the Construction and Infrastructure team in London, specialising in construction and related insurance disputes. Recognised by The Legal 500 as 'an energetic and effective litigator', he is highly experienced in resolving disputes arising on building, infrastructure and other engineering projects. He regularly advises employers, contractors, subcontractors, professionals and insurers on claims and dispute avoidance during projects and represents clients in litigation, arbitration, adjudication, expert determination and mediation. Peter has particular expertise in the use of adjudication to resolve disputes over interim applications, final accounts, variations, delay and other issues. Peter’s expertise in adjudication led to his client obtaining: the first ever stay of court proceedings for a final determination pending compliance with adjudication decisions in Anglo Swiss Holdings Ltd & Ors v Packman Lucas Ltd [2009] EWHC 3212 (TCC); a rare injunction preventing further adjudications pending compliance with earlier decisions in Mentmore Towers Ltd & Ors v Packman Lucas Ltd [2010] EWHC 457 (TCC); and an order for sale of two valuable properties to enforce adjudication decisions in Packman Lucas Ltd v Mentmore Towers Ltd & Anor [2010] EWHC 1037 (TCC). Peter also acted for the successful party in Bloomberg LP v Malling Pre-Cast Ltd [2015] EWHC 2858 (TCC) relating to the interpretation of a collateral warranty and Bloomberg LP v Sandberg and others [2016] EWHC 488 (TCC) relating to cost budgeting. Peter advises clients on live projects, including on change and termination and on managing the consequences of major events such as fire or escape of water and following the discovery of defects post completion, dealing with the initial consequences and investigations through to any ensuing dispute. He is currently advising several clients on fire safety issues in relation to cladding. Peter also advises clients on insurance coverage.

Philip Walton

Partner in the corporate team specialising in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and private equity, training of directors and corporate strategy. Sector specialisations include healthcare (particularly GP and pharmacy), education, charities, retail, digital and manufacturing.

Philippa Luscombe

Partner heading the clinical negligence and personal injury team in Guildford, Acts for claimants in all aspects of clinical negligence claims, particularly cases involving brain injury, delayed diagnosis, spinal care and injury and death. Acts for claimants in catastrophic injury personal injury claims – particularly brain, spinal and fatal injury claims. Advises on investigations and inquests

Phillip D'Costa

Phillip is a commercial disputes partner, head of the IT and IP disputes team and co-head of the India group at Penningtons Manches Cooper. He has over 20 years’ experience of complex, high value commercial litigation and arbitration, often with a cross-border element, and regularly advises on commercial, technology, financial services and civil fraud disputes, as well as enforcement and asset recovery. Phillip has acted on a number of board and shareholder, banking and IT disputes and represents a range of private sector clients. He assists businesses and individuals with insolvency and regulatory compliance issues, and has a particular interest in contentious and transactional work involving India, having acted on several English law disputes involving Indian parties.

Rachel Bradley

Partner in the commercial, IP and IT team, with a particular specialism in the life sciences and publishing sectors.Advises clients on a broad range of non-contentious IP matters, including drafting and negotiating trade mark licences, patent and know-how licences, copyright licences, and software licences. Her practice focuses in particular on advising biotech/pharmaceutical clients on commercial agreements such as confidentiality agreements, consultancy agreements, master services agreements, material transfer agreements, manufacturing agreements and clinical trial agreements, and on advising publishing clients on author publishing agreements, site licence agreements, and other book/journal publishing agreements.

Rebecca Dziobon

Rebecca is an associate director and specialist family lawyer with 10 years of experience working with international and domestic clients in London and the South East. She has particular expertise advising on financial issues including pensions, trusts and businesses. As a knowledge lawyer for the family department at Penningtons Manches Cooper, having changed her focus from advising individuals to supporting a legal team, she writes precedents, organises training and seminars, encourages and facilitates the sharing of knowledge and improves processes and systems. An experienced author of legal materials and articles, Rebecca has worked as a freelance professional support lawyer for LexisNexis. She has also written articles for New Law Journal, Solicitors Journal, Family Law Journal, Resolution’s The Review and Pensions World.

Rebecca Andrews-Walker

Rebecca is a specialist insolvency partner in the commercial dispute resolution team. She is experienced in the full spectrum of personal and corporate insolvency matters, both contentious and advisory, and is one of the few lawyers to be dual-qualified as an insolvency practitioner, holding both corporate and personal Joint Insolvency Examination Board accreditations. Drawing on her rare holistic insight on insolvency matters, Rebecca frequently represents some of the firm’s most significant clients, across both its UK and international offices, on complex, high value and high-profile insolvencies. She has also advised on a number of prominent CVAs in the leisure, hospitality and retail industries, and on challenges to them on unfair prejudice and material irregularity grounds. Rebecca is a regular speaker and trainer for MBL and strongly advocates the sharing of knowledge within the industry.

Rebecca Carlyon

Rebecca is a partner in the family department, advising on all issues arising from divorce and relationship breakdown, both financial and children related. She is hugely experienced in drafting pre- and post-nuptial agreements, both domestic and international. Her recent work includes acting for high profile individuals in the financial and property sectors, entrepreneurs and their spouses. Rebecca acts in complex cases, often with an international angle covering jurisdictions such as the US, Australia and Japan. A member of Resolution, the leading association of family lawyers in England and Wales, she is also a trained collaborative lawyer. Highly regarded by clients and her peers, she is one of the few family lawyers to have been recognised by The Lawyer as a prestigious ‘Hot 100’ alumni.

Rhys Clift

Rhys is a partner in the London office and a member of the shipping team. He has over 35 years’ experience in commercial litigation and arbitration, specialising in a wide range of insurance and reinsurance (marine and non-marine), in maritime casualties, such as groundings, explosions, fires and structural failures, as well as piracy, kidnap and ransom, political violence and offshore construction. Rhys has a particular interest in crisis management and cyber hazard. He is an active commercial mediator at SeaMediation.com and a listed Distinguished Neutral at CPR in New York. Rhys is the author of Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mediation in England and Wales, the second edition, published in 2019, and the principal architect and co-author of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Practice, published by the Institute of Insurance of London in 2011.

Richard Marshall

Richard is an experienced commercial litigator who deals in a wide range of contentious and dispute resolution work as well as commercial arbitrations. He is also an accredited mediation advocate and a member of the Commercial Litigation Association. Within his broad-based practice he specialises in commercial, corporate and property related disputes, professional negligence and matters arising from the international wealth sector. He also works closely with the family, private client and employment teams and is an expert in conflicts of law and jurisdiction issues, particularly with regard to the US. Through a combination of both strategic and legal advice, Richard plays an integral role in his clients’ businesses. Much of his work has an international and offshore element and he often manages multi-jurisdictional disputes. He is well regarded by his peers for his keen understanding of trial work on both sides of the Atlantic and is a leading partner in the firm's North America group. Richard has a wealth of experience in international and domestic arbitration and has published widely on these topics. He is often consulted by leading national newspapers for his comments on topical international law matters.

Ruby Dinsmore

Ruby is a partner in the employment team based in London. Her clients include top-tier senior executives, chairpersons, founders, managing directors, risk and compliance directors, and other C-suite executives of multinational companies. She has 15 years of experience and is commended by clients for her empathy, pragmatism, and tough negotiation skills. Focusing on acting for senior executives and partners, many of whom are based in the financial, tech and professional services sectors, she advises on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious employment, partnership and boardroom disputes and negotiations and is recognised, in particular, for her expertise in contractual negotiations and complex exit settlement negotiations and settlements, particularly for regulated individuals, and multifaceted whistleblowing and discrimination claims. She is skilled at protecting her client’s long-term interests whilst achieving high-value settlement agreements and, where appropriate, progressing her client’s cases in the employment tribunal and High Court. In addition to her senior executive practice, Ruby has a significant track record in advising, litigating, and negotiating pay and award disputes, non-financial misconduct, and discrimination cases. With a strong interest in issues facing women at work, Ruby regularly represents clients in sex, pregnancy and maternity discrimination matters, equal pay disputes, and sexual harassment claims, as well as advising individuals with mental health conditions in relation to disability discrimination and reasonable adjustment disputes. She is adept at supporting her clients through raising their grievances, navigating misconduct accusations, and challenging allegations of poor performance. A regular print and broadcast media contributor on employment law issues, Ruby has established herself as a thought leader and sought-after spokesperson. She has been interviewed by Sky News, BBC, ITV, LBC and 5Live and has appeared on the BBC’s Politics Show to discuss issues facing working mothers. She has also contributed to print articles in the Evening Standard, The Guardian, The Times, and other newspapers and magazines.

Rustam Dubash

Rustam is a consultant in Penningtons Manches Cooper's commercial dispute resolution team and the India group. He has over 35 years of commercial dispute resolution experience and during this period has been involved in high-value UK and cross-border litigation, including banking litigation and international arbitration as well as mediations resulting in early resolution of disputes. He also advises clients on pre-action strategy, again with the aim of resolving disputes early on. Rustam continues to represent several well known Indian corporates, banks, high-net-worth individuals and their families.

Ruth James

Ruth is a partner and trained collaborative lawyer in the family law team in Oxford. She specialises in financial matters and disputes relating to arrangements for children. Acting for both married and unmarried clients, she regularly advises on cases involving international elements and complex financial arrangements. She also acts in cases where there are allegations of parental coercion or control. Ruth is also particularly skilled in acting for business owners and executives, or their spouses, and advising where there are complex issues regarding company valuations and remuneration packages.

Ryan Myint

Partner in the private client team specialising in international wealth structuring, trusts and succession planning. Advises entrepreneurs, business owners, fund managers, property developers, international families, offshore trust companies and private banks on a range of private client matters. His practice includes ultra-high net worth Asian clients from Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as UK resident non-domiciled clients, some of whom have UK-US tax issues.

Sam Davies

Sam is a partner in the real estate division. He acts for a number of developers, landowners, landlords, tenants, buyers and sellers, and owner occupiers. Sam advises on all aspects of commercial property work, including acquisitions and disposals of complex development sites, dealing with options, promotion agreements and conditional contracts. He also deals with financing and refinancing of sites (acting for borrowers and lenders), buying and selling land and commercial buildings including offices, retail premises and industrial sites, and acting for landlords and tenants on all types of lease work.

Sara Stephens

Sara is an associate director in the real estate litigation team. She works with institutional landlords, investment funds and social housing landlords providing advice on building and estate asset management, building safety and service charges. Sara also has extensive experience of advising on a variety of other property disputes, including disrepair, possession and nuisance claims, as well as complex multi-party claims. She regularly writes for various industry journals and has had articles published in RICS Property Journal, Journal of Housing Law, Solicitors Journal and Legal Action Magazine. She has provided training for CLT and the Housing Law Practitioners Association, together with seminars and bespoke training sessions for clients and other property professionals. Sara is co-chair of the Law Society’s Housing Law Committee.

Sarah Duckworth

Sarah is a consultant in the Guildford family law team. With a wide range of practical experience and expertise in all family matters, she has worked on cases involving significant and complex assets, business assets, trusts and pensions, pre (or post) acquired and inherited assets, as well as those with an international aspect. She is also skilled in drafting pre and post nuptial agreements, and applications for financial provision for children. Often instructed in private children matters, Sarah has advised on disputes regarding child arrangements, school choice, or risk of removal from the jurisdiction, as well as international and internal relocation cases. She is used to dealing with cases where there are allegations of abuse, coercive control, parental alienation, and narcissistic traits. Sarah is also one of only a few family lawyers accredited to advise on the division of pensions upon divorce.

Sarah Kenshall

Sarah is a partner in the commercial, IP and IT team, based in the London office. She has a particular focus on technology law combined with an expert knowledge of intellectual property and the full range of legislation surrounding data, networks and systems. Additionally, she has an in-depth understanding of the financial regulatory framework within which fintechs operate. Acting for both tech sector clients, from SMEs to multinationals, and clients procuring technology, Sarah works with public sector and quasi-governmental bodies on critical policy and regulatory projects, particularly linked to the establishment of technology infrastructures to support AI and machine learning. She has recently been engaged to advise on a number of data infrastructure projects establishing governance structures for sharing data, whether commercialising data through marketplaces, sharing data through hubs or ‘pooling’ data for analytics.

Sarah Allan

A partner in the London office, Sarah is the head of the yacht team and works within the wider marine, trade and aviation group. She specialises in all yacht-related matters and advises owners, managers and yards on contracts relevant to superyacht operations, including sale and purchase transactions, re-fit, yacht charters and management agreements. Her expertise in this area has in part derived from her passion for sailing, as both an accomplished sailor and yacht master who has competed at international sailing events and worked on yachts. Sarah has particular expertise in yacht and superyacht litigation, including contractual disputes and insurance claims, and has handled significant yacht casualties, including total losses. She has also developed a practice in advising on matters relating to sailing regattas and racing incidents and rules related matters. She acts alongside the firm’s personal injury team in the event of more serious injury. With a background in shipping law, and having worked for an International Group P&I club, Sarah also frequently handles insurance claims and coverage disputes. She works closely with colleagues in the employment team to advise on regulatory issues, including crew issues arising in connection with the Maritime Labour Convention.

Sarah Lee

Partner in the contentious private client team advising individuals on a broad range of contentious and non contentious private client matters. Her contentious practice includes trust and estate litigation, disputed wills, breach of trust claims, administration disputes, professional negligence and Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims.Her non-contentious practice encompasses complex probate issues, powers of attorney, residential property ownership and general issues relating to personal affairs.

Seb Orton

Partner in the corporate team in London with extensive experience advising both private and public companies and financial institutions. His work covers a range of corporate issues with a particular focus on IPOs, secondary fund-raisings, M&A, including public company takeovers, and assisting listed companies on corporate governance and their continuing obligations.Has wide cross-sector experience and has recently acted on a full range of issuer-side transactions from a FTSE250 Main Market IPO for a financial institution to a variety of smaller Main Market and AIM transactions in the retail and health and care sectors.

Simon Bickerdike

Partner in the corporate team specialising in cross-border and domestic transactions including sales and purchases, joint ventures, management buy outs, reorganisations, fund-raisings, shareholders’ arrangements and general corporate advice. Simon has a particular focus on the impact of sustainability on business transactions and is one of the firm’s contact partners for Multilaw which is one of the world’s leading associations of independent law firms.

Simon Knott

Partner in the real estate team. He has considerable experience dealing with all aspects of commercial real estate including acquisitions, disposals, letting, development and funding. He has particular expertise acting for large corporate tenants with fast ‘roll out’ programmes with a focus on the retail and leisure sector including numerous convenience stores. His clients include Fitness First and White Stuff Limited. Examples of work include: acting for Fitness First for 14 years acquiring numerous gyms upon their behalf and dealing with general property matters. He dealt with the property aspects of the recent CVA and the subsequent disposal programme of the non-performing gyms. He met Fat Face when it had one shop and acted for the company until Jules and Tim’s (the founders) exit including dealing with the property aspects of that sale. Over the last five years he has been heavily involved with ground rents and his team have acquired hundreds of ground rent investments with an aggregate value in excess of £125m. He has acted for IKEA in connection with the development of the IKEA Southampton store; for a property investment fund in connection with the sale of a ground rent portfolio of 5,000 units; and for one of the big four banks in connection with the provision of acquisition finance in respect of West Tower Liverpool.

Stephanie Code

Partner in clinical negligence and personal injury team. Varied practice covering a wide range of clinical negligence cases with a focus on maximum severity claims, particularly birth, spinal and head injury and those with complex and novel issues and/or involving children.

Stephen Rome

Stephen is a partner in the dispute resolution group specialising in commercial litigation and insolvency. His experience crosses a number of disciplines including commercial disputes, financial services, cross-border claims and fraud. Stephen advises businesses of all sizes, from large corporations to SMEs and owner managed businesses. He has acted in a range of sectors including real estate, automotive, energy and technology. He has successfully represented clients in the Court of Appeal in a number of areas including freezing injunctions (Stephen Hunt (as Provisional Liquidator of Black Capital) v Raveneet Ubhi [2023] EWCA Civ 417); contempt proceedings (Loveridge v Loveridge [2021] EWCA Civ 1697), EWCA Civ 417, as well as shareholder and partnership disputes (Loveridge v Loveridge [2020] EWCA Civ 1104). He also has significant experience in the High Court, including in a breach of fiduciary duty and conspiracy to cause loss valued at £35 million (Henderson & Jones Limited v David Jason Ross and others [2022] EWHC 2560 (Ch).

Stephen Goldstraw

Consultant dealing with corporate tax, VAT and stamp duty.

Tammy Knox

Tammy is a partner in the London office, specialising in all areas of family law, particularly those with an international element. She is often sought out to advise HNWs on complex international child abduction and relocation disputes, and is equally skilled at dealing with financial issues arising from separation, Family Law Act applications and disputes regarding child arrangements. She has a strong practice in drafting pre and post marital agreements. Tammy can be instructed by teenage children who wish their voices to be heard in family law proceedings.

Teja Picton-Howell

Teja is a senior consultant in Penningtons Manches Cooper's corporate team and head of financial services regulatory. He specialises in UK, EU and international law in financial services regulation; investment, mergers and acquisitions; banking and capital markets; investment and shareholder disputes and international sanctions. Much of Teja’s work has an international dimension. This includes guiding UK companies expanding overseas, or overseas companies investing into or entering the UK market. He has over 30 years’ experience helping businesses, including private groups, financial institutions and investments funds, to successfully acquire, sell and invest in businesses worldwide. As a member of Penningtons Manches Cooper’s India group, Teja has helped many Indian companies enter the UK through acquisitions or establishment. He also has substantial experience working on transactions throughout Europe and in the Gulf. He is instructed to give specialised legal opinions on English company law and practice, including as expert evidence for use in litigation before courts outside the UK. He is a non-executive director of the fast-expanding Levi Roots/Reggae Reggae Group.

Tim Johnson

Partner in the real estate division in London. His practice encompasses contentious and non-contentious planning and infrastructure matters, including public inquiries, judicial reviews, High Court challenges, planning obligations, the Community Infrastructure Levy, and compulsory purchase orders.Acting for developers of all sizes, listed housebuilders, landowners, owners and occupiers, local authorities and other public bodies, he has particular expertise in large-scale strategic development projects, most of which comprise a significant amount of residential development. Regularly instructed on highways and other infrastructure schemes required to facilitate development and on land use issues, including environmental and ecological issues.

Tim Palmer

Tim is director of best practice and a member of the firm's management board. He is also Money Laundering Reporting Officer and Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA). The best practice team combines Penningtons Manches Cooper’s risk and knowledge functions which focus on keeping the firm safe and continuing to help ‘make it better’. Between 2010 and 2022, Tim headed the firm’s private individuals division which provides high quality advice on tax, family law and succession issues as well as a broad range of other services enabling private clients to achieve their personal goals. As a partner in the clinical negligence and personal injury team, he represented claimants for more than 20 years, successfully concluding many cases through negotiated settlements and where necessary at trial. He is accredited as a mediator by the Centre For Dispute Resolution and has been on the approved solicitors lists of the Spinal Injuries Association and Headway. He has also been a member of the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Panel, the AvMA Specialist Clinical Negligence Panel and the Legal Aid Agency’s Review Panel. In 2016 he was appointed an Honorary AvMA Panel member. Honorary AvMA Panel membership is awarded to selected former AvMA Panel members in order to recognise the longstanding and significant contribution that an individual has made in the field of clinical negligence and patient safety as well as to the work of AvMA.

Timothy Davies

Partner in the real estate team in Guildford. Specialises in acting for developers on the acquisition of development land for both commercial and residential use, including dealing with options, conditional contracts and planning agreements. Also advises various housing associations on site acquisitions and regeneration projects, together with joint ventures with private sector developers.

Tom Amlot

Partner dealing with all aspects of family law.

Tom Amlot

Tom is a partner in the family team in London. With more than 20 years’ experience in all aspects of family law, he has a strong track record in complex litigation, as well as expertise in the cross-over between conventional family work and cases involving invasion of privacy. He represents many international clients and acts in cases involving children, including international relocations, and some of the most complicated litigation passing through the courts. He is an accredited mediator and a collaborative lawyer and also sits as a private financial dispute resolution judge. He is active and well respected in the International Academy of Family Lawyers and has been appointed membership officer of the family law committee of the International Bar Association. He is also a regular speaker at international conferences.

Tom Walker

Tom is an employment partner in London. He acts for a range of clients from individual directors and executives to multinational companies. He regularly advises both boards and individuals on team moves and on financial regulatory matters where he has a particular expertise. He has a depth of experience in sex discrimination and whistleblowing. He has carried out several sex discrimination cases and achieved high payout settlements.

Tony Riches

Tony is a partner in the London shipping team. He provides legal and practical advice to ship owners, charterers, salvors, P&I clubs and property insurers about marine casualties, charterparty disputes, salvage, general average, limitation and cargo claims. Drawing on his experience as both a former mariner and a lawyer, Tony routinely analyses navigational and ship-damage incidents, including groundings, fires, collisions, dock damage, towage incidents, ice damage, stowage failures and mooring incidents, and advises on legal liabilities arising from them. He assists both owners and contractors in negotiating wreck removal agreements, drafts standard-form and bespoke contracts, and supports clients in finding solutions when problems arise during wreck removal projects. Tony has particular expertise in advising on complex casualty situations, and regularly conducts casualty investigations, including interviewing witnesses, processing VDR data, obtaining documentary evidence and assisting owners and crew onboard in the aftermath of collisions and groundings. He is also experienced in Admiralty and Commercial High Court proceedings and London arbitration - including LOF salvage arbitration - and has an extensive track record in cases involving multi-jurisdictional proceedings.

Tony Burns

Partner in the real estate division. Tony acts for a number of property companies, developers, and owner occupiers and deals with all aspects of commercial property work to include investment portfolio acquisitions and disposals, commercial leases, acting for both landlord and tenant, and all related documentation. He has particular experience in development work and specialises in advising on deal structures to enable acquisition, and subsequent development and disposal of sites. He is also experienced in dealing with overage agreements which are increasingly common in this market, and in other complex and unusual transactions. Work highlights include: disposal of a large industrial park in the Southampton area to ABP at a price of £89m, with the benefit of Crown leases; Acting for administrators on a lease of restaurant premises at a significant rent in the Covent Garden area, together with related development agreement, overage agreement, pre-emption agreement and other related documentation, and advising on the subsequent sale of the investment; disposal of portfolio of 18 properties to Goldman Sachs at a price of £75m; acting for the landlord in putting in place lease of power station site for Marchwood Power Station, Southampton, a £100m project, together with all related easements, leases of inlet and outlet structures and other related documentation; and acting for tenant on tidal energy lease from the Crown of part of the sea bed designed to derive energy from tidal movement after all testing and infrastructure put in place.

Tristan Hallam

Tristan is a partner in the personal injury team, based in the London office. He advises on all types of maximum severity personal injury work including road traffic and aviation accidents, employers’ and public liability claims and high value spinal, head and amputation injury claims. He has a special interest in marine accident work and a long track record of litigating in the Admiralty Court. With many years’ experience of acting for both private clients and a range of associations, Tristan has represented the Police Federation on numerous occasions, in particular acting for officers at risk under the Winsor reforms and where injuries prevent them from returning to front line or non-adjusted duties.

Veronica Gilmour

Partner in the family law team with a broad range of experience which includes advising on private children disputes, pensions on divorce and pre and post marital agreements. She has particular expertise in high-value, complex financial cases in both the UK and internationally. Accredited by Resolution as a specialist family lawyer, she has been at the forefront of the development of non-adversarial alternatives in family law matters for a number of years. She is a qualified collaborative lawyer with a thriving mediation practice and is a longstanding member of the Surrey Resolution Committee.

Virginia Henley

Virginia heads the firm’s charities team and plays an active role in the education sector group. She advises charities, universities and schools, and a wide range of not-for-profit organisations, on core legal, regulatory and governance issues. Her specialisms include charity governance, fundraising, trustee training, charity mergers, charity registrations and incorporations, commercial arrangements, and serious incident reporting. Her clients range from charities of all sizes to community interest companies, universities and Oxbridge colleges. She works closely with the firm’s private client and business services teams, particularly on real estate, employment and corporate matters.

Warren Collins

Warren is a leading personal injury practitioner with more than 30 years’ experience of handling catastrophic personal injury and fatal accident claims arising from UK and overseas accidents. He is involved in personal injury and medical malpractice litigation throughout the world and has conducted claims across Europe, Asia, the Far East, Australia, USA and the Caribbean. Warren has received multiple awards in recognition of his work including from UKABIF for inspiration in brain injury, the Spinal Injuries Association’s Excellence in Legal Care Award, and Eclipse Proclaim's ‘Claimant Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year’ and Catastrophic Injury Lawyer of the Year.

Will Axtell

Will is a partner in the corporate team, specialising in M&A, fundraisings, spin-outs and other corporate law matters. He is based in the Oxford office and has particular expertise in the technology and life sciences sectors. Will has a strong track record in complex and high value transactions, often with a cross-border element. He has advised on many US-UK international transactions and has acted on some of the largest Oxford University spin-outs to date. Will is also co-head of the firm’s digital business group. His clients range from start-ups and high growth companies to larger listed companies, as well as high net worth individuals and successful entrepreneurs. Will has a Magic Circle (Clifford Chance) and blue-chip in-house (Vodafone) background.

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