Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP

Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP

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Kevin Bell

Kevin Bell

Kevin is a partner in the transport practice and is highly experienced in advising on heavy and light rail franchise and concessions bids, bus franchise bids, ground transportation contract bids, franchise mobilisations and related statutory transfer schemes, rolling stock leasing and a variety of commercial and regulatory matters. He acts for a number of passenger transport operators (including Go-Ahead, Govia, Arriva, SNCF, Keolis, LNER, Transdev and Tower Transit) and recently advised a private sector bus operator on its bid for the Greater Manchester Bus Franchising scheme, Transdev on the provision of fleet management services at Heathrow Airport and Chiltern Railways/Arriva on various regulatory matters related to the mobilisation of its new national rail contract. Kevin has also acted for concession letting authorities, local airports and rolling stock manufacturers.
Will Bonas

Will Bonas

Will is a Partner in the Private Capital team, with many years of experience as a corporate and commercial lawyer, which he has built upon in private client work. He typically advises the owners of businesses and rural estates, high net worth individuals and family investment companies. Will's main areas of expertise are providing strategic growth advice, generational succession planning and mainstream private client work, such as estate planning, wills, trusts, LPAs, and capital tax mitigation.
Ben Butler

Ben Butler

Ben is a partner in the Corporate Team and since joining in 2001 has undertaken a diverse range of corporate based transactions in a range of sectors. He has particular expertise in public company work, private company merger and acquisitions, asset finance, joint venturing (both in the private and public sectors), group reorganisations and governance. His work in a broad range of sectors, including the transport, health, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and property investment and development sectors, has enabled him to develop an excellent understanding of a range of commercial practices.
Caroline Churchill

Caroline Churchill

Caroline is a partner in the commercial team specialising in non-contentious commercial, technology and data protection work. Her practice involves advising on a wide variety of commercial contracts including distribution, agency and franchising arrangements, contractual joint ventures, terms and conditions of supply, licensing and manufacturing arrangements, outsourcing agreements (IT and BPO), cloud computing, systems integration, general IP, e-commerce, data protection and privacy law matters. Extensive data protection and privacy law advice to organisations operating in marketing, data analysis, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, hospitality, retail, transport, technology and financial services sectors.                                        
Richard Collins

Richard Collins

Richard is a partner in the commercial disputes team. He specialises in high-value commercial litigation. Richard has experience of a broad range of commercial and contentious matters including disputes arising out of complex financial products, pensions disputes, professional negligence matters, shareholder disputes and substantial multi-jurisdictional contractual claims. He also specialises in contentious procurement matters and has a particular focus on the financial services, transport and public sectors.
David Dale

David Dale

David is head of Private Wealth, and a member of the firm's board. He has over 20 years' experience at major national and international firms. David has built up a specialist knowledge in all areas that would affect an individual, his or her family and their business. As wealthy individuals' affairs become more complex, it is more and more rare to identify specialists who are familiar with both legal, taxation and investment matters. These rare qualities therefore, are ideal for leading the department and bringing the best out of each particular discipline to the clients' benefit. David is also accustomed to dealing with significantly wealthy individuals and their families. His work often involves working with wealthy individuals, business owners, lottery winners and beneficiaries of significant estates. His team of over 80 provides a wide range of services to private clients and charities, across the country.
Sally Dallow

Sally Dallow

Sally is a partner in the restructuring and insolvency team with over 25 years' experience. Sally specialises in investigative work, civil fraud and asset recovery and leads the public interest work which the firm undertakes for The Insolvency Service (an executive agency of The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy), including investigations, directors' disqualification and public interest winding up proceedings.  Sally has provided advice and strategic direction in relation to many high profile, sensitive and complex investigations and subsequent proceedings.
Hilary Du Randt

Hilary Du Randt

Hilary is a Partner who joined the Employment Team on qualification in 2005, having completed a training contract with the firm. She acts for both public and private sector clients and advises on all aspects of employment law, from recruitment through to dismissal. Her particular expertise lies in advising and defending clients in relation to claims in the Employment Tribunals (and higher courts) for discrimination, including equal pay, in respect of which she has acted for local authorities and retailers in the defence of multi million pound claims. She advises on the full range of employment issues, from executive terminations, to disciplinary and grievance matters, redundancy and managing ill-health absence.  She provides strategic support and assistance to manage the process of reorganisations and changing terms and conditions, and has significant experience assisting her clients with the industrial relations issues associated with these.  Hilary provides strategic advice on disputes arising from contractual terms of employment, with expertise in both drafting and taking action in relation to enforcement of restrictive covenants in order to protect the business interests of her clients. Hilary delivers training on the full range of employment issues, including bespoke packages developed specifically for the firm's clients. She regularly presents seminars and runs workshops, offering practical advice and guidance to employers on the employment law challenges which they face. Hilary is also Co-Chair of the firm’s Informed Counsel programme, which offers a range of services and networking opportunities for in-house lawyers.
Suzanne Duff

Suzanne Duff

Suzanne's work at the firm has been varied, including liability management exercises (scheme closures, modifying accrual, implementing cash balance schemes, buy in and buy out annuity policies), merger projects, advising on corporate restructuring for employers in financial difficulties, clearance applications for merger and acquisition work, scheme documentation projects, pension ombudsman claims and other litigation matters. Her regulatory expertise has been of significant use to many of the team's company and trustee clients and she works closely with the firm's Corporate Recovery Team on matters which may involve the Pension Protection Fund.
Gavin Ellison

Gavin Ellison

Gavin has over 15 years' experience of providing strategic and practical advice to employers and trustees on all aspects of pensions law. He helps employers manage their pension scheme liabilities and trustees in protecting members' interests. He specialises in working closely with clients on formulating and progressing benefit restructuring, de-risking and transition management exercises for a combination of defined benefit, hybrid and defined contribution schemes. Gavin is insightful, pragmatic and particularly skilled at finding solutions which strike the middle ground between employers’ and trustees' interests. Gavin also heads up WBD's auto enrolment practice. He is recognised amongst clients as an expert in this field and has written extensively on the subject and delivered numerous training sessions to clients, intermediaries and industry experts.
Andrew Farquharson

Andrew Farquharson

Andrew is a partner in the agriculture, farms and estates team and advises clients in relation to all aspects of rural property. He routinely acts in the sale and purchase of farms and estates, sporting estates and agricultural and rural residential property portfolios.  His particular area of expertise lies in acting for landowners in relation to renewable energy projects, and on residential and commercial developments. Andrew also represents several substantial estates and landowning clients in relation to the management of their mineral interests. He has significant specialist expertise in advising mineral owners in the commercial exploitation of their mineral interests and regularly advises on issues relating to reinstatement of quarry sites.
Stacey Hall

Stacey Hall

Stacey is a partner predominantly focusing on corporate transactional work and is well experienced working for serial acquirers, owner-managers and investors. She advises on a range of corporate law areas, including business disposals, acquisitions, re-organisations, joint ventures and share buy backs, as well providing general company law and governance advice. Stacey advises both listed and private companies, as well as advising on private equity transactions and investments. She is well known in the North East deal community and is member of the regional CBI Emerging Leaders' Board. She was highlighted in 2020 as a "rising star" in the Legal 500 and won the Insider Media Emerging Dealmaker of the Year award 2020/2021. She was also shortlisted for Corporate Lawyer of the Year at the North East Insider Media awards in September 2021.
Simon Kirkup

Simon Kirkup

Simon is a partner and advises individuals, families, charities and trusts in relation to a wide range of legal, commercial and personal issues.  He also acts as a trustee for many significant landowning families – and seeks innovative solutions to the many challenges that the ownership of landed estates presents.  He advises private and commercial investors in the acquisition and management of farms and estates – covering sporting, agricultural and commercial aspects.  Simon regularly lectures at seminars and conferences.
Chris Ledgerwood

Chris Ledgerwood

Chris is Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP's expert on matters of leasehold reform and enfranchisement together with transactions where the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 and the potential pre-emption rights of tenants need to be taken into account. He was member of the Law Commissions legal advisory group on residential enfranchisement and lease extension reform and provides high-level advice to clients arising out of these highly technical areas of practice. Chris acts for a number residential investment clients including Grainger and Walworth Investment Properties Limited as well as registered providers such as Places for People. In addition, Chris advises on all other residential investment work including sales and acquisitions both of individual units and of portfolios. With over 20 years’ experience of the residential sector, Chris is able to provide considerable insight to his clients given his wide knowledge of the field.
Peter Maxwell

Peter Maxwell

Peter is a partner in the Restructuring and Insolvency Team. He qualified in 1998 having completed his training with the firm. Peter has a wealth of corporate and personal insolvency experience acting for both private and public sector clients.  Peter acts for Insolvency Practitioners specialising in investigations and litigation in cases involving misfeasance, fraud and other misconduct.  Peter is also a member of the team which acts for The Insolvency Service, an executive agency of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, in relation to a range of public interest work. This includes public interest winding up proceedings against live companies and the investigation and disqualification of directors of insolvent companies under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.  Peter also acts for Insolvency Practitioners in conjunction with HM Revenue & Customs in relation to a range of insolvency related matters.
Emma Moody

Emma Moody

Emma is a partner and head of the firm's charities and not for profit team. Emma’s clients are both national (Addaction, Katie Piper Foundation, Children in Need, Crisis UK) and regional (Mental Health Matters, Gateshead College, St John of God Hospitaller Services); and she has provided support to trustees and senior management on a variety of legal issues ranging from governance reviews and restructuring exercises, incorporations and mergers, fundraising trading and tax, and compliance with regulatory requirements. Emma is also an approved Interim Manager, appointed by the Charity Commission on cases where there are regulatory concerns relating to a charity. Emma's clients benefit from comprehensive advice in areas such as employment and pensions, data protection, property and health and safety. Emma's approach is to understand what her clients wish to achieve, so she can deliver excellent technical advice, but in a straightforward and commercial manner, focusing on solutions and outcomes. Emma has worked on a number of college mergers resulting from a consolidation of the FE sector, she has acted as Interim Manager for a charity in relation to high profile safeguarding concerns, and is Interim Manager for a charity with internal governance issues to resolve. Emma is supporting a large membership body in its move to independence (creating an entirely new constitutional and governance framework) and is working with a significant national charity looking to develop its partnership arrangements with commercial fundraising partners. Emma is immersed in the sector through her trustee roles, through her interaction with umbrella bodies and regulators. She is a regular speaker at events on issues affecting the sector, and is a member of bodies including ACEVO, CFG and AoC.
Robert Phillips

Robert Phillips

Robert is a corporate finance partner in the Corporate Team based in Newcastle, with over 25 years’ experience of advising clients on private and public company mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, domestic and international joint ventures and corporate governance. In over 20 years working in the North East corporate marketplace as part of an award winning regional firm, Robert has advised on some of the most significant transactions in the region and worked with some of the region’s best known entrepreneurs and businesses. Robert’s specialisation is working with owner-managers and shareholders around strategic direction and maximising value when exiting their companies and also on the reverse side of those transactions, acting for corporates acquiring new businesses and companies as part of growth strategies. Robert has been named Insider’s North-East corporate lawyer of the year on three separate occasions – and worked on 4 of the awards’ ceremony “Deal of the Year” in the North East Region. Robert has recently worked on projects including: the IPO of Tekmar Group PLC; the disposal of RIBA Enterprises Ltd (trading as NBS) by RIBA and its co-investment alongside LDC; the AVX Corporation acquisition of the TT Electronics PLC business; and MPac's strategic disposal of its cigarette and packaging division. These transactions follow on from projects in the region in bringing Quantum Pharma PLC, Ulilitywise PLC and Vertu PLC to the AIM market.
John Ralph

John Ralph

John is the head of the firm's real estate sector. Clients include a full range of private and institutional real estate investors, registered providers, developers and funders. John has over 25 years' experience in the sector with particular focus on large scale finance related real estate transactions. The real estate sector team is well networked nationally, and provides a comprehensive range of integrated specialist skills including optioning and promoting strategic land, enfranchisement, environmental and regulatory, planning, real estate tax, real estate corporate vehicles, agricultural and rural property, public and private sector regeneration and procurement.
Deborah Ramshaw

Deborah Ramshaw

Deborah is a Partner and heads up our procurement team and is well regarded for her pragmatic and commercial advice. She is a highly regarded practitioner with substantial experience of advising a wide client base including central and local government, health bodies, education institutions, housing providers, energy and transport utilities, private sector clients and charities. She advises on procurement law aspects of a range of projects including large scale PPP projects, major outsourcing initiatives, joint ventures, regeneration projects and challenges. Deborah lectures regularly and also writes for Westlaw and Lexis PSL.
Kevin Robertson

Kevin Robertson

Kevin is head of the firm’s Projects and Procurement team. He has extensive experience of advising public sector bodies in relation to a range of commercial matters including public private partnerships and has particular expertise in projects in the education sector where he leads the firm’s Education Group. He advises a broad range of clients including local and central government bodies, universities, further education colleges, academy trusts, Diocesan bodies and private sector contractors.
Paul Stewart

Paul Stewart

As Managing Partner, Paul is responsible for the strategic and operational management of Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP. Paul has experience of a wide range of contractual and tortious disputes, which includes significant experience of both High Court proceedings and alternative dispute resolution processes, particularly mediation, expert determination and arbitration. He regularly advises clients in relation to disputes in the rail and wider transport sectors (including disputes governed by the rail industry’s dispute resolution regime and public law issues) and routinely acts for many of our larger chemicals and manufacturing clients.
Helen Tavroges

Helen Tavroges

Senior Counsel and head of the private capital team within the firm’s private wealth department Helen advises on tax efficient wills and trusts, pre-death and post-death tax-planning strategies, including advising on death benefits under pension and life policies. Acts as a trustee for many family trusts and advises on trusteeships and trust management. Mainly acts for high-net-worth individuals and has a particular interest in cross border issues, issues affecting people suffering from physical or mental incapacity and in relation to end of life decision making. Helen is also a notary public.
Tom Willows

Tom Willows

Tom is a partner in the Residential team within the Real Estate business group, with a particular focus on residential development and investment. Tom acts for a number of house-builders and residential property investors and has expertise in site acquisition and assembly; development agreements; forward funding agreements; conditional contracts; options; collaboration and joint venture agreements. Tom acts for a number of plc house-builders including Bellway, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon and for residential investors including Grainger and the Hearthstone Residential Investment Fund. Tom is at the forefront of our Build To Rent offering and acts for a number of developers and investors, specialising in the forward funding of newly built Private Rented Sector sites, including mixed use developments. In addition, Tom oversees the firm's volume plot sales team, acting for a number of plc and small to medium sized house-builders, transacting in excess of 1,400 plots each year.