Adam is a Partner in the Finance & Banking Group. He leads the Firm's highly regarded practice defending clients against the financial services regulatory bodies. For more than 20 years, he has defended some of the biggest enforcement cases to emerge, ranging from the enforcement proceedings brought in relation to Barings in the 1990's to acting in the recent LIBOR and Forex investigations, and others not yet public. He knows the FCA prosecution well and has practical hands on experience in front of the decision makers. He also has extensive experience in cross jurisdictional matters that involve, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DoJ). In addition to defending contested actions, his work often takes place in the pre investigation and pre enforcement stages, helping clients protect themselves against future possible regulatory action. Adam's practice also includes a great deal of experience representing clients in front of a wide variety of other business regulators and enforcement authorities. He represents both individuals and institutions. Adam also leads the firm's Professional Discipline practice, advising professionals such as accountants, lawyers, insolvency practitioners and pension trustees who are facing challenge or investigation by regulatory or enforcement bodies. Adam also leads the firm's Professional Discipline practice, advising professionals such as accountants, lawyers, insolvency practitioners and pension trustees who are facing challenge or investigation by regulatory or enforcement bodies. He is also experienced in Court and arbitral proceedings, having acted in disputes involving substantial sums of money across arenas as diverse as funds, finance, private banking, spread betting, foreign exchange, structured products, pensions, insurance and capital markets. He combines 25 years' experience of litigating with an in-depth knowledge of the industry and the relevant rules. Adam is widely recognised as a leading individual in the area of Financial Services. The Contentious Regulatory practice that he heads is ranked in Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners and Adam himself has been consistently rated over the years by both legal directories. Legal 500 praises the group's "high-quality and commercially savvy advice" and states that "the ‘very experienced and wily’ Adam Epstein is the undoubted standout". Chambers cites Adam as "extremely good and knowledgeable in this area" and applauds his "extremely focused, very client-friendly" approach stating that he is "exactly the person you would want on your side". Legal 500 2016 states that "he provides 'calm, sensible and sound advice' and is 'revered by his opponents as an expert in his field.'".
Mishcon de Reya LLP
taylorvinters.com taylorvinters.comLawyers
Allison is a Partner in the Private Equity group. She focuses on private equity related transactions as well as mergers & acquisitions. She has particularly extensive experience acting for management teams and owner/founder-managers, as well as having acted for private equity institutions and investee companies.Allison also provides general advisory and transactional services to corporate businesses and entrepreneurs. With over 15 years' experience, her practice covers a variety of sectors including financial services, recruitment, technology and retail.
Amanda Gray is a Partner in Mishcon Private, specialising in Art Law and the related field of Luxury Assets. She is Practice Lead for Art Law and chairs Mishcon's firm-wide multi-disciplinary Luxury Assets Group. Amanda is valued by her clients for her commercial, flexible approach and depth of knowledge across a diverse range of legal problems faced by those operating within the art market and luxury assets fields. In addition to her Art Law practice, Amanda, as a long standing private client lawyer, has been able to bring her experience of dealing with sensitive personal situations to assisting bereaved families with inquests and advising clients on a range of medical negligence issues and loss of mental capacity. An art law specialist with over 13 years experience, she is valued by her clients for her commercial and solution driven approach and depth of knowledge. Her client base includes collectors, dealers, auction houses, artists, public and private institutions and foundations. She assists clients across a diverse range of contentious and non-contentious legal problems faced by those operating within the art market and luxury assets fields. These include sale and purchase agreements, art and antique collection management, loan and agency agreements, artists' resale rights regulations, special projects, bringing new discoveries to the market place and advising the art market on anti-money laundering regulations. Her specialist contentious work includes claims arising from due diligence issues including authentication and title claims, disputes arising out of breaches of contract, negligence and misrepresentation. Matters are often international, high value, and high profile with significant commercial and personal implications for the reputation and legacy of those involved. As a leading member of our multi-disciplinary Luxury Assets Group, Amanda provides advice to clients on luxury assets including classic cars, bloodstock and jewellery, each with nuances individual to their respective fields. Amanda is a Trustee of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA); the pro-bono General Counsel for Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, Sussex, which houses the permanent collection of works by the Ditchling Guild and is a member of the Responsible Art Market committee, London Chapter.
Andrew is a Partner in Mishcon Private. Andrew advises individuals and families on a wide range of areas affecting their businesses and their personal affairs. Andrew has spent many years specialising in transactional work, shareholders agreements, partnerships and joint ventures. He also deals with transactions involving high value chattels, secured lending and insolvency. Andrew's clients are both UK-based and international, and come from a wide range of sectors including finance, property, art, betting and gaming, politics, technology, leisure and the third sector. Andrew also advises high net worth international individuals and families on all aspects of their personal and financial affairs as well as their offshore trusts and corporate structures. Andrew often takes on a general advisory role for a number of clients, helping them to negotiate their way through whatever challenges are facing them. Andrew is a member of our multi-disciplinary Luxury Assets Group, which advises individuals and businesses on the buying, selling, structuring and protection of luxury assets across the globe.
Andrew is a Partner in the firm's Corporate department, having been called to the Bar in 2001 before transferring to become a solicitor and qualifying in 2003. He is a highly experienced transactional and commercial advisory lawyer, specialising in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, shareholders' agreements and complex commercial contracts. His work is both in the UK and overseas, with a particular focus on entrepreneurs, start-ups, SMEs and bespoke contractual arrangements.Andrew is the lead partner for M:Tech, Mishcon de Reya's legal mentoring and advice programme for early-stage tech companies.Andrew takes a frank and commercial approach to advising his clients, who rely on his counsel and his ability to act as a sounding board on matters affecting all aspects of their business.He has advised businesses in a diverse range of industries, including fashion and brands, technology and online platforms, wholesale distribution, charities, media, healthcare and private members' clubs.Andrew is intimately involved in all aspects of the firm's graduate recruitment process and vacation scheme, including interviewing, assessing and supervising students and trainees. He has delivered numerous training sessions both internally and externally and has given talks at BPP Law School and Leeds University. Andrew also acts as a mentor for entrepreneurs, including for one of our MdR Lab 2018 companies and as part of Walpole's Brands of Tomorrow initiative, a bespoke mentorship programme for aspiring British luxury brands.
Andrew is a Partner in Mishcon Private and heads up the Tax group. He advises high net worth UK and international families and trustees on all aspects of UK and offshore tax, succession planning and trusts. He regularly advises on residence and domicile issues including the statutory residence test, business investment relief and the locations of offshore trusts. He advises on philanthropy and the establishment of charitable trusts and foundations. His diverse range of clients cover all sectors and ages and include many high profile names. Andrew also advises entrepreneurs and key executives on relevant tax reliefs and tax efficient investments, such as IHT Business Property Relief, CGT Entrepreneurs Relief, Enterprise Investment Schemes and Venture Capital Trusts. He is a published author on tax and estate planning, has written numerous articles and is quoted widely in the national press. Andrew has been included in the Citywealth Leaders List since 2010 and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
Anita is a Partner and Head of Planning in the Real Estate department. The Planning team advises leading commercial and residential property developers, property companies, investment funds and high net worth individuals on a broad range of planning matters. Anita advises clients on strategic planning approaches to maximise value, create flexibility and minimise risk and development costs. She finds solutions to complex planning issues and regularly advises on planning appeals and challenges, planning, highway and development agreements, community infrastructure levy, assets of community value, planning policy, environmental impact assessments, listed buildings, planning enforcement, town and village greens, CPOs, certificates of lawfulness and other public law matters.
Anju is a Partner in the Real Estate department. She has over 20 years' experience specialising in investment, development funding and property development work for a range of clients across all sectors in the real estate industry including retail, offices, industrial and logistic sectors. Anju also specialises in development pre-lettings. Anju has an established reputation and track record with clients for understanding and project managing portfolio and complex acquisitions and disposals. Her clients appreciate her driven and proactive approach to closing deals. She has acted for a broad spectrum of clients including institutional investors, publicly quoted and private property companies, property funds, property developers, financial institutions, overseas investors, high net worth individuals, retailers and corporate occupiers.
Anthony is a highly regarded lawyer. He has held several central roles at Mishcon de Reya, including serving on our Management Board, ten years as head of the litigation practice and is currently our Deputy Chairman. Anthony is the Firm's most senior solicitor advocate, and has appeared in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal. He has significant experience in arbitration and is involved in the Firm's work in public advocacy. Anthony is a trusted advisor to his often high-profile clients, and typically acts for ultra-high net worth families and individuals in personal and business disputes. Anthony's clients also include companies and charities. As a recognised academic, Anthony now holds the Chair in Law and Arts in the Faculty of Law, UCL. He was for several years a visiting professor at Birkbeck, University of London in the Department of English and the Humanities. He is a noted author who has written extensively on law, literature, art and culture. Anthony serves as Chairman or Non-Executive Director of a number of companies, some of which are clients of Mishcon de Reya. He was co-founder and first chairman, and then Vice President, of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund until it was wound up. He also serves as a Trustee on several charitable and non-profit organisations.
Åsa is a Legal Director in the Employment department. She has extensive experience in all areas of contentious and non-contentious employment law. A professional support lawyer, she is in charge of knowledge management strategy and development for the department. Her remit includes developing departmental expertise, precedents, know-how and training (for both the employment team and clients), ensuring all concerned are fully up to speed with latest legal developments.
Charlotte is a Legal Director in the Funds and Financial Services team and has experience in both UK financial services regulation and funds-related matters.Her financial services experience is broad, encompassing the perimeter of regulation including: advising unregulated entities and individuals on whether they need to become authorised; the marketing of financial products; appointed representative arrangements; interpretation of the FCA Rules and Guidance; and advising on UK anti-money laundering and proceeds of crime legislation. She also regularly advises on the consumer credit regime and regulated mortgages.In terms of her funds experience, Charlotte advises investors and onshore and offshore investment fund managers in relation to real estate, private equity and venture capital funds, in connection with a broad range of matters, including: fund formation and on-going operational and regulatory matters - including under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive; co-investments; and internal reorganizations. She also advises on the establishment and restructuring of UK investment managers and investment advisers.Charlotte is described in The Legal 500 as "able and thorough".
Chhavie is a Partner in the Real Estate department specialising in real estate disputes. She has particular experience in advising developers on avoiding disputes and, where issues do occur, how to mitigate against them in order keep the development on track. This includes advising clients on minimising the potential of rights of light related claims. Chhavie has also successfully acted in connection with planning judicial reviews and has defended clients from applications to register development land as town and village greens. She also has extensive experience of acting for developers on rights of light strategies including the use of insurance policies and section 203 Housing and Planning Act 2016 to mitigate risks. She advises both landlords and tenants on all aspects of their relationship, including business lease renewals (both unopposed and opposed), dilapidations, tenant insolvency, recovery of arrears, service charge disputes, consents, rent review and issues relating to quiet enjoyment.
Claudia is a Partner in the Real Estate department, specialising in commercial real estate. She has transactional experience in all aspects of commercial real estate including investment sales and acquisitions, development work and landlord and tenant work, acting for both parties. She has also provided real estate support for corporate- and finance-led transactions. Claudia acts for a broad spectrum of clients ranging from pension funds and banks to private investors, developers and property companies. Her current focus is acting for Capital & Counties Properties Plc on the management and development of its Covent Garden portfolio.
Daniel is Of Counsel in the Planning and Environment Group. He is experienced in handling complex and high profile developments and property deals, working with master developers and major property owners as well as acting for a range of investors and retail occupiers. Typically this kind of work covers planning agreements, applications and appeals (including environmental impact assessments), inquiry work, judicial review and enforcement. Daniel also advises on compulsory purchase, highways, environment and related public law. Daniel began his career in the public sector – as a trainee at Warwickshire County Council and then as a principal solicitor for East Cambridgeshire District Council.
Daniel is a Partner and Head of the Property Litigation team. One of the largest and most well-regarded practices in London, the team advises leading UK property companies, developers, corporate occupiers, investment funds and high net worth individuals. Daniel's specialism is in complex property related disputes, including development disputes, injunctions, judicial reviews, dilapidations, rights to light and neighbourly matters, service charge disputes, trespasses, consents, rent reviews, lease renewals, high value residential disputes and joint venture disputes. Daniel and his team regularly participate in court and trial work – including in the Appeal Courts. Daniel and the lawyers he works with are highly skilled litigators and experienced negotiators, mediators and arbitrators. Their cases, given their size and complexity, often attract significant media interest and require a commercial and strategic approach. Consistently ranked at the top of the legal directories, Daniel is included in Chambers 100, the first ever ranking of the UK's top 100 business lawyers.
Daniel is a Partner in the Real Estate department with over 20 years' experience, specialising in all aspects of commercial property investment and development, with particular emphasis on investment structures for quoted and private property companies and funds. Daniel acts for a range of UK real estate investment and development clients including O&H Properties, Matterhorn Capital and Mansford. His matters include advising O&H on the redevelopment of the Podium Shopping Centre in Bath, with a subsequent letting of the site to Waitrose to create their Waitrose At Home concept, and the redevelopment of Christian Dior's flagship London store in New Bond Street. He also acted for a group of investors led by the Matterhorn Palos Partnership on its acquisition of Hammersmith's Kings Mall Shopping Centre and its subsequent disposal for £153 million. Daniel also has expertise in student accommodation development and PRS/build-to-rent development and funding. This includes advising specialist PRS investor and operator Fizzy Living on various forward funding schemes such as the circa £100 million forward funding and purchase of a 348-unit residential scheme at Silvertown Way in Canning Town. In addition, Daniel acts for banks on a variety of property finance transactions and has particular expertise in development finance.
Daniel is a Partner and Chair of the Employment department, sitting on the Management Board. He is one of the pre-eminent London employment lawyers, working for corporates, LLPs and senior executives in contentious and non-contentious matters that range from High Court and Employment Tribunal litigation to advice on recruitment, termination, discrimination and competition issues. He has over 25 years of experience and in that time has litigated many landmark cases up to Supreme Court level and is a recognised expert on restrictive covenant enforcement, team moves, discrimination, whistleblowing and employee reorganisation and restructuring. Daniel has made a particular name for himself in financial services, including investment banking, private equity and hedge funds, and recruitment, media and sport.
Daniel is a Partner in the Corporate department and leads the Funds and Financial Services team. He has significant experience helping our private equity and real estate clients on the entire fundraising process, including marketing their funds to investors, setting market-standard commercial terms of the fund, agreeing documents with investors and closing the fund.Daniel assists institutional and boutique fund managers across private equity and real estate including specialist strategies across growth capital, venture capital, credit and those raising buy-and-build platforms. Daniel acts for managers whether they are raising a discretionary fund, spinning out of an existing institution or raising a series of co-investment funds. He also assists institutions and Mishcon family office clients on their fund investment and co-investment programmes. Chambers and Partners recognise Daniel's "deep expertise in the structuring of a variety of funds, including fund of funds, venture capital and debt vehicles" describing him as "similarly well versed in the tax and regulatory aspects of asset management". Daniel has authored chapters in The Guide to Responsible Investment (PEI: Private Equity International) and Understanding Private Debt in Europe (PEI: Private Debt Investor).
Danny is a Partner and Head of the Insolvency Group. He is a litigator specialising in insolvency and fraud and is experienced in managing complex litigation, investigations, fraud and asset recovery cases.He is a specialist in insolvency litigation, acting both for and against administrators and liquidators, banking and finance institutions and also large creditors.Danny has over 20 years' experience as a litigator in complex and high value insolvency and fraud cases. He is currently working on a number of large investigations and cases in London, but also significant cross border cases in Luxembourg, Malta, Cayman, Guernsey, Belize and
Dario is a Consultant in the Tax Disputes & Investigations team. He is a leading practitioner in indirect taxes, particularly in financial services. Dario joins Mishcon from FTI Consulting where he was a Senior Managing Director of their European Tax Services Group. Prior to his role at FTI, Dario was Global Head of Indirect Taxes and Transfer Pricing at Barclays Bank Plc, where he gained experience, not only in the technical tax and regulatory aspects of international financial services, but also as a consumer of professional advisory services. Dario also spent 14 years at Ernst & Young, 10 of those as an indirect tax partner. His clients included a range of leading UK and international businesses, and his work embraced the conduct of many high-profile appeals in the Tribunal and Upper Courts. One of his early accomplishments was successfully arguing for VAT purposes that Jaffa Cakes, are in fact “cakes.”
David is a Partner in Dispute Resolution department. He is an insolvency litigation specialist.David acts regularly for banks, insolvency practitioners, trade creditors, directors, shareholders, the Insolvency Service and foreign lawyers on both domestic and cross border insolvencies. He has extensive insolvency litigation experience, in particular in the context of fraud, cases concerning validity of security, asset recovery, guarantees, director’s duties, office holders duties, transaction avoidance and disqualification proceedings. He has particular expertise in restructuring and insolvency assignments in the insurance and financial services industries and the interaction between FSMA and the Insolvency Act.David is a CEDR accredited mediator and a member of the R3 Education Committee. He is a consultant to Oxford University Press and is on the Consulting Editorial Board for LexisNexis and is recognised by both Chambers and Legal 500 as a leading practitioner in insolvency law. He lectures regularly on insolvency litigation and related topics and is the co-author of the Administrations chapters in the current edition of Tolley’s Insolvency Law. David has recently been appointed by the Ministry of Justice onto the Insolvency Rules Committee.David sits on Consulting Editorial Board for LexisNexis, the Education Committee of R3 and is a peer reviewer for Oxford University Press on restructuring and insolvency publications.He also sits on the Insolvency Rules Committee, appointed by the Ministry of Justice
David is a highly experienced litigator and one of only a small number of IP lawyers in the UK who have taken both patent and trade mark cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union. He has acted in a number of high profile and often ground-breaking cases before both the UK and European Courts including successfully representing Sky in the first passing off case to reach the UK's highest court (the Supreme Court) in over 25 years (Starbucks v. Sky) and acting for Nintendo in securing the first ever blocking injunction against ISPs in reliance on technological protection measures under the UK's copyright legislation. Additional high profile actions include: HTC v Gemalto; Sky v Microsoft; Napp v Sandoz; ratiopharm v Alza; Sky v Skype; Marks & Spencer and others v One in a Million; Lupin v. Gilead; Ann Taylor v. Holzer; Sony Computer Entertainment v Pacific Game Technology; Racing UK v Satellite Information Services; Arrow Generics v Merck; Cairnstores v Astra Zeneca; and Servier v Lupin. In the patent sphere, David advises on infringement, validity and ownership disputes, the scope of protection of Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) and disputes over standard essential patents (SEPs) including their licensing on FRAND terms (principally for implementers). He also has considerable experience advising on "clearing the way" strategies in relation to pharmaceutical patents. Recent representations include acting for Lupin in its successful application to revoke Gilead's SPC for the HIV treatment Truvada® following hearings before the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU and the Court of Appeal in London. In the area of brand and design protection, David has extensive experience advising on brand and design portfolio management with particular expertise acting in administrative proceedings before the UKIPO and the EUIPO and their respective appellate tribunals, including appearing successfully in numerous cases before the General Court of the EU. David is one of only eight UK IP lawyers listed in the Legal 500 "Hall of Fame", is ranked as a leading individual in Chambers (IP, life sciences and patent litigation), IAM Patent 1000 (patents and life sciences), Who's Who Legal (patents, life sciences and trade marks) and is recognised as one of World Trademark Review's "Global Leaders". Recent commentary from the directories includes: "tough as nails... a 'natural litigator' who is 'experienced and aggressive" (World Trademark Review); "a real client's lawyer, always very tenacious in looking after their interests…He is good to work with and gets the best out of his team." and "has impeccable judgement on strategic matters" (Chambers); "outstanding experience in this arena makes him a force of nature in the courtroom" (IAM Patent 100). David was recognised as the UK Practitioner of the Year at the 2020 Annual Managing IP EMEA Awards.
David is a Partner in the firm's Employment Department, practising across all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law. His experience ranges from complex litigation in the specialist employment tribunals and superior courts, to corporate transactions, business restructuring, regulatory investigations, complex HR advisory services and international employment law (supporting both multi-jurisdictional commercial transactions and stand-alone cross-border HR projects). David works across a variety of sectors, with particular expertise in Financial Services, Media and Life Sciences. In particular, David's practice across the Financial Services sector focusses on the intersection of employment law and conduct risk from a regulatory perspective. This relates to the high stakes employment aspects of regulatory enforcement issues and investigations from both employee conduct and remuneration perspectives, supported by David's expertise in sectoral remuneration regulation across the Banking and wider Financial Services sector.
Derval is a Partner in the Finance and Banking Group in the Dispute Resolution department. He specialises in complex finance and banking disputes and has experience of major commercial and banking cases in English and foreign courts and arbitration forums. He has been involved in disputes involving rights in respect of loan notes, interest rate hedging products, SIV-lite structures, syndicated loans, sovereign debt and interbank money market debt. Derval has considerable expertise in property acquisition finance disputes and has specialist knowledge of NAMA-related matters. He also has a particular focus on CIS/Russian disputes. Legal 500 has commended Derval on giving "exceptional service" to clients. Derval is a Solicitor Advocate.
Ed is a Partner in the Commercial Real Estate department, with specialist expertise in high value investment sales and acquisitions across all sectors and commercial and residential-led development projects, including student and PRS/build-to-rent schemes. He regularly advises on real estate finance transactions with a particular emphasis on development finance. In addition, Ed is highly experienced in landlord and tenant matters, particularly on significant pre-let agreements. Ed acts for a broad spectrum of clients ranging from quoted corporates and UK and overseas property companies to developers, banks and private investors. His clients include Derwent London Plc, Endurance Land LLP, Nan Fung Group, O&H Properties, PGIM Real Estate, GWM Capital, Watkin Jones Plc (one of the UK’s leading developers and managers in the build to rent and student sectors), specialist student developer Fusion Students and the build-to-rent investor and operator Fizzy Living. His recent highlights include advising Derwent London on the pre-letting of the Brunel Building (one of the last major sites to be developed in Paddington Basin) to Sony Pictures Entertainment, Premier League, Hellman & Friedman and a number of other tenants. Ed also acted for Watkin Jones PLC on the proposed build-to-rent development of significant scale at the Titanic Quarter, Belfast, and advised Hong Kong based investor Nan Fung Group and developer Endurance Land on two pre-lets totalling 114,000 sq ft within The Bailey in the City of London. He recently advised student accommodation provider Fusion Students on its £1.5 billion joint venture with US investor Cain International, on the circa £315 million sale of their 'Kinetic portfolio', and on the new £210 million student accommodation site at Brent Cross Town, forming part of Related Argent's regeneration scheme in North West London.
Elliot is a Partner in the Real Estate department. He has extensive experience advising developers, entrepreneurial landowners, investors, commercial landlords, corporate occupiers, and technology and life science companies on all aspects of commercial real estate transactions with particular areas of expertise including: renewable energy projects; strategic land development; commercial landlord and tenant; the acquisition of land for commercial and residential development; real estate aspects of international expansion into the UK.
Emma is a Partner in the Real Estate department, specialising in property disputes. She has dealt with wide range of property matters concerning all types of property interests and acting for significant property owning companies, large corporate occupiers, retailers and high net worth individuals. Much of Emma's work involves advising on complex legal issues where litigation is often involved or contemplated. She is particularly experienced in dilapidations claims and contract/joint venture disputes having acted on a number that have involved proceedings and trials. She has also worked on contentious business lease renewals (both unopposed and opposed), property management issues (such as recovery of arrears, service charge disputes, consents and rent reviews), quiet enjoyment, contract disputes, trespass claims, covenant disputes, easements (including rights to light and rights of way) and adverse possession.
Gareth Minty is a Partner in the White Collar Crime & Investigations Group. He advises clients across the full range of litigation relating to white collar crime, including: private prosecutions, internal investigations, white collar criminal defence, restraint and confiscation of assets advice, and anti-bribery and corruption compliance advice. Since joining Mishcon de Reya, Gareth has drawn on his experience as a senior lawyer in the Central Fraud Division of the Crown Prosecution Service to successfully conduct the largest private prosecution brought to date involving a complex €100m fraud, which resulted in a sentence of 8 years’ imprisonment. Gareth’s private prosecution experience also extends to: prosecuting on behalf of Sky UK in relation to a fraud against the company’s intellectual property, an internal accounting fraud committed against a UK corporate, proceedings for international blackmail in a corporate context, and advising in respect of prosecuting for company director offences. Additionally, Gareth has taken the leading role in defending high profile SFO prosecutions for money laundering and corruption, as well as acting for clients who have been investigated by the City of London Police, the FCA, HMRC, the Metropolitan Police, and the US Department of Justice. Gareth is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and is one of firm's trainers of prospective CFE's. He is also a member of the Private Prosecutors' Association, the Fraud Lawyer's Association and the International Bar Association.
Gary is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution department. He is an international litigator who has specialised in complex commercial disputes involving dishonesty, fraud and corruption issues for over 37 years. For the first 13 years of his career Gary worked in Hong Kong and headed up the Litigation Departments of two of the leading firms there. During this time Gary worked for the leading multi-national financial institutions in Asia, assisting them in asset recovery exercises and enforcing foreign judgments in Hong Kong and throughout Asia. In 1991 Gary joined Mishcon de Reya and founded the Fraud Group which he led for over 15 years. He has pioneered the use of injunctions in the arena of asset recovery with particular emphasis on freezing assets, forcing disclosure of financial information and seizing evidence via search orders in order to force speedy resolutions of commercial disputes. In the course of his asset tracing activities Gary has developed an in depth knowledge of the workings of the various offshore banking and trust jurisdictions which are habitually used by parties to conceal their assets. As a result Gary is regularly retained by clients who are seeking creative solutions to unwind or break-up complicated trust and asset sheltering structures in order to access secreted assets. Gary also regularly advises organisations on how to protect themselves from bribery and corruption risks and assisting them in dealing discreetly with internal and external issues arising when such risks materialise. Gary works closely with Chief Executives, FD’s, HR Heads as well as Legal and Audit Departments to devise strategies to minimise the criminal, civil and reputational exposure created by internal and external corruption. Gary is co-founder of The International Fraud Group. The IFG (previously known as the Fraud Network) is a handpicked group of specialist fraud lawyers across 20 countries focused on securing injunctions, asset recovery and trust busting remedies in key offshore jurisdictions. Chambers 2014 cites Gary as a "great thinker, brilliant tactician and good negotiator." Gary was appointed as a Director of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) UK Chapter in March 2014. His election to the Board of the UK Chapter of the ACFE reflects his experience and standing in the field of fraud prevention and protection. Gary became a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) in 2014.
Genevieve is a Partner in the Finance & Banking Disputes Group of the Dispute Resolution department.She has a broad practice with a focus on complex commercial litigation, regulatory investigations, professional negligence claims and competition litigation. She has significant experience advising both claimants and defendants.Genevieve is regularly instructed to provide pre-action strategic and tactical advice to clients, often leading to the early resolution of disputes. She has acted for investment banks, private equity funds, and companies in the finance and retail sectors, as well as individuals at confidential interviews in connection with regulatory investigations and at depositions in connection with US litigation.Genevieve recently acted for Tesco and WH Smith in the high profile interchange fee litigation against MasterCard and Visa, assisting Tesco in successfully settling its claims against both card schemes and WH Smith in reaching a settlement with MasterCard.In addition, she has represented clients in numerous mediations and is a Solicitor-Advocate with rights to appear in all Higher Courts (Civil) of England and Wales. She is a regular speaker at conferences including the CDR Autumn Litigation Symposium 2016 and the CDR Spring Competition Litigation Symposium at which she chaired panel discussions.
Greg is a Partner in the Employment department, with over 20 years' experience in employment law. He provides advice to both employers and senior executives across a range of sectors, with a particular focus on Financial Services, LLPs and partnership disputes. His clients range from public companies, banks and major accountancy practices to PLC directors, senior banking executives and partners in law firms.Greg is experienced in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law, advising employers on workplace disputes, defence of whistleblowing and discrimination claims, major restructures and day to day queries. He works with senior executives on the terms of their engagement and departure in addition to disputes and regulatory issues.Greg has a particular specialism advising on major disciplinary investigations, acting for employers as well as for senior executives accused of misconduct whether by their employer, or the FCA/PRA, or other regulators. He regularly operates at the intersection of employment law and regulation. Within the financial services sector he regularly advises on Remuneration Code issues and the Senior Manager Regime.Greg has also been involved in conducting gender pay audits for corporate clients who will be subject to proposed employment regulations and reporting requirements.
Hugo is a Partner and Chair of the Dispute Resolution department. He sits on the Firm's Management Board and maintains an active caseload in our market-leading Civil Fraud group. Hugo is in his 20th year at the Firm and is a leading commercial litigator specialising in the field of complex fraud, asset-tracing and investigations, theft of confidential information and all forms of corporate dishonesty. His client base includes some of the world's most successful public companies, private equity investors, business owners and HNW individuals. Hugo has played a pioneering role in building the Firm's cyber security and investigations offering, ensuring that the Firm is enabled to advise in a globalised and accelerating online world. This has resulted in the creation of MDR Group business MDR Cyber. Hugo continues to develop strategies for combatting cyber-crime in a range of sectors, for example assisting insurers with innovative incident response and asset recovery techniques. Hugo also participated in the Firm's joint public-private sector initiatives to help combat fraud and corruption and deliver justice. Hugo is recognised as a leading practitioner in the legal directories for top-ranked lawyers. He was shortlisted for the Financial Times Innovative Lawyers: Innovative Practitioner award in recent years.
Ian has worked in commercial property for more than 30 years. Today his experience benefits a wide range of clients including property investment and development companies and property funds. His niche is development and property finance work that needs tax efficient structuring. It is complex and challenging and often demands imaginative and ground-breaking solutions.
Ian is a Partner in the Real Estate department. His experience and expertise is in the purchase, sale, development and letting of large and complex freehold and leasehold, commercial and mixed-use property. He has developed a particular following amongst the more entrepreneurial and innovative property companies and funds. His clients include AEW, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, Helical plc, Topland Group and UBS Global Asset Management (UK). Ian is an expert in managing complex financial structuring in property deals.
James is a Partner and Head of Mishcon de Reya's Residential Property team specialising in residential conveyancing. He is experienced in dealing with complex deals involving shared ownership, auction sales, portfolio purchases, tenancy and planning issues. That said, his comprehensive background means that he is an expert in handling straightforward sale transactions and purchase and refinancing transactions. James also has a lot of experience working with lenders on joint venture schemes and completing high value loans on residential properties. James' clients are predominantly high net worth individuals. For this reason he often deals with other Private client teams across the firm such Tax and Family, as well as Corporate. James actively engages with the media and has featured on BBC Radio 2 as a result of his expertise. Highly regarded among his peers, Chambers UK notes James as "an integral piece of the jigsaw" in their High Net Worth Guide 2018. He was also recognised by Spear's as Top Six Property Lawyers as part of their Property Advisors Index 2019.
Janet is a Partner in Mishcon Private. Her practice centres on commercial disputes for a wide variety of clients including high profile individuals, HNWI's, successful entrepreneurs, owner-managed businesses, families and family offices. These claims are invariably complex, high value, usually multi-jurisdictional and often include allegations of fraud. Janet has significant in-depth experience of director/shareholder claims, wide-ranging business and partnership disputes, trusts issues and large-scale contractual matters across a wide range of sectors. She is experienced in the issuing and defending of freezing injunctions and asset protection. Janet is a member of the London Solicitors Litigation Association. She is a mentor for the start-ups taking part in Mishcon's The Leap 100 programme.
Jarret is the firm's General Counsel and Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP), heading up the Compliance team. He has been a Partner at Mishcon de Reya since 1996. A Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) and A Data Protection Office (DPO), Jarret is a regulatory expert adept at satisfying compliance and professional standards. He oversees any regulatory developments that may affect the firm, ensuring Mishcon de Reya is meeting its Solicitors Regulation Authority obligations and acting in line with its code of conduct, whilst maintaining a commercial outlook. He works closely with the firm's Best Practice Partner to develop and ensure best practice, delivering firm wide 'non-negotiables' training on a range of regulatory issues. Other partners frequently turn to Jarret for his expertise on anti-money laundering and professional conduct. Jarret's experience is built on years of acting on both sides of the insurer/claimant divide for lenders, property investors and professional indemnity insurers.
Jennifer is a Partner in the Employment department, specialising in complex discrimination and whistleblowing claims, High Court injunctions, workplace investigations and partnership disputes. She is best known for advising a number of journalists at the BBC, including Carrie Gracie, on high-profile allegations of equal pay and sex discrimination against the Corporation. Jennifer frequently advises LLPs and their members in the professional and financial services sectors, and has long-standing experience advising the recruitment sector. Jennifer is adept at handling large-scale litigation both in the Employment Tribunal and beyond through the appellate Courts, and has substantial experience in High Court litigation, from high-value breach of contract and bonus disputes to injunction proceedings. Understanding the particular challenges of unfair competition disputes, she prosecutes and defends complex and fast-paced cases involving breaches of restrictive covenants, data theft, team moves and the use of social media. Such cases often involve multi-party claims of breach of contract, breach of confidence, inducement to breach and conspiracy. She is experienced in advising on application of remedies for injunctive relief, including mandatory injunctions such as delivery up and forensic IT searches, prohibitory injunctions such as enforcement of restrictive covenants and springboard relief. Jennifer also has experience of arbitrations under LLP and partnership agreements. As well as providing commercial and strategic advice to HR teams, in-house counsel and boards, Jennifer advises on complex and high-value settlements for senior individuals – employees, directors, LLP members and partners – exiting businesses in a wide variety of sectors. Jennifer frequently advises on the investigation of workplace misconduct, and acts for senior executives defending such allegations. She also has significant experience in conducting workplace investigations, including independent investigations for employers for whom the firm does not act. Jennifer has a leading role in the firm's cross-departmental Recruitment Services Group. She formed part of the Employment Lawyers’ Association’s working parties to respond to the government’s 2016 and 2021 consultations on reform of the law of restrictive covenants and is regularly published in the employment press, quoted in various broadsheet newspapers, and has appeared on news programmes including Newsnight, BBC News, Channel 4, Radio 5 Live, CNN and Sky News to discuss equal pay and gender pay reporting. For her work in the highly topical debate on Gender Pay Equality, Jennifer was named Human Resources: Individual of the year for London in the Legal 500 Awards 2020 and recognised in The Lawyer Hot 100 Awards 2019. She is also ranked as a Leading Individual for Employment: Senior Executives in Chambers 2022 (Band 2), as a Global Leader Labour, Employment & Benefits in Who's Who Legal 2021 and as a Next Generation Partner in Legal 500 202
Jeremy is the Chair of Mishcon de Reya's Intellectual Property Department. He is a very experienced litigator who specialises in protecting and enforcing IP rights across all IP disciplines including patents, confidential information and trade secrets. He represents clients in a broad range of industries but with a particular emphasis when it comes to patent matters on the pharmaceutical, technology and automotive sectors. Jeremy has extensive experience of both obtaining and defending injunctions. This extends to without notice search, freezing and disclosure orders. He also regularly advises on and represents his clients in complex contractual and licence disputes, often with a multi-jurisdictional element. In addition, Jeremy has been involved in numerous ad hoc arbitrations, subject to a variety of governing substantive and procedural laws, including arbitrations governed by the LCIA, ICC, UNCITRAL, CIArb and ICSID Rules. Chambers and Partners calls him a "great strategic thinker". He is a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG). Having joined the Firm in 1996, he has been a Partner since 2003.
Joanna is a Partner in the firm's Property Litigation group, within the Real Estate department. She has over 20 years' experience specialising in property disputes and risk analysis, advisory and avoidance work.She advises owners, occupiers, developers and funders of commercial and residential real estate, dealing with all contentious aspects of real estate including development disputes, landlord and tenant disputes (including rent and service charge recovery, lease renewals, consents, forfeiture and possession claims), title, right of way and right to light disputes, real estate related professional negligence claims, and insolvency and corporate recovery work. In 2020, Joanna was appointed by the Lord Chief Justice as a Deputy Master of the Chancery Division. She will sit on a part-time basis at the Rolls Building, hearing cases in the Business and Property Courts.
Joanna is a Partner in the Employment Department where she handles all areas of contentious and non-contentious employment law. This includes executive terminations, discrimination, wrongful and unfair dismissal, TUPE, large scale reorganisations and contract issues. She regularly advises LLPs on partnership matters and is well versed in the issues that affect their members. Further afield Joanna’s expertise also covers the employment aspects of mergers, acquisitions and flotations. Joanna’s clients are both employers and employees and are drawn from all aspects of business, including investment banks, private equity, financial institutions, fashion and luxury goods houses, telecoms, record and television companies, plc directors and bankers. Her career, spanning more than 20 years, includes significant experience in the Employment Tribunal and High Court, and has seen her make new law in a landmark case in the Supreme Court.
John is a Partner in the Real Estate department who has considerable expertise in advising on a wide variety of transactions in the commercial, residential and mixed-use property sectors. His practice includes the acquisition and disposal of high-value investment properties, advising on commercial, student and residential led developments, as well as the property aspects of investment and development finance. John acts for a range of clients including institutional investors, publicly quoted and private property companies, private investors, financial institutions as well as occupiers. An important part of John's practice includes advising on inward investment from Asia - particularly from mainland China and Hong Kong. He is used to working with a wide range of investors who are based in this region, from private individuals to one of the largest real estate companies in China and to providing clear, tailored and commercial advice to those investors, some of whom may be investing in the UK for the first time.
John is a Corporate Tax Partner. His practice includes a wide range of corporate, private equity and individual tax with an emphasis on UK and international M&A, management buy-outs, corporate restructurings and reorganisations and the establishment and operation of group finance and treasury companies. John advises on investment fund formation and carried interest arrangements, asset management and new start-up business structures.John advises on management incentive arrangements including equity participations, growth shares, ratchets and share options including implications of and arrangements in response to the remuneration and other aspects of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive.
Jonathan is a Partner in the Real Estate department and has experience in all areas of corporate tax, with an emphasis on property investment, development, finance and funds work. Jonathan has over 20 year's experience advising a variety of institutional investors, funds, property companies and UHNW individuals in the real estate sector. This includes advising on the tax aspects of acquisitions and disposals of real estate and indirect real estate assets (in both the commercial and residential sectors); advising on the optimal holding structures for real estate assets and portfolios; property development work and real estate finance. Jonathan has particular expertise in advising on and structuring build to rent and student developments, including forward funding structures (acting for both the funder and developer).
Jonathan is a Partner in the Corporate department with over 25 years experience working on domestic and cross border transactions in both established and emerging markets. Jonathan has a long-standing client base in public and private M&A, corporate finance, joint ventures, private equity and restructuring. He is a trusted and strategic advisor, whether clients are seeking guidance on legal, commercial or personal matters. His experience spans a diverse range of sectors including insurance, fintech, financial services, broking and trading, marketing, manufacturing, recruitment, mining and travel. Jonathan is recognised as a skilled negotiator with an innovative and energetic approach and an in-depth knowledge of his clients' business requirements. His experience enables him to simplify the complexities in corporate work to complete deals successfully and manage potentially contentious situations. Jonathan is an Officer of Friends of Seva Mandir UK aiming to empower the poorest people in Rajasthan, so that they can work to change their own lives. As an Officer, Jonathan helps the charity grow its profile in the UK and assists with fundraising.
Justine is a Partner in the Real Estate department. She is part of the firm's Construction Group, working on non-contentious matters. She has experience across a variety of sectors within the industry and typically acts for developers, property owners and funders with a particular focus on large-scale developments and commercial real estate. Justine's clients include Brookfield, Brookfield's Student Roost, Capital and Counties Properties plc, Almacantar, AEW, PGIM, Seaforth, WPP and Ocubis. Justine's role is focused on the preparation and negotiation of construction related documentation and she also works closely with the Real Estate, Corporate and Finance departments on the construction aspects of complex development work and high-value investment sales, acquisitions and property financings.
Karel is a partner and head of the International Arbitration practice. He started his career as a civil law litigator in Belgium, before moving to Tanzania where he devoted most of his time to representing African states and state-owned companies in a number of investor-state disputes under the ICSID and UNCITRAL Rules in the water and the energy sector. He has worked internationally, advising multinationals on investing in Africa's mining, infrastructure, telecom and energy sector.Karel continues to focus on African investor-state disputes, although now acts more on the investor side, as exemplified by his work for BSGR in an ICSID arbitration against Guinea (a mining dispute involving allegations of corruption and one of the biggest claims in recent years). His other work in Africa includes chairing a KIAC Tribunal hearing, a dispute between an East-African contractor and East-African state agency over a geothermal energy project and, as member of a UNCITRAL Tribunal, hearing a dispute between an African investor and South Sudan over a failed power project.Karel also uses his African "frontier" expertise in other regions. He acts for RSM in an ICSID arbitration against St Lucia (a dispute over offshore oil concessions), for a Syrian subcontractor in an ICC arbitration against a Chinese contractor (in a dispute over the construction of a 2,400 MW power plant in Saudi Arabia) and for an Indian party in an LCIA Indian arbitration against a Qatari investment fund (in a dispute over investments in the agribusiness).Apart from Karel's investor-state work, he does commercial arbitration work under the Rules of the LCIA, ICC, CEPINA, UNCITRAL and in ad hoc arbitrations. These disputes arise under a variety of commercial contracts (joint venture agreements, share purchase agreements, sales agreements, service agreements and lease agreements) in a variety of sectors, including retail, financial services, construction, real estate.Karel has recently been ranked in Chambers Global 2017 as a leading individual in the Africa-wide disputes category, and is "highly regarded for his experience in international arbitration matters". According to Legal Business, "Daele has quickly established himself as a leading investor-state arbitration practitioner". He is also an IFLR1000 Leading Lawyer in Energy and Infrastructure, a member of various arbitration institutions and has been recognised in Who’s Who Legal’s Future Leaders – Arbitration 2017.
Kas led the firm's Dispute Resolution department for twenty years, during which time Mishcon de Reya was recognised as Law Firm and Litigation Team of the Year by The Lawyer. In 2023 he stepped back from his departmental role to devote more focus to the Firm’s international strategic development and the demands of his clients and caseload. Kas regularly represents clients with complex and unconventional problems and has deep experience of both crisis management and overseeing large multi-jurisdictional disputes. He often leads large teams conducting legal, investigative and forensic work and operating across various jurisdictions. He has been involved in and overseen litigation and investigations in more than 60 jurisdictions. His experience helps him in creating and implementing inventive solutions for his clients. Many of his cases involve urgent injunctions including search orders, freezing orders and various types of third-party disclosures. Kas has been frequently recognised in the directories for his experience in fraud-related investigations and his instincts as a strategist in difficult cases. Kas' clients include global institutions, brand owners and high-net-worth individuals who are often victims of dishonesty. A significant proportion of the work concerns very high value litigation conducted, or partly conducted, outside the UK; mostly in offshore financial centres, the Middle East, India, Eastern Europe and the USA. Kas is a co-founder of The International Fraud Group (IFG). The IFG is a handpicked group of specialist fraud lawyers located across more than 60 jurisdictions which focuses on securing injunctions, asset recovery and trust-busting remedies in key offshore territories. He is also part of the MDR Solutions I team, the Firm's litigation finance venture which offers greater access to funding for claimants. Kas contributed to "Information, Risk and Securities", the standard book on computer crime at work. He brought the first known set of proceedings against spammers in the UK. Kas has been listed as a Fraud Law Expert in the Super Lawyers directory, and in the words of Chambers, is a recommended leader in the field of civil fraud "a gifted negotiator who is firm but fair" and is admired for his "encyclopaedic knowledge of the area."
Kassim is a Partner in Mishcon Private. He advises UK and international clients on all aspects of personal as well as business taxation. Kassim is a specialist in both personal and corporate tax. As a result, he is regularly sought out by clients for advice on all of their assets including those owned directly, through trusts or other similar structures. Kassim has extensive experience with structuring the tax efficient acquisition, ownership and disposal of shares, securities and real estate, the interpretation of double taxation treaties, all taxation aspects relating to M&A transactions, and the application of transfer pricing rules. His client base is predominantly high and ultra-high net worth individuals with assets in multiple jurisdictions but he also advises a number of international, UK, European and Asian based businesses as well as US based multinationals. A member of the firm's multi-disciplinary Luxury Assets Group, Kassim also advises individuals and businesses on the buying, selling, structuring and protection of luxury assets across the globe. He is a member of the International Fiscal Association, the International Bar Association, and the International Employee Benefits Association. Kassim is recognised by The Legal 500 where clients describe him as "knowledgeable and commercial".
Kate is Head Professional Support Lawyer leading a team of lawyers focussed on non-contentious work, spanning the Corporate, Innovation, Real Estate and Private Departments. She is a legal director, lawyer and skilled knowledge manager with over 25 years’ experience of advising on Corporate law and practice. The team drives delivery of client focussed, modern and tech enabled knowledge solutions to the Firm's lawyers and clients. The role encompasses legal education (through our Academy); legal services innovation; resource creation and management; thought leadership; and project and people management.An expert in Corporate Governance, Kate also leads Corporate Governance initiatives for Mishcon, working alongside the Firm’s Purpose and Regulatory practices to help clients meet the triple challenges of increasing regulation, risk and the need to demonstrate best practice in sustainability. She is a keen advocate for Purposeful business and the B Corporation movement in the UK.Kate is also a published author on Corporate Governance (the Jordan Publishing Company Administration and Governance set, available through Lexis Library); and a member of the Corporate Governance committee for the Quoted Companies Alliance, which represents small and mid-cap quoted companies.Kate has also been a judge for MDR LAB, Mishcon de Reya's programme for tech start-ups in the legal space.
Kevin is Mishcon de Reya's Executive Chairperson. He specialises in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures as well as advising families on international tax, succession and strategic dispute resolution. Much of his work has an international dimension with a large part of his practice having a Middle Eastern, South African and Asian bias. He is increasingly instructed to lead the commercial negotiations on behalf of clients in addition to providing more traditional legal input. He has a practical and pragmatic approach and has developed a formidable reputation among his clients for effective negotiation on their behalf. In 2020, Kevin was appointed Executive Chairperson, focusing on the overall strategic development of the law firm and its ancillary businesses.
Kevin heads the Court Service Department which provides civil procedural support and advice to the Litigation Department and Property Litigation Department. His expertise covers all aspects of civil procedure and includes all stages of civil proceedings in all Courts from County through to Court of Appeal.His all encompassing knowledge of Rules and Practice Directions supports each of the Firm's practice areas.
Kevin is a Partner and Chair of the Corporate department. With over 20 years' experience in M&A and private equity, he has built a strong reputation in both UK and international transactional work. Kevin's clients include business owners, equity investors, family offices, corporates and management teams. His practice spans a wide range of sectors including technology/software; hospitality & retail; sport & leisure; media & entertainment and financial services. On joining the Firm in 2005 Kevin established the Firm's Private Equity Group and guided it to its current position as a leading, mid-market, management advisory practice. The Legal 500 identifies Kevin as a leading Private Equity lawyer, describing him as "responsive, very capable and solution focused". Clients look to Kevin for strategic counsel and tactical input on a wide range of commercial and legal matters including transaction negotiations and related disputes. Much of his activity is international in its nature, in relation to which he has particular experience in the Asia Pacific and South East Asia regions. He advises overseas clients on UK matters as well as UK parties on their international investment strategy and activity. Kevin is a Notary Public and also currently sits as a director of Union Chapel, a leading live events organisation which funds and supports associated social and charitable programmes.
Kirpal Kaur is a Partner in our Commercial Real Estate department with expertise in high value commercial transactions and residential development projects. Kirpal acts for a variety of institutional and entrepreneurial clients including Pears Group, AEW Europe, Topland Group, the Hesketh Family and a number of private clients and families. Kirpal has longstanding international relationships and a sound understanding of the requirements of overseas property investors. She is known for going beyond the call of duty and proactively helps clients with their business objectives through her tenacious and commercial approach. According to the managing director of one of the UK's largest privately owned property companies, who has worked with Kirpal for more than a decade, she is "incredibly commercial and efficient and has never let us down over the years." Kirpal was recognised by Spear's as one of the Top Recommended Property Lawyers as part of their Property Advisors Index 2020
Larry is a Partner in the Corporate department. He is a corporate transactional lawyer specialising in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, private equity, structuring and asset protection, with a wealth of experience handling transactions both in the UK and cross border. His wide-ranging corporate and commercial expertise attracts a variety of clients, from boards to individuals.With over 25 years' experience in this area, Larry's client base spans a diverse range of sectors including, retail, breweries, gas and oil, telecoms, pharmaceuticals and new technology. He is recognised for his strong negotiation skills as well as his intelligent and innovative drafting.Larry is a mentor for the start-ups taking part in MDR LAB.
Laura is a Partner in the Corporate Department. She is experienced in re-organisations and restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, private equity, joint ventures, and shareholders’ agreements and has acted for both public and private companies.Her experience covers a variety of sectors including retail/wholesale, technology, insurance, sport, real estate and manufacturing. Her client base includes a broad range of businesses including entrepreneurs, family businesses and corporations.
Lewis is a commercial Partner in the Intellectual Property department and specialises in commercial and IP arrangements. Lewis works with clients from a broad range of sectors to help them to generate income from their IP and to extend their international reach through franchising, distribution, agency and licensing arrangements. He advises on the full range of commercial, IP and media agreements including: manufacturing; services; management; sponsorship; endorsement; terms and conditions; publishing; development; assignments; and other exploitation arrangements. He also advises on the use and exploitation of IP rights. Lewis has strong sector experience in sport; fashion, luxury and retail; media and entertainment; food services and digital, as well as the specialist agreements in these sectors. For example, in sport, Lewis advises on major sponsorships; venue hires; hospitality; catering; ticketing; broadcasting; licensing; tour and friendly match arrangements. In retail, he has advised on high-profile major endorsement arrangements; international franchising; product distribution; retail websites; and app development. In media, Lewis has advised YouTubers; film and TV distributors; publishers; and authors. He has been named as one of the Hot 100 Lawyers by The Lawyer magazine. His insight on legal issues has been sought by, amongst others, Sky News, The Evening Standard, Sport Business, Sky Sports News and The Guardian.
Liz is a Partner and Head of the Sports Group. Her practice is solely focused on sport, and her in-depth knowledge of the industry means that she is always able to provide her clients with the clear and decisive advice they require. She is strategic and creative in her approach, and finds innovative solutions to complex issues. She is a specialist litigator but also a trusted advisor to clubs, athletes, rights holders and governing bodies, understanding how their legal situations fit within their public profile and wider business needs. She has expertise in fraud and corruption issues in sport, a strong regulatory knowledge and good commercial awareness. Liz has represented clients in cases before FIFA, the European Boxing Union, the Basketball Arbitration Tribunal and the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as well as domestic tribunals such as the Football Associations of England, Scotland and Wales, the British Boxing Board of Control, the British Horseracing Authority and UK Anti-Doping. She also has significant experience of litigating cases through both arbitration and the High Court. Much of Liz's work has an international aspect, including cross-border transfer deals and disputes, sports immigration and image rights structures. She has a particular focus on the Far Eastern sport industry and is often consulted by Chinese football clubs, Asian investors looking at European opportunities, and by clubs, players and agents seeking to do business in the Far East. Liz is a director of Women In Football (WIF), a member of the Beyond Sport Advisory Board, a founding member of Women In Sports Law (WISLaw), and a member of the British Association of Sport and Law (BASL). She was the only practicing lawyer to appear in the Independent's inaugural list of "50 Most Influential Women in Sport", in which she was ranked 13th. Since 2014, Liz has run the Mishcon Sports Law Academy – an educational course where aspiring lawyers can learn about a wide range of sports law issues from the lawyers who manage those cases. She is also a mentor for Kick It Out's 'Raise Your Game' scheme.
Louise is a Partner in the Real Estate department, specialising in commercial property. Since joining Mishcon, Louise has primarily advised on all aspects of commercial real estate transactions, including property investment sales and acquisitions, development projects, landlord and tenant and corporate real estate. She has a full range of management experience relating to landlord and tenant matters acting for both landlords and tenants. Her practice involves acting for institutional investors and private property companies, and her longstanding clients include Rowan Asset Management, Chelsfield and Delancey, advising the latter in relation to the property and asset management aspects of East Village including various financings for development. In addition, Louise has expanded her focus to include real estate finance, advising funds, financial institutions, developers and investors on all aspects of real estate finance transactions, including on investment, development and structured financings. She acts on both the lender and borrower side. Her broader remit sees her working closely with lenders and funds such as PGIM Real Estate, Ahlibank, BLME and Catalina Holdings.
Mark is a Partner in the Employment department and a commercial employment law specialist. His practice embraces all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law for corporates and individuals. Mark regularly advises senior employees across a range of sectors, most notably in the financial services and media sectors. Mark also has extensive experience in the sports industry, having represented a number of Premier League clubs and players. Mark's litigation practice includes High Court cases concerning high value and complex bonus disputes and the enforcement of post-termination covenants. He has also been involved in numerous complex cases in the Employment Tribunal covering unfair dismissal, redundancy, discrimination and whistleblowing claims.
Martyn is a Partner in the Intellectual Property group. He is a specialist in contentious and non-contentious intellectual property. His contentious work focuses on patent disputes but also covers trade marks, design rights and copyright disputes, especially in the oil and gas, life sciences, and software sectors. Typical examples of his work include advising Dermal Laboratories in a medical devices patent infringement by Orasure Inc; Milled Carbon Limited in a patent entitlement claim by Technical Fibre Products Limited; and Marussia F1 Racing in a dispute with WR Technologies Limited.His non-contentious practice is mainly in the area of lifesciences, advising regular clients Perrigo (Pharma), Dermal laboratories (Pharma), United Phosphorus (Agrochemical), Clasado, Pharmasol (Pharma) on the full range of licensing, research and development, collaboration and supply agreements as well as regulatory, general IP and commercial advice.Other non-contentious matters include advising Marussia F1 Racing on a technical services agreement with McLaren Racing and Harvey Nichols on the licensing of stores in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Istanbul.
Mike is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution department. He is an expert in Corporate Recovery and Insolvency. Acting for office holders, lenders or companies in difficulty his practice covers business rescue and reconstruction; business and asset disposals and acquisitions; international tracing and recovery of assets; insolvency and recovery litigation; compliance; professional issues; and advice on the conduct of estates.He is a member of R3 (the Association of Business Recovery Professionals), the Insolvency Practitioners Association and the American Bankruptcy Institute. He is a licensed Insolvency practitioner. He is also co-author of Insolvency Procedures Notes (Sweet & Maxwell) and various published articles. Mike regularly lectures professional and trade groups in recovery related topics from credit control to asset stripping to fraud tracing and on the corporate side of recovery in topics such as defensive merger, reconstruction or offensive distressed purchase or takeover.Mike also acts as a trusted advisor for a wide range of corporate and personal clients, having spent 20 years working in the City. He provides project management and commercial advice to these clients as well as brokering introductions and opportunities between clients and contacts, both in the UK and internationally, particularly in North America, the Middle East, South Asia and China
Nadim is a Partner in the Corporate department and is Head of Mishcon Private Equity. He has significant experience in private equity, with a core focus on advising founders and management teams on buy-outs and growth capital investments. He also has a wealth of experience advising dynamic corporates on mergers and acquisitions, fundraisings and joint ventures. In addition, Nadim has a focus on advising non-institutional investors of private capital. Nadim is active in the hospitality, leisure, consumer, and retail industries, being a member of the Advisory Board of KERB, which incubates and accelerates some of London's most exciting and innovative street food businesses. He also undertakes significant work in the business services sector. One of Nadim's key interests is around purpose-driven businesses. He is a core member of Mishcon Purpose, helping clients to navigate the interconnected considerations of purpose, sustainability, and ESG issues. Within Mishcon, Nadim is one of the Firm's Training Principals and is Co-Chair of the Steering Committee on Race, a key component of the Firm's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Nick is a Real Estate Partner with more than 30 years' experience in dealing with all aspects of commercial property. He has expertise in structuring and negotiating real estate acquisitions and sales, as well as advising on development and landlord and tenant matters. A significant proportion of Nick's practice is focused on international inward investment, acting on high-value UK property transactions for overseas investors. He has strong connections across the Far East region, particularly within Hong Kong and Singapore, and a well-developed understanding of the business culture in these areas. In addition, he has advised many well-known UK institutional and entrepreneurial companies such as Berkeley Group, Capital & Counties Properties PLC, Investec, Mansford, Matterhorn Capital, TK Maxx and O&H Properties.
Nick is a Partner in the Real Estate department, with over 20 years' experience in development projects and the purchase and sale of high-value investment properties. Nick's clients include Delancey, Chelsfield, Derwent London plc, Trophaeum Asset Management, Essential Living, Londonewcastle, Rowan Asset Management, Seaforth Land, Metropolitan and District Securities, Notting Hill Genesis and Gymbox. Recent matters include acting for Chelsfield and The Olayan Group in relation to the 3.5 acre Knightsbridge Estate, including advising on the development of the northern section of the Estate including the first pre-letting to Burberry, and advising Trophaeum Asset Management on the acquisitions of both 139 and 144-146 New Bond Street. Nick also advised Metropolitan District Securities on the acquisition, development and forward sale of the former Leeds City College Technology campus site, for a new student accommodation complex.
Nick is a Partner and Head of the Real Estate Finance Group. He has extensive experience advising financial institutions, funds, developers and investors on all aspects of real estate finance transactions, including on investment, development and structured financings (with senior mezzanine debt). He acts on both the lender and sponsor side, and also has considerable experience of acting on restructuring and enforcements. Recent matters include advising a well-known developer on its financing of a large mixed-use development at Paddington, representing a consortium of lenders on the refinancing of a portfolio of UK shopping centres, acting for a state-owned bank on the receivership of a large London mixed-use development, and advising a consortium on their equity bridge facilities relating to the securitisation of properties held by a national supermarket.
Nick is a Partner and Chair of the Mishcon Private department. He specialises in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), reorganisation and restructurings. He has built a leading reputation as advisor to founders and owners of private companies and has a broad client base ranging from entrepreneurs to international corporations. With over two decades of experience, Nick's work spans a wide range of industries including recruitment services, finance, technology and property services. It is in recruitment services, however, that Nick has forged a particular reputation.
Nicola is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution department, specialising in cases involving allegations of fraud, deceit and misappropriation.She has particular experience of obtaining and defending freezing orders, data protection and data privacy issues and dealing with theft of confidential information. She has also been involved in numerous cases involving claims under the Commercial Agents Regulations, on both the claimant and defendant side.In addition to general commercial litigation and regulatory matters, Nicola has a particular focus on financial services, telecoms, media and technology and betting and gaming sectors.
Niki is a Partner in the Betting & Gaming Group within the Firm's Innovation Department. Niki is a regulatory specialist with twelve years' experience advising clients in the gambling and gaming sectors. Niki regularly advises licensees in connection with compliance assessments and regulatory enforcement action by the Gambling Commission including licence reviews. She also advises operators, software developers and platform providers in connection with regulatory and compliance matters including anti-money laundering, responsible gambling, consumer protection and marketing requirements. Niki specialises in advising clients on the gambling regulatory aspects of sales, acquisitions and investments including regulatory due diligence and the impact of regulatory matters on the transaction documentation. She also advises on a full range of corporate transactions, including sales and acquisitions, reorganisations and joint ventures, and has worked on numerous cross-border transactions. Her experience covers a wide range of sectors including betting and gaming, technology, retail and leisure. Niki has been recognised by Legal 500 as a 'Next generation partner' and is acknowledged as 'up and coming' in Chambers & Partners.
Nina O'Sullivan is a Legal Director, Professional Support Lawyer in the Intellectual Property Group. She has almost 20 years' experience of intellectual property (IP) litigation and protection and related fields, and has a particular interest in the life sciences, TMT and retail & luxury sectors. As the Group's Professional Support Lawyer, Nina provides the team and its clients with up to the minute information, guidance and training on developments in IP law and practice, and the implications for their business.Having specialised in IP litigation at a City firm, Nina has also gained valuable experience in delivering training as a Senior Lecturer, and is currently an Independent Research Essay Adviser for LLM students at University College, London (UCL).Nina has written extensively on IP issues in all of the main IP and industry press and worked with the Law Commission on its 2013 Report into the groundless threats regime, writing two Background Papers which formed part of the Report.
Peter is a Legal Director in the Intellectual Property Group, specialising in all intellectual property rights, including copyright, trade marks, design rights and confidential information. He helps organisations to protect, exploit and enforce their intellectual property rights, maximising the value of their brands and other intellectual property, and co-coordinating anti-counterfeiting programs, in both the physical and online worlds. Peter is also a specialist in licensing, complex contractual and tortious disputes.A large number of the clients Peter advises are in the luxury goods, automotive and sporting sectors. In the luxury goods sector, he works with several of the world's leading fashion brands, helping them to build up and protect their trade mark and design portfolios.Peter heads up Mishcon de Reya's Automotive Group, and advises a number of the world's leading car marques on their intellectual property strategies. He also acts for, and against, a number of Formula 1 teams on both commercial and intellectual property issues, including driver, sponsorship, supply and licensing agreements and disputes.As someone with a strong interest in sport, Peter acts for a number or leading sporting organisations, clubs and athletes.Peter has significant experience of Mishcon de Reya's award-winning Turning Losses Into Profits (TULIP®) programme, which has recovered over £100m for its clients from counterfeiting operations.He is also a recognised expert on cross-border Customs detentions and enforcement.Peter gained significant commercial experience during secondments at Cable & Wireless and the Forensic Science Service, and has been published a number of times in the specialist press on IP
Philip is a Consultant in the Real Estate department and is a former Chairman of Mishcon de Reya. He is an acknowledged industry expert on many aspects of property investment and development. His clients are property developers, investors, funders and corporate occupiers. In 2005, Philip was awarded a CBE for his services to property law and in 2009 he enjoyed the rare honour of being appointed a Queen’s Counsel Honoris Causa for his work developing the practical aspects of property law.
Pippa is a Managing Associate in the Corporate department. She advises clients on a full range of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisition and Takeover Code and public companies work. Since joining the firm in 2013, Pippa has worked on a number of cross-border transactions and has advised a variety of clients, including infrastructure funds and investment firms.Pippa is also a member of the firm's Luxury Assets group, having completed several investments and company sales in the luxury sector, and has a focus on the food tech industry and working with investors in IP-focused businesses.
Raji is a Partner in our Real Estate Finance department with over 30 years' experience working on transactions acting for both lenders and borrowers in matters with deal values ranging from £10 million to £500 million. Raji advises financial institutions, corporates and sponsors/funds in relation to arranging and documenting domestic and international bank facilities and structured financings. He has a broad range of finance experience, with particular expertise in advising borrowers and lenders in relation to syndicated real estate investment and development finance and acquisition/leveraged finance transactions.
Richard is a Partner in the Real Estate department and heads the Construction and Professional Negligence group.He acts for a variety of clients ranging from major developers, property investors, banks and occupiers through to contractors, sub-contractors and consultants on all aspects of dispute resolution arising out of construction contracts.These claims invariably involve extensions of time, loss and expense, entitlement to payment, defects and enforceability of bonds. Richard has a wealth of experience in claims and disputes in the Technology and Construction Courts, having acted on some of the leading cases over the past 25 years, as well as in arbitration and adjudication proceedings.Richard has spent many years advising banks, businesses and individuals on claims against surveyors, solicitors, accountants, construction professionals and financial advisers. His expertise covers negligent valuations, advice on commercial and real estate transactions, tax advice, investment advice, and design specification, and administration of construction projects. In addition, Richard advises on commercial disputes for clients in the real estate sector.
Richard is a Partner in Mishcon de Reya's Corporate department where he is an expert in corporate finance and M&A. His work covers a wide range of industries including real estate, finance, life science and biotech, fashion and leisure. Clients range from mid-sized PLCs and other corporates to high profile entrepreneurs.In the corporate real estate sector, Richard led the Mishcon de Reya team advising one of Israel's largest real estate investment holding companies, Alony Hetz Properties and Investments, on the acquisition of real estate investment advisers, Brockton Capital LLP and the establishment of a new real estate investment company, Brockton Everlast Inc. with an initial equity investment of £340m from Alony Hetz. Richard also led the Mishcon team acting for longstanding client Helical plc on the disposal of its retirement villages portfolio to Legal & General for £102m.Richard advised Peanut App on its seed 2 funding, with the round being led by Sweet Capital (the founders of King Digital Entertainment), Female Founders Fund, Greycroft Partners and Sound Ventures. He also advised on a series of transactions for long-standing bioscience client, Quotient Bioresearch Group Limited, including the disposal of Quotient Bioscience Group Limited to Pharmaron Beijing Co Ltd.
Richard is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution department, who advises on commercial disputes, often with international and fraud elements, with a particular specialisation in insurance.Richard advises individual and institutional funds clients on claims arising from investments in rights issues and other corporate investments under FSMA s90 and s 90A, and is involved in some of the leading cases in this developing area, for example advising Scottish Widows and others in their claims in the RBS rights issue litigation. He also led the team defending a Kazakh businessman against claims of $5billion brought by a state owned Bank, including defending various alleged breaches of world-wide freezing and receivership orders. The litigation was amongst the most complex ever seen in the UK and involved over 40 hearings and multiple jurisdictions.Richard also advises international clients on shipping disputes over charter parties and letters of credit. He is also involved in international construction disputes, and has a growing practice litigating shareholder disputes, often, but by no means exclusively, in the hedge fund/ private equity arena. Accordingly, as well as regularly being in the Commercial Court, Richard has current and detailed expertise in the rules and procedures of all the main international trade and arbitration bodies, including LCIA, ICC, and GAFTA, and of the FIDIC (yellow book and red book) rules. On the insurance side, he acts predominantly for corporate policy holders on coverage issues across a wide range of industries, and has expertise in most lines of business. This includes professional indemnity, D&O, employers' liability, corporate crime, cyber/privacy, political risk, trade credit, and all property and construction related risks. In addition, he acts for insurance and reinsurance companies in disputes, insolvency and run off issues in the reinsurance sector.Richard is ranked as a Tier I expert in Chambers 2017 and has been listed as an expert in both Chambers and Legal 500 since 2007. He was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers™ in the United Kingdom 2017 in the field of Insurance Law. He has also been at the forefront of innovation in the litigation funding field, advising on and working with clients on conditional fee arrangements, and maintaining deep links with the main players in the funding and ATE community.
Robert is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution department and specialises in the resolution of tax disputes. He has been a practising tax lawyer since 1999.Robert's practice is split between direct and indirect tax disputes relating to both corporate and individual clients. Many of the cases that he works on are resolved without the need for a formal hearing, with successfully resolved cases ranging from personal taxation matters to the largest of transfer pricing enquiries.Robert advises clients across a number of sectors and, in particular, those in real estate, financial services, retail and leisure.
Ross is a Partner in the Corporate department, specialising in M&A and joint ventures for both public and private companies. The majority of his practice focusses on commercial property, FinTech and hotels. Acquisitions and disposals on which Ross has advised include Brookfield's £330m purchase of seven retail parks, Capco's £250m sale of the Empress State office building at Earls Court, the £575m sale by Delancey/Ares of the Walbrook Building unit trust structure, Synechron's purchase of several FinTech businesses and advising founders in EdTech and cosmetics on their exit to trade and private equity. Hotel deals include Chelsfield's £180m sale of two Club Quarter's hotels, the acquisition of the Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh from Hilton, the sale of Bovey Castle Hotel in Dartmoor, and advising Manhattan Loft on its joint venture with André Balazs for the redevelopment of the Chiltern Street Firehouse in Marylebone. Ross has also advised on numerous public company transactions, including IPOs, secondary fundraisings and takeovers.
Rowena is a Partner in the Corporate Department. She is an expert commercial litigator dealing with corporate dispute resolution.Rowena specialises in director and shareholder disputes as well as those involving partnerships and limited liability partnerships.As an experienced litigator, she also works on a wide range of other disputes, including over sale and purchase, breach of warranty and general contractual issues spread over broad industry sectors including PR, general retail and pharmaceuticals. Rowena also spends considerable time on insurance related matters including advising on third party funding arrangements.Recognising her expertise, she was asked by The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) to write a mini-guide on boardroom disputes in 2013 and an update in 2015 (click here to view ICSA Solutions: Boardroom Disputes on the ICSA website).
Sally is a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property department and head of the Brands group. She advises on brand protection strategies including clearance, monitoring and enforcement as well as trade mark and design filing. She acts for brands at all stages, from creation through to international expansion, both in preparation for investment and following acquisition. Sally advises clients in a wide variety of sectors ranging from betting and gaming to real estate. She is co-head of the firm's Retail group and takes a lead role in the firm's mentoring programmes with the British Fashion Council and Walpole, and sits on the UK Council of the Creative Industries Federation. Prior to qualifying as a lawyer Sally worked in brand management for Benckiser (Reckitt Benckiser), Heinz and Budweiser where her responsibilities included new product development, advertising, promotion, PR, packaging and sponsorship. She is frequently called upon by both the press and broadcast media to comment on brand related developments.
Sarah is a partner in the firm's dispute resolution department, specialising in UK & EU competition law. She is experienced in acting for both claimants and defendants in complex, high-profile cases involving competition law based claims or defences. She advises on both strategic and legal issues associated with litigation, such as choice of forum and reputational issues.Sarah represented Microsoft in its cartel damages claims against Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Sanyo and LG Chem. Sarah also represented Sainsbury's in its successful claim against MasterCard, the highest damages recovered in a European competition damages claim. Sarah has also been advising two former directors of companies involved in separate investigations by the Competition and Markets in the construction and pharmaceuticals sector, for breach of competition warranties and aspects of individual liability. She assists businesses that find themselves under investigation by Competition Regulators, and those concerned about the way their affairs may have been conducted, e.g. attending dawn raids, advising on defence strategies and assessing potential civil liabilities.Sarah regularly undertakes competition law audits and provides training and compliance materials to businesses. She also advises on the competition law aspects of transactions and commercial agreements, including ways to structure agreements and alter commercial behaviour to minimise competition law risks.
Sarah is a Partner in our Employment department and has more than 25 years' experience advising on the full spectrum of contentious and non-contentious employment law, from large scale strategic reorganisation programmes to discrimination issues and executive disputes. She has considerable advocacy experience and particular expertise in all areas of Employment Tribunal and High Court Litigation. Sarah has successfully litigated a number of landmark cases, including RDF v Clements, a landmark restrictive covenant dispute and Reinhard v Ondra and The Royal Bank of Scotland v Grant Hogben, an unfair dismissal and age discrimination dispute. Her clients are drawn from all areas of business, with a particularly strong following in the finance and media sectors. She works for a range of corporate clients from well-known global brands and internationally listed organisations to mid-size domestic organisations. Sarah also spends a small proportion of her time advising senior executives on a range of issues from high profile disputes to negotiating contracts of employment or severance terms. Sarah speaks regularly on employment law at seminars and conferences.
Sarah is a member of the Finance department. She is an experienced finance lawyer whose practice focuses on domestic and cross-border debt financings, advising corporates, investors, developers, banks, funds and other financial institutions from a variety of industries and countries. Her work comprises property acquisition and development finance, corporate acquisition finance and general corporate lending, in which context she advises on all aspects of bilateral and syndicated finance and guarantee, security and inter-creditor issues. Sarah also has considerable experience of acting on restructuring and enforcements.
Saul is a Partner in the Corporate department and Head of the Africa group handling complex cross-border corporate finance transactions. His practice covers a broad spread of areas including equity capital markets, general corporate, public and private M&A and joint ventures.He has advised on a number of UK and cross-border transactions in a wide range of sectors including minerals and mining, clean-tech, advertising, software, life sciences and consumer products.Saul has particular experience advising international businesses raising money in the London and European markets and in a wide range of transactions in the metals and mining sector. These range from negotiating project development agreements in sub-Saharan Africa to leading multi-billion dollar M&A transactions with mining majors.He also regularly advises companies on international joint ventures, particularly in the retail or franchise industries.
Shaistah is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution group specialising in complex commercial litigation, fraud, investigations and regulatory compliance. She is an expert on sanctions law and leads the team in this area. Her experience spans a number of industry sectors ranging from financial services (global investment banks, investment funds, asset management firms and private equity houses) to pharmaceutical companies, real estate developers, software firms and the defence industry. She also acts for high net worth individuals. She has particular experience in advising on contentious investor related claims and investigations, including shareholder and partnership disputes, fraud, negligence and misrepresentation claims, as well as matters involving contractual interpretation, warranties and termination. Shaistah has also acted in disputes and on enforcement actions both for and against governments involving state immunity issues. Shaistah has a long track record of acting for life sciences companies in both general commercial litigation and specialist areas such as follow on damages claims, product liability, procurement disputes and arbitration under the PPRS scheme. She has also advised on industry compliance issues arising under the ABPI Code, UK Bribery Act and FCPA. Examples of her work include: representing senior individuals in the Central Bank of Bahrain investigation as part of the US$10 billion Saad v Al-Gosaibi dispute; acting for UK and offshore insolvent investment funds in litigation and regulatory investigations to recover significant assets, including recovering almost £100 million for Connaught Income Series I Fund UCIS investors in its claim against Capita Financial Managers Limited; and advising senior management of GlaxoSmithKline in the Chinese Government's corruption investigation. She is representing parties involved in a multi-billion dollar tax evasion investigation encompassing offshore trust litigation and multi-jurisdictional criminal and civil proceedings.She also led the team acting for the Government of Nigeria in challenging a $10 billion arbitral award in favour of a BVI company arising from a failed gas deal, on the basis that the underlying contract and the award itself were procured through fraud and corruption. A successful application was made to the English Commercial Court to secure an unprecedented extension of time to challenge the arbitral award more than three years after it was made, extending the usual 28 day limit in which arbitral awards must be appealed, on the grounds that there was strong prima facie evidence of fraud and bribery. Shaistah's practice frequently has an international element and she has extensive experience of litigation and investigations in a number of European, Middle Eastern, Asian and African jurisdictions. This includes advising on sanctions involving Russia, Iran, the Middle East and North Africa, in addition to many other jurisdictions where sanctions are in operation, in both an advisory and contentious capacity. She has led internal investigations relating to alleged violations and advised on regulatory challenges involving sanctions in numerous sectors including financial services, life sciences and the travel industry, including making reports to HM Treasury and OFAC. She has also advised the Law Society and OFSI on its Guidance on sanctions regulations. Shaistah is a recommended lawyer in legal directories, described as "excellent" for commercial litigation, "tenacious” and a “real street fighter”, achieving successful outcomes in some of the most challenging cases. She has spoken at and chaired a number of conferences, including regular slots with the BVCA and the Cambridge Economic Crime Symposium. Shaistah is Co-Editor of Dispute Resolution in the Gulf: GCC Approaches and Egyptian Influences.
Sharon is a Partner in the Employment department with significant experience advising on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law. She brings a commercial and strategic approach to the increasing array of employment issues that clients face, and is adept at handling matters ranging from executive contract negotiations/exit arrangements, business restructurings and redundancies to Remuneration Code issues and the operation of forfeiture provisions (malus and claw-back). Sharon has particular expertise in complex, high-value Employment Tribunal disputes, and High Court litigation, including team moves and the enforcement of restrictive covenants, as well as bonus, discrimination and whistleblowing claims. She has advised LLPs on partnership matters and is well-versed in the issues that affect their members. She also has a breadth of experience advising on the employment aspects of domestic and multi-jurisdictional corporate transactions, and in managing international projects involving complex legal issues and sensitive business considerations. Her client base spans multiple business sectors and includes financial and private equity institutions, manufacturers, insurers, sporting organisations, charitable foundations and online businesses. Clients range from well-known global brands and internationally listed organisations to entrepreneurial businesses. Recognised as a leading employment lawyer by Chambers UK and Legal 500, Sharon is the subject of excellent reviews, with clients and peers citing her in these publications as “a tremendously clever lawyer” who is “really on the ball”, "supportive and commercial" and “on top of the case”. Chambers UK states: 'Sharon Tan has a comprehensive grasp of the entire spectrum of employment law, attaining effusive recommendations from senior market sources. To cite one client, "she gets the relevant points very quickly and takes time to understand our business."' Sharon is also one of only two employment lawyers to be named in The Lawyer Hot 100 2016 and has been recognised by Who's Who Legal: Labour, Employment & Benefits every year since 2016 as a leading practitioner in the employment law field. Sharon also advises on data privacy and data security laws, and the creation and deployment of data privacy programmes, with a particular focus on the applicability of such laws to the personal data of employees.
Simon is a Partner in the Real Estate department, specialising in high value commercial and residential real estate. He is a founder member of our Private Real Estate initiative. He is a trusted advisor to a broad and varied client base, ranging from quoted corporates and established property companies, through to individual entrepreneurs and family offices from around the world. Simon is well-connected and often facilitates valuable introductions for his clients and contacts through his network. His clients value his commercial skill and proactive approach to dealing with their matters. Simon was recognised by Spear's as one of the Top Recommended Property Lawyers as part of their Property Advisors Index for both 2020 and 2021. Simon has a keen social conscience and enjoys his role as Impact Partner, overseeing Pro Bono, Fundraising and Impact activities for the Real Estate Department.
Simon is a Partner in the Real Estate department, with particular expertise in investment, property development and development funding work for quoted companies and funds. He also has considerable experience acting on real estate focused corporate acquisitions and disposals. Simon understands the complexities associated with large transactions and has a reputation for finding practical solutions to issues that arise during the course of such matters. He acts for listed companies and institutions including AEW Europe, Brookfield and UBS Global Asset Management (UK) in relation to investment, development and asset management matters. Recent highlights include advising Brookfield on the acquisition of Arlington, a UK science, innovation and technology real estate platform from TPG for £714 million, and advising Brookfield in relation to the acquisition of a portfolio of retail parks from Hammerson for £330 million.
Simon is a Partner and heads the non-contentious construction team in our Construction department. He has over 30 years' experience in the sector, initially as a chartered surveyor and then as a lawyer. He acts for developers, property owners, funders, contractors, consultants and sub-contractors and has particular expertise in the following sectors: residential (both private rental sector (PRS) and prime residential for high net worth private clients), hotels, student accommodation, office (in particular flexible work spaces) and distribution centres. Simon advises on construction procurement strategy and prepares and negotiates all forms of construction agreements, including forward funding agreements, building contracts, consultants' appointments, warranties, bonds and guarantees, He advises a number of property development and investment companies including Delancey, PGIM, UBS, AEW, Dominus, Watkins Jones, Get Living and Student Roost. Examples of Simon's relevant deals includes acting for QDD in respect of the ongoing development of the East Village in Stratford, east London, acting for Allianz/AEW in respect of distribution centres around the UK, and acting for Thamesbank Developments in respect of a mixed-use hotel, student accommodation and retail scheme in Plymouth.
Sonal Thakrar is a Partner in the Residential Property team. She is described as a ‘dynamite conveyancer and hugely energetic’. She provides advice on all aspects of UK residential property and secured lending to banks and her expertise focuses on purchasing or disposing of prime or super-prime residential property in Central London, often involving complex offshore structures and time sensitive lending requirements whilst navigating deal driven sensitivities. Sonal effortlessly navigates the regulatory and fiduciary requirements specific to the region when acting on multi-jurisdictional transactions. She also has strong connections throughout the UK and globally. Throughout her career, Sonal has built a dynamic and diverse client base ranging from overseas investors, UHNW individuals and their companies, and family offices to trust companies, investment companies, trading companies and banks. She is able to adapt effortlessly to cultural and time-based needs that a client may have in the course of a transaction and delivers on very high profile and high value transactions in prime and super prime Central London despite difficult market conditions. Sonal injects infectious drive and enthusiasm into aspects of her work, whilst leading teams of experts both internally and externally on a range of complex matters. Peers describe her as ‘very dynamic, very high-tempo and very client-focused’ as well as ‘commercial and pragmatic’. Sonal leads a team which, through their breadth of knowledge, understanding of their clients’ unique situations and their success in building close working relationships with all parties involved in transactions, has grown to become one of the largest dedicated residential property practices in London.
Sonia is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution department. She specialises in complex commercial disputes (litigation and arbitration), including breach of contract and tortious claims involving breaches of fiduciary duty, dishonesty, trust issues and shareholder disputes. She has particular expertise in dealing with insurance coverage disputes. Sonia is regularly retained to act in international arbitrations, and is experienced in all major forms (LCIA, ICC, Bermuda Form, ad hoc). In the insurance sector, Sonia acts only for policyholders/insureds in insurance coverage disputes against their insurers. For this reason she also tends to be conflict free. Sonia usually represents corporate and high net worth clients, and advises across a broad range of sectors, including: pharmaceutical and life sciences; betting and gaming; retail and consumer; real estate and construction, and financial services. Within these sectors, Sonia deals with directors' and officers'; cyber; employment practices; fidelity / crime, fiduciary/PTL and professional indemnity liability issues. She also advises on a broad range of risk management issues. Sonia is the firm's Head of BAME Diversity & Inclusion.
Stephen is Chair of the Real Estate department with over 20 years' experience. His expertise lies in commercial real estate work including high value portfolio acquisitions and disposals, development work, joint ventures and structuring. He acts for a broad range of UK and overseas clients including Delancey, Capital & Counties Properties PLC (Capco), Almacantar and The London Business School. His transactions often lead to his involvement with a cross-departmental team providing advice on associated tax, finance and corporate issues. Recent matters include advising Delancey, Qatari Diar, APG and Oxford Properties on the purchase and long-term management of East Village in east London. The Village, adjacent to the Olympic Park, currently has over 2,800 homes (housing 6,000 people) with around 2,000 more homes planned. Stephen also acts for Capital & Counties Properties PLC in relation to its Covent Garden portfolio.
Stephen is a Partner in the Employment department and leads the Incentives team. He has significant experience advising on the strategy, design, implementation and compliance of UK and global employee incentive arrangements including long term incentive plans, all-employee share plans, HMRC tax-advantaged plans, management incentive plans and growth share and joint ownership plans. Stephen also advises on all related corporate, tax and trusts aspects, corporate governance issues, disclosure of directors' remuneration and share dealing regulations. In addition, Stephen works with companies on the impact corporate actions have on their incentive arrangements and has acted on many public takeovers, mergers and acquisitions, public to private transactions, initial public offerings, capital raising activities and private equity deals. He works with a wide range of businesses across several industry sectors including financial services, natural resources, entertainment, aerospace and transport. He acts for companies that are listed on the London Stock Exchange, AIM and overseas exchanges, together with private equity houses, private companies and owner-managed businesses.
Stuart is a Partner in the Betting & Gaming Group in the Innovation Department. He specialises in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions for both public and private companies. He advises on listed company transactions, including flotations, takeovers and fundraisings. He also advises on joint ventures, private fundraisings, shareholder disputes, regulatory issues and corporate re-organisations. Stuart is a member of the Betting and Gaming group, and has extensive experience within this sector. Representative examples include advising two substantial shareholders of PartyGaming Plc on its merger with bwin Interactive Entertainment AG and advising on private equity investments and mergers and acquisitions within the gambling and technology sector. He also advises on wide range of regulatory issues within the online gambling sector. Stuart also acts for clients in a number of other sectors, including real estate, technology and renewable energy. Stuart also advises on the corporate aspects of insolvency-related transactions, including insolvent business sales, debt for equity swaps and schemes of arrangement.
Susan is a Partner in the Real Estate department. An experienced real estate lawyer, her in-depth understanding of the property market, the emerging world of tech and her business training as a Sloan Masters MSc (London Business School) graduate, combined with a wide circle of contacts is an effective combination. She is also the business development Partner for her department and uses her commercial know how and connections to benefit clients and the firm. Susan's contacts help to make the firm’s programme of client seminars and events “must attend” networking opportunities. In 2021, Susan received an honorary doctorate from the University College of Estate Management (UCEM), in recognition of contribution to the built environment. She is ranked in Bisnow's 51 Most influential Women in UK real estate list 2018 as "the woman who knows everyone". She is also listed in Property Week's Women's Power List, which describes her as "a world-class networker" with "a contact book full of CEOs", and ranked in Newington's Women of Influence List 2020, which celebrates women in planning, property and the built environment. Legal 500 described her as "immensely well-connected", while Estates Gazette comments that she is the "consummate hostess and business networker." In the tech sector, Susan is ranked 40 in the Tyto Tech Top 500 List 2018 and also one of the Top 10 Most Influential Online Commercial Real Estate People in 2018 by Duke Long, the "most quoted man in commercial real estate". She was also ranked number 31 out of 100 individuals singled out for their contribution to PropTech in the 2016 Onalytica PropTech influencers list. Susan is a member of the Mishcon Technology Group, which has recently launched MDR LAB - an incubator programme for tech start-ups in the legal space. She has also mentored for Pi Labs accelerator programme for proptech start-ups since it launched and is a regular speaker on the #proptech circuit. She is also on the Diversity & Inclusion Advisory board of Property Week and is an active member of a number of property-related organisations, including Vice Chair of the British Property Federation's newly formed Technology and Innovation Group. Susan is a member of the new ULI Europe Technology and Real Estate Product Council and chaired the FUTURE: Proptech Advisory Group which brings together key influencers in real estate and proptech. She is on the board of BEE Midtown, the Holborn and surrounding area's Business Improvement District and chairs its Property Group. She is also on London Chamber of Commerce Property and Construction Committee. Susan currently writes for Property Week on property industry issues and is active on twitter as @Propertyshe. She is ranked in 25th position in The #CREi List of Top Twitter Influencers for 2022, and was listed in 27th position – the highest ranking British female – in Duke Long’s Top 100 Commercial Real Estate People You Must Follow On Twitter in 2019. In 2022, Ascendix listed PropertyShe as one of their Top 10 Commercial Real Estate podcasts. Susan undertakes regular speaking and panel engagements and hosts a regular PropertyShe podcast interviewing an eclectic mix of property influencers who define and make a difference to the real estate industry and built environment. The podcast series is recognised on Incube's list of top commercial property and PropTech podcasts.
Susan Breen is a Partner in the firm's top ranked Betting & Gaming Group in the Innovation Department. Susan's practice spans both corporate and M&A, as well as regulatory and commercial advice with over 20 years' experience acting for gambling industry clients. A particular strength of Susan's practice is her ability to blend her corporate knowledge with regulatory, infrastructure, and compliance advice to many of the industry's leading operators, service providers and business owners both in the UK and internationally. Much of Susan's work is international with a particular focus on helping clients buy or build businesses in an environment that has become increasingly complex from a legal, regulatory and tax perspective. She has been involved in many of the sector's high profile and innovative transactions over the last two decades. Clients include significant operators, regulators, governments, affiliate marketing groups, games developers and service providers. Susan has been a senior trusted adviser for many years to certain high profile clients and governments in other jurisdictions. She has extensive experience of advising operators and their key shareholders on the risk management and issues facing operators in regulated or yet to be regulated markets. In addition to advising established businesses, Susan has also advised new entrants to the online gambling market in the UK, Africa and the US. Susan is regarded as a pre-eminent lawyer in the betting and gaming sector by Legal 500, Chambers UK and Chambers Global, particularly for "servicing clients on complex, cutting-edge transactions, providing the regulatory overlay which makes her skillset so unique in this sector". Clients say that her "industry knowledge and understanding is unparalleled", "she cuts to the crux of the issues and gets on with it" and that she "really goes the extra mile for her clients".
Susannah is a Partner in the Firm’s Employment Department. She acts for employers and employees on contentious and non-contentious matters with experience of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and Employment Tribunal. She works at the forefront of the legal landscape advising clients on matters arising out of the “gig” economy and is a recognised commentator in both the press and legal profession on matters relating to worker status. Susannah acted for Pimlico Plumbers in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in the landmark case on worker status and holiday pay respectively. Susannah frequently advises businesses and individuals in relation to restrictive covenant, theft of confidential information and team move cases, including in respect of applications for injunctive relief. She is recognised in this area and has authored a chapter on the subject in the pre-eminent employment practitioners' textbook: Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law. Susannah also advises both businesses and senior individuals in relation to (and conducts) investigations, particularly (but not exclusively) in circumstances where there is a regulatory and/or serious reputational risk for her clients. Susannah advises on strategic issues as well as on terminations, redundancies, settlement agreements, all aspects of discrimination and whistleblowing legislation, restrictive covenants, executive remuneration issues and corporate strategy and structuring issues. Susannah also has experience of advising on confidentiality and privacy issues in relation to both Court and Tribunal proceedings. Susannah frequently advises C-Suite Executives on a wide-range of employment-related issues. Susannah is recognised as having a strategic, pragmatic and commercial approach by her clients who come from a range of sectors including financial services, private equity, insurance, professional services, Fin Tech, design, fashion and recruitment. Susannah is a member of the Firm’s Technology Group, Retail and Fashion Group and Recruitment Services Group and advises on start-up and scale-up issues for companies. Susannah is also a member of the Employment Lawyers’ Association and a board member of Cosmetic Executive Women. . Susannah undertakes regular pro-bono work. She represented the Jewish Labour Movement in relation to the referral of the Labour Party to the Equality and Human Rights Commission on issues of antisemitism. Susannah also advised the Criminal Bar Association in respect of the Equality Act issues arising out of the proposed extended operating hours. She also acted for the family of Siham Hamud in connection with the legal proceedings threatened by her school following her refusal to comply with the school's uniform policy on the grounds of her religious belief. For her involvement in some of the biggest employment cases in recent years, Susannah has been recognised by The Lawyer’s Hot 100 2020 as a standout lawyer shaping the legal profession in the UK.