Blake Morgan LLP

blakemorgan.co.uk

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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