Blake Morgan LLP

Alex Shirtcliff

Alex is a Partner in our London litigation group with extensive experience of domestic and international cases. In the past five years he has conducted cases across seven jurisdictions with over US $9bn in contention. With a focus on pursuing or defending assets in complex civil fraud situations, Alex has pursued his clients’ interests in the UK, BVI, Cayman, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Gibraltar, France, Spain and multiple U.S. states. He has multi-case driven expertise in crypto asset litigation. Alex has acted for energy majors, technology companies, African mineral resource investors, international law firms and individuals with enterprise-level disputes.

Alison Patten-Hall

Alison is head of Blake Morgan’s Commercial and Charities teams. She is a partner specialising in commercial and complex high value projects. She has a great deal of experience of working with clients in the health and care sector, but also acting for large corporates on commercial projects

Antonia Dowgray

Antonia has practiced for over 20 years, and is dual qualified in New Zealand and the UK. Antonia has worked on professional disciplinary cases for the majority of key health care regulators including the General Medical Council (GMC), the General Dental Council (GDC), the General Optical Council (GOC), (then) General Social Care Council (GSCC), and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Bradley Albuery

Bradley is the Head of Professional Regulation and a partner in our Regulatory Group which advises public and private sector organisations and individuals on investigations, compliance, reviews, prosecutions and risk management.

Bruce Potter

Bruce advises both private and public organisations on all aspects of commercial, corporate policy and governance advice. Bruce deals with corporate work, especially spin outs, acquisitions and disposals and management buy-outs as well as extensive advisory work on business recovery and insolvency across receivership, administrations and complex partnership and public and treaty body insolvency and transfers. Bruce also deals with commercial work, especially in IT and information security, developing new legal models and mixed legal/advisory/educational approaches to new legal risks. Bruce supports organisational development and governance development across health and social care often working with multi-disciplinary teams from other professional disciplines. The hallmark of his advice has been the combination of legal excellence with commercial acumen to deliver effective practical solutions for clients.

Catherine Morgan

Family Law solicitor and a Resolution accredited specialist, Catherine advises clients in divorce/civil partnership proceedings, financial remedy negotiations and in private law Children Act matters, as well as Cohabitants’ disputes and in drafting Deeds of Cohabitation and Pre-Nuptial/Post-Nuptial Agreements. Catherine often advises clients in cases with complex elements and in 2019 was named by eprivateclient as one of the Top 35 under 35 professionals in the private client sector.

Chris Potts

Chris leads the Commercial Litigation team in the Thames Valley and London. He handles complex commercial and corporate disputes, often in multiple jurisdictions. His practice includes substantial fraud/breach of duty claims.

Claire Rawle

Claire is a Partner who leads the Health, Safety and Environmental team which is recognised as having one of the leading Health and Safety practices in the UK. Claire leads the firm’s cross-office Compliance, Investigations and Prosecutions team which is recognised as having one of the leading Health and Safety practices in Wales and the South of England. Claire has over 28 years’ experience advising and representing clients in the private and public sectors across a range of industries on a variety of regulatory and criminal enforcement issues and Coroner’s Inquests.

Clare Strickland

Partner.

Daniel Scognamiglio

Daniel leads our travel team based in Southampton. He is a specialist in multi-jurisdictional disputes, travel insurance litigation and tour operator liability and is qualified as a solicitor in England and Attorney at Law (non practising) New York. He has a particular specialism in handling travel insurance and foreign personal injury matters, advising insurers and the public as a result of accidents that have happened abroad; dealing with general insurance litigation and commercial disputes with an international or multi-jurisdictional element. Daniel also advises travel agents and tour operators as to the Package Travel Regulations, ATOL and CAA.

David Miles

David has acted as a Privy Council agent since 1993. He has conducted many cases from most of the Privy Council jurisdictions. In his capacity as a Privy Council agent, David conducts a wide variety of cases including professional negligence, clinical negligence, personal injury, company and commercial, probate and construction.

Elisabeth Bell

Elisabeth is a Partner in our Reading office, specialising in the fields of IT, data protection and commercial contracts. Elisabeth is a versatile commercial lawyer, having extensive practical experience drafting, negotiating and advising on legal issues arising in connection with a wide range of commercial projects for private, public and third sectors. She has particular experience advising on IT and data protection issues, as well as extensive commercial experience in the health sectors. Drawing on secondments to a number of international companies, and the Commercial Directorate at the Department of Health, she has advised on significant outsourcing and procurement projects as well as a wide range of commercial business as usual contracts including software licensing; supply arrangements for goods and services; distribution and agency arrangements and public sector procurement projects. advises on IP issues for a range of public and private sector organisations.

Elizabeth Carr

Chief operating officer of Blake Morgan. Previously managing parther at Morgan Cole, Elizabeth was head of the firm’s general insurance, health and regulatory practice. Elizabeth specialises in employers’ and public liability, product liability, motor liability, and professional indemnity claims and has published articles on personal injury and procedural matters.

Emyr Lewis

Emyr covers public and constitutional law as well as heavyweight commercial transactions in the ICT and media sectors, public procurement and State Aid.Emyr has particular expertise in Welsh law and legislation, having advised public bodies and businesses about this emerging field since before the National Assembly was created.

Eve Piffaretti

Eve is Head of Office in Wales and heads our Public Law Group. She acts for public, private and third sector organisations across the UK advising on public law and regulatory issues. Eve specialises in statutory interpretation, freedom of information, equality & human rights, safeguarding, mental health and mental capacity law.

Gemma Spiceley

Gemma specialises in private company acquisitions and disposals, helping businesses to grow through acquisition, with particular experience in retail, healthcare and childcare sectors.

Gillian McCue

Gillian is a Legal Director specialising in pensions and benefits advising on all employer and trustee pension scheme responsibilities. Gillian advises trustees and employers on all pensions issues including, regulatory compliance, corporate transactions and investment responsibilities on both public service and private sector pension schemes. She also advises on incentive arrangements for key executives and staff.

Hollie Jones

Hollie is a Senior Associate in the Real Estate team within the Built Environment division based Hollie deals with all aspects of commercial property work with a particular focus on portfolio management for both landlords and corporate occupiers in the retail and leisure sectors as well as industrial, marine and office occupier clients. She also has extensive experience in dealing with acquisitions and disposals of commercial freehold and leasehold properties and general property management issues.

James Egan

James is a real estate partner with experience of large-scale development work, joint ventures, and general property transactions in the private, public and third sectors.James handles many of the firm’s high value, high profile real estate transactions leading multi-disciplinary teams of solicitors. He has significant expertise in the development of office blocks, health campuses and primary care resource centres and currently acts for developers, tenants and purchasers in the procurement, acquisition, funding, development and subsequent lease arrangements and sales of such developments. He also leads teams advising large clients such as the Welsh Government, NHS Wales, charities and social landlords on portfolio management.

James Williams

James is a partner in the Corporate team in South Wales with extensive corporate transactional experience.James specialises in mergers, acquisitions and disposals, management buy-outs and buy-ins, private equity and venture capital transactions. He regularly advises clients on an array of general company law matters, such as corporate governance and compliance issues, reorganisations, joint venture and shareholder issues, including agreements and disputes.

James Greig

James is head of the Wills, probate, tax and trusts team based in the Thames Valley. He specialises in trusts and high end probate and inheritance tax planning.James main areas of expertise are: Wills, probate and powers of attorney, Section 11 IHTA Maintenance Trusts, the creation, administration, restructuring and termination of Trusts, Will structuring and planning for business owners and Inheritance Tax planning.

Jane Biddlecombe

Jane has over 20 years’ experience in advising on all aspects of employment law in a variety of sectors. She is also a business immigration specialist. Jane advises on a wide range of employment issues including disciplinary issues and dismissals; performance management; absence management and capability issues; handling grievances; discrimination; redundancies and business re-organisations; post-termination restrictions; employment issues relating to acquisitions and disposals including TUPE; drafting employment contracts and policies/procedures; settlement agreements, including Director exits; and Employment Tribunal claims, including representation at hearings. Jane also specialises in all aspects of business immigration law including obtaining a sponsor licence to employ Skilled Workers in the UK and advising on compliance with sponsor duties. She advises clients on obtaining Certificates of Sponsorship and visas for employees including Skilled Worker visas, Global Business Mobility visas (intra-group transfers of senior or specialist workers), Temporary Worker visas and Business Visitor visas. Jane advises a variety of businesses ranging from large international companies to small and medium sized companies in both the private and public sectors.

Joanna Corbett-Simmons

Joanna is a Senior Associate in the Litigation & Dispute Resolution team in Cardiff specialising in corporate and shareholder disputes, professional negligence and contentious intellectual property matters. Joanna has a broad range of experience in general commercial and civil claims and specialist knowledge of post-completion disputes (principally claims for breach of warranty, restrictive covenants and expert determinations of deferred consideration payments), shareholder disputes, professional negligence (principally against legal or financial advisors) and contentious intellectual property matters (including trademark and design right infringement).

Joanna Rees

Jo has worked closely with developers, government and public sector teams and contractors dealing with all aspects of construction projects from project tender through the build phase, managing risk issues and resolving disputes by ADR, adjudication, mediation or litigation when required.

Joanne Davies

Jo is a partner in the Employment, Pensions and Immigration group. She provides general employment advice from our Cardiff office.Jo’s work includes maternity rights, discrimination issues, sickness absence, non-performance, gross misconduct and new areas of employment law. She also specialises in advising on employment issues arising out of large scale procurements, outsourcing, commercial contracts, mergers, acquisitions and post-acquisition integration and is an expert on advising in relation to TUPE issues.

Joanne Thompson

Joanne is a Partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team based in Cardiff, specialising in procurement challenges, public inquiries, commercial and contractual disputes, post-completion and corporate disputes, professional negligence and partnership disputes.

Jonathan Sleep

Jonathan is a Senior Associate in the Succession and Tax team in our Southampton Office. Jonathan's main areas of expertise includes dealing with and advising on: The administration of high value estates, including for business owners and farmers Advising on inheritance tax and capital gains tax planning Preparation of Wills, bespoke to his client’s individual requirements Lasting Powers of Attorney Creation of Trusts

Kath Shimmin

Kath is a Partner in the Banking & Finance Team. She has over 25 years’ experience in the finance sector, covering a huge range of client and transaction types.

Kathryn Woodward

Kathryn is a Senior Associate solicitor and Notary Public, who specialises in Wills, inheritance tax planning and high net worth estates. Kathryn advises and prepares Deeds of Variation. Inheritance tax planning post death. She is a member of the Solicitors for the Elderly and specialising in elderly client matters, to include preparation of lasting powers of attorney and applications to the Court of Protection. She is the Secretary for the Thames Valley Branch of STEP and also acts for the trustees of a local Charity on a pro-bono basis.

Katie James

Katie is an experienced insolvency lawyer, and partner, aiming to maximise recoveries for her clients, whether through sales of assets or by way of litigation. For the past 11 years, Katie has worked in all areas of insolvency, including formal processes such as administration, liquidation, receivership and bankruptcy as well as in less formal distressed situations. Katie has particular expertise in dealing with distressed care homes as well as hotels and complex group structures.

Lee Fisher

Lee is a partner in our Commercial Litigation team based in Cardiff and heads the firms Intellectual Property practice in Wales. Lee has gained a wide range of experience in commercial disputes and in particular those involving a high degree of complexity or requiring urgent pre-emptive relief. He has significant experience of contractual claims, shareholder disputes, post-completion disputes and professional negligence claims.

Lisa Davies

Lisa is respected by her colleagues, other professionals and clients alike for her professional and exacting approach, as well as for the breadth of her technical knowledge and ability to find elegant and effective solutions to clients’ problems. Lisa specialises in the full range of Private Client services, including the administration of estates, advising on inheritance tax, Will planning, trusts and Lasting Powers of Attorney. She is a fully accredited member of Solicitors for the Elderly.

Louise Howells

Louise is an experienced commercial property lawyer based in our Cardiff office acting for many of the firm’s commercial clients. Louise’s work includes acting for Housing Associations in the acquisition, disposal and refinancing of properties where she has evolved a strong reputation as a trusted advisor. Louise has developed an expertise in acting for tenants in the management of a portfolio of retail properties as well as in dealings with public houses. She acts regularly for an acquisitive PLC in the purchase of companies with key property components and represents companies in the health care sector involved in the acquisition and development of portfolios of new medical centres for GP’s. Louise has provided advice and assistance to developers bringing forward large sites for development and is expert in the many dimensions of commercial property transactions and land based legal issues.

Madeleine Mould

Madeleine is a Senior Associate in our Employment Law team, she advises on a wide range of issues, both contentious and non-contentious. Madeleine works with a wide range of private and public sector employer clients of varying sizes. Advising on contentious and non-contentious matters, from the defence and/or settlement of employment tribunal claims, to managing internal employee relations processes, drafting employment contracts and company policies and providing advice on day-to-day employment law enquiries, Madeleine tailors her advice to reflect the commercial and relational context of the issue in hand. Madeleine has a strong commercial background, having completed seats in Blake Morgan’s Corporate and Banking, Commercial, Employment and Commercial Property teams during her training contract.

Manoj Styche-patel

Head of corporate department. Partner specialising in corporate finance work including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, management buy-outs and buy-ins; also advises on partnership matters.

Matthew Smith

Matthew heads our national Education Sector practice. Matthew also provides employment advice to key clients in the Education, Health & Social Care, Retail & Leisure and Financial Services Sectors. Matthew is a supervisor of Employment Tribunal work amongst other matters.

Max Craft

Max is a consultant in our employment team. He has specialised in advising in employment law matters for over 20 years.Recognised as a leader in his field by Chambers, Max heads a team which advises clients on all aspects of employment and pensions law. He has built a national reputation for his work in this field. He still practices as an advocate and has represented the firm’s clients before employment tribunals and the EAT. He has also advised extensively on the transfer of undertaking of regulations, outsourcing issues and education. He remains actively involved in community affairs in Portsmouth where he has lived for 37 years. Max has managed and successfully represented clients in some of the Employment group’s most complex and demanding cases before the employment tribunals, including a number of high profile cases involving the Transfer of Undertaking Regulations (TUPE).

Michael Ward

Michael is based in the Blake Morgan Reading office, a senior real estate lawyer dealing with all aspects of commercial landlord and tenant work with an ongoing specialism in the development and healthcare fields. Michael has expertise in dealing with all areas of commercial real estate including the development, sale, purchase and letting of commercial premises. He is experienced in acquiring and selling development sites, negotiating development and promotion agreements as well as dealing with secured lending and heading up the Real Estate Finance Practice in the Thames Valley. He has a particular expertise in acting on healthcare developments for both the developer, care homes and medical practices including surgery relocation, developments, leasing and building schemes including specialist property leasing arrangements relevant to NHS funding.

Mike Wilson, Managing Partner

Mike is the managing partner at Blake Morgan. Mike specialises in all aspects of employment law, including restrictive covenants, commercial agents regulations and disqualification of directors. He has particular expertise in employment tribunal work and high court litigation, where he undertakes his own advocacy. His work also focuses on the social housing, retail and education sectors in relation to employment. Mike is recognised by Chambers and Partners as a key individual with ‘particular expertise in the social housing and retail sectors’. (‘Chambers UK, A Client’s Guide to the Legal Profession’ 2012).

Niall Brook

Risk partner.

Nicola Diggle

Nicola is a Partner in our Litigation and Dispute Resolution Division specialising in commercial litigation and dispute resolution. She has a great deal of experience acting for individuals and corporates based in the Thames Valley, London, United Kingdom and abroad across a range of sectors.

Nigel Griffiths

Nigel is an experienced real estate partner, covering the full range of commercial property work, and having handled the Canary Wharf retail portfolio for the last 25 years has gained a particular specialism and interest in retail leasing and development work.

Paul Caldicott

Paul is a specialist corporate restructuring and insolvency solicitor in our Business Support & Insolvency team, dealing with non-contentious advisory work and all forms of litigation recovery work on behalf of Banks, Asset Based Lenders and Insolvency Practitioners.

Paula Shea

Paula has over 20 years’ experience. She is a Solicitor, Partner and is Head of the South Coast Succession and Tax Team. Paula is well liked by her clients and is known for her practical and sensitive approach. She thrives on the technically challenging, unusual and interesting cases and creates innovative solutions to tricky problems. In addition to entrepreneurs and those with significant business interests, Paula acts for a number of well known sports and media clients in connection with wills, probate, and tax-related matters. Paula is particularly skilled in advising elderly clients and assisting families with vulnerable children. Paula believes in a holistic approach, working with other advisers and those within her team and the firm to deliver the best outcome for their clients.

Paula Kathrens

Paula is a partner in the Employment law team, advising key clients in both the public and private sectors including Welsh Government, further and higher education, health and social care, housing and the financial services sectors on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law. Paula is a supervisor of Employment Tribunal work amongst other matters.

Penny Rinta-Suksi

Penny is a commercial partner and an OxLEP non executive director, for whom she chairs two Sub Groups (Enterprise Zones and Funded Projects Programme). She leads Blake Morgan’s Local Government England team with over 20 years’ experience in advising private sector clients, funders, public sector and third sector on major projects and commercial contracts specialising in leisure, housing, energy , utilities, and blue-light. Penny excels at outsourcing, public private partnering and joint ventures.

Rajiv Joshi

Rajiv has experience in a variety of contentious and non-contentious employment law issues. Rajiv is a supervisor of Employment Tribunal work amongst other matters. Rajiv’s work includes unfair dismissal, discrimination, jurisdictional matters and the employment aspects of corporate transactions. He also drafts and advises on directors’ service agreements, employment contracts, staff handbooks and settlement agreements.

Rebecca McCarthy

Solicitor

Richard Jones

Richard is a partner in the corporate and commercial teams based primarily in our Cardiff office and is a member of our Business Support & Insolvency Team. Richard deals with a broad range of corporate matters, including acquisitions, disposals, investments, shareholder and joint venture agreements and restructuring together with general corporate matters for a wide variety of clients including listed companies, venture-capital backed management teams, PLC’s, SME’s and owner-managed businesses. He is experienced in advising insolvency practitioners – typically administrators – in connection with their appointment and the eventual sale of insolvent businesses.

Robin Havard

Robin specialises in regulatory and professional conduct work, acting for public and private companies and their directors, public sector organisations, and regulatory bodies.

Ron Burgess

Ron is Head of Employment, Pensions and Immigration group. He provides advice to trustees, corporate clients, insolvency practitioners and other stakeholders in the pensions industry on a wide range of matters that involve pension schemes. Ron has wide ranging experience in providing pension-related advice on the implications of corporate restructurings, financing and re-financing, general corporate activities and conduct, insolvencies, mergers, benefit changes, pension scheme redesigns and mergers, pension scheme amendments, closures and winding-up and advice in respect of the Pensions Regulator and Pension Protection Fund.

Rupert Graham-Evans

Rupert is a Partner in our pensions team and re-joined Blake Morgan in 2015 from Penningtons Manches LLP. With over 14 years’ experience of pensions law, Rupert advises employers, trustees, intermediaries and individuals in relation to the legal aspects of UK based pension and life assurance arrangements.

Siân Jones

Siân is a partner in our dispute resolution team and a specialist in property litigation and residential landlord and tenant disputes with a wealth of experience in the Social Housing sector.

Simon McCann

Simon specialises in public and utilities procurement and major projects including construction, development, IT, energy saving partnerships, joint ventures and other vehicles.

Susie Dryden

Susie is a very experienced commercial litigator who has advised on a broad range of matters over a number of years. She has been the lead partner on a number of cases involving significant and complex litigation or arbitration, including commercial contract disputes, procurement disputes, IT disputes, engineering disputes, fraud cases and professional negligence claims. In recent years, much of her work has been in the health and I.T. sectors, in which she has specialised. Her expertise in undertaking detailed investigations and in asset recovery cases enhances her regulatory work, where she has acted for many years as Intervention Agent for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) into interventions into solicitors’ firms. Susie is also an accredited mediator, both acting as mediator and representing parties at mediation.

Timothy Coles

Tim is a Legal Director in the Corporate team in the Thames Valley who has experience of advising on a broad range of corporate transactions. His principal areas of work are private acquisitions and disposals (domestic and cross-border), joint ventures, restructurings, and initial public offerings. Tim advises clients in a number of different sectors but has particular expertise in the tech, healthcare and leisure sectors.

Tina Whitman

Tina specialises in working with the public sector, primarily undertaking defendant personal injury work on behalf of the NHS and national and local government. Tina’s case load includes RTA, employer’s liability, public liability and disease claims at all levels of severity. She also provides advice to NHS bodies and other public bodies on a range of issues, including Judicial Review, Inquests, the NHS Performers List Wales Regulations 2004, continuing health care, funded nursing care and the NHS Pharmaceutical Regulations. Tina is a key member of Blake Morgan’s Public Sector and Personal Injury training forums, regularly delivering training on all aspects of personal injury law and risk and claims management.

Tom Walker

Tom specialises in criminal, regulatory and professional disciplinary law. Tom provides specialist advice to a range of different clients, including individual employees, Directors and organisations in both the public and private sectors.

Zoe Wright

Heading up the Property Litigation team across Thames Valley, London and Cardiff providing strategic advice and litigation expertise to real estate clients dealing with land law matters such as restrictive covenants and easements, development agreements, telecommunications law, water law, agricultural law and site clearance issues as well as providing the full gamut of property asset management services including advising on business lease renewals and exits, interim and terminal dilapidations claims, tenant default and insolvency.

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