Legal Business

Law Society lines up TLT’s senior partner to take over as president

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Legal affairs TLT
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The Law Society has today (24 April) announced that TLT Solicitors senior partner Robert Bourns has been elected as the body’s deputy vice president, with the expectation that he will become president in 2016.

The employment specialist, who prior to taking over as TLT’s longstanding senior partner was the top 60 firm’s managing partner between 1996 and 2002, was one of seven candidates to put themselves forward for the role.

Bourns’ appointment follows months of sustained controversy for the legal profession’s representative body, with calls from some publicly funded solicitors for the resignation of soon-to-retire chief executive Des Hudson and current president Nicholas Fluck, arising from their handling of cuts to legal aid.

Following a vote of no confidence in the Law Society’s leadership, passed by a hair’s breadth at a special general meeting held at Chancery Lane in December, Hudson announced in mid-March that he will retire in July, when Fluck will also stand down, with vice president Andrew Caplen set to take over.

On his recent election, Bourns said: ‘The Law Society has an incredibly important job to do in maintaining trust and confidence across a diverse profession. Representing in-house and general counsel alongside private practice both large and small. The Society needs to provide contemporary support and promote the interests of members and their clients. In the context of continuing changes to regulation it should be recognised for its relentless protection of the rule of law.

‘Being elected deputy vice president is an honour, particularly given the experience and different qualities of the six other able candidates.’

Hudson said: ‘There was stiff competition with seven candidates for this year’s deputy vice president elections. All of the candidates had a great deal to offer and council had a difficult choice to make.’

Sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving Doors: Key hires for Mishcon, Penningtons Manches, DWF and TLT as NRF loses head of planning

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Strategic recruitment DWFMishcon de ReyaPenningtons ManchesTLT
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With the blurring between criminal and civil law becoming ever more prominent, Mishcon de Reya announced last week that Alison Levitt QC, the principal legal adviser to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of England and Wales, is to join the firm as a dispute resolution partner, as other firms to announce key hires over the past few days include TLT, DWF and BrookStreet des Roches.

Levitt, who oversaw Crown Prosecution Service’s decision-making and potential prosecutions in relation to the News of the World phone-hacking investigations, will join the LB100 top 40 firm in April, where she will concentrate on bribery and corruption, significant regulatory matters, private prosecutions and will offer high-level advocacy where necessary.

Head of dispute resolution, Kas Nouroozi said: ‘There are very few individuals in the English market who have worked at the highest level in public office and also have the experience of having operated in private practice. Alison’s depth and breadth of understanding of the working of the English criminal and regulatory system will prove invaluable to our clients. It is something that has worked to great effect in the United States and I believe will become more prevalent here in due course.’

Moving out of the City is Norton Rose Fulbright’s head of planning, Nigel Hewitson, who will leave the firm at the start of April for Oxfordshire-based commercial real estate boutique BrookStreet des Roches, which counts National Grid, MEPC, Lafarge Tarmac and Vodafone among its clients. Hewitson will establish and head up a new planning service at BrookStreet, which has long focused on the commercial real estate sector but, prior to Hewitson’s arrival, did not have a significant planning capability.

Before joining Norton Rose, Hewitson was head of planning at Howard Kennedy and served for several years as legal director at English Heritage. Recent notable cases of his include advising a consortium of Malaysian businesses on the acquisition and development of Battersea Power Station; advising on the planning aspects of Crest Nicholson’s 2013 Initial Public Offering on the Stock Exchange; and advising DP World on its development of the six berth London Gateway Port and its associated two square mile logistics park.

Managing partner at 20-partner BrookStreet des Roches, Hugh Blaza said: ‘Our clients have been telling us that they would like us to provide planning as well as our established services. We knew that, if we were to successfully establish such a planning service, we needed a highly-regarded individual with extensive experience across relevant sectors. Nigel ticks all the boxes. We are delighted he has decided to join us and we are very much looking forward to working with him.’

Hewitson said: ‘There is a very good business fit, which will enable me to compete effectively by bringing City quality at regional prices to a very price-sensitive market place. Equally importantly, there is a great personal fit. I share the view the firm holds that success is about more than doing good work: it’s also about enjoying working with your clients.’

Meanwhile, former Olswang restructuring and insolvency partner Séamas Gray has joined Penningtons Manches to develop the team following the firm’s merger of Penningtons and Manches last October.

Previously joint head of Pinsent Mason’s London restructuring practice, Gray has particular expertise in the healthcare, real estate, retail, leisure and pensions sectors, having set up the first dedicated pension restructuring team in the City in 2010.

Significant recent mandates include the restructurings of the Akari Group, a group of 39 care homes separating from the wider Bondcare Group; Ashpol Group, a property portfolio group with £130 million professional securities exchange listed debt; and Milton Keynes NHS Hospital Foundation Trust, a £285 million turnover, 3,000 employee hospital.

Franco Bosi, head of Penningtons Manches’ business services division, said: ‘His experience in complex restructurings as well as his considerable insolvency experience will fit perfectly and assist in the continued development of our established multi-disciplinary restructuring and insolvency team.’

Elsewhere, DWF has strengthened its financial services practice with banking partners Iain Shurwood and John Fox and real estate finance partner Simon Elphick, who join from Lawrence Graham.

Shurwood, who joined in February to head up DWF’s corporate banking team in London has experience in acquisition finance, corporate lending, restructuring and workouts, acting for major high street banks, borrowers and investors, while Elphick who also joined in February acts predominantly for lenders on financing and restructuring.

Fox, who is expected to join in April, has over 27 years’ experience acting for major banks and borrowers with a real estate focus.

Also in the City, TLT makes its fourth employment partner hire in six months with former head of employment at media and commercial law firm Michael Simkins, Mark McQuillan, whose practice focuses on retail & consumer goods and financial services, having

McQuillan, who was previously a partner at Addleshaw Goddard, advises listed companies, Fortune 500 companies and smaller owner-managed businesses on the full range of employment issues, with particular expertise in sensitive and high-value litigation, restructurings, outsourcings and employment change programmes.

Stuart McBride, partner and head of TLT’s employment, pensions & incentives group said: ‘Mark is a great fit for TLT. His arrival means we have true national coverage of employment expertise and a solid base in London. We’re very clear on our strategy to build on our market leading position in the south west, across the UK. Mark’s arrival is a significant step forward to achieving that.’

Francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Revolving Doors: Capsticks hires BBC’s head of competition as Field Fisher, Kennedys and TLT bring in laterals

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After a week that saw Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW), Kennedys and TLT all make significant hires into their City bases, one of more unusual hires of the past few days was leading healthcare firm Capsticks’ recruitment of the BBC legal department’s head of competition and regulatory team, Noel Watson-Doig.

Watson-Doig initially trained as a barrister at the European Court of Justice of the EU, as a pupil to Judge J. Cooke in competition, state aid, trade mark and employment law. He joined Reed Smith in 2006, Cameron McKenna in 2008 and the BBC in March 2009.

Watson-Doig has worked on a range of high profile matters including the European Commission’s clearance of Syniverse Technologies’ acquisition of Billing Services Group, the Competition Commission’s review of the broadcasting joint venture Project Kangaroo, and the Office of Fair Trading’s investigation in the UK grocery sector. He also advised HM Treasury on the competition protocol included in the Lisbon Treaty.

Capsticks commercial partner Sharon Lamb said: ‘We’re delighted to welcome someone of Noel’s calibre to our busy competition team, he will be a great asset in helping our clients to transform and improve their services whilst meeting the challenges around competition law.’

Elsewhere, FFW has bolstered its finance group with the hire of former Simmons & Simmons banking and finance partner, Philip Abbott, who joins the top 40 firm at the end of the month.

With a significant focus on funds finance, real estate finance and restructurings in the emerging markets – in particular Libya, Turkey and the Middle East – Abbott advises hedge funds, real estate funds, corporate borrowers and lenders, including the German banks, investment banks and the commercial banks.

Having trained with Allen & Overy, qualifying in 1996, Abbott has been with Simmons since 2003, spending two years as head of regional finance for the Middle East in Dubai  from 2008 to 2010.

FFW managing partner Michael Chissick said: ‘The addition of a senior partner such as Philip to our finance group is a great addition to an already strong team. We have made a number of lateral hires into the group over the past 12 months, and with Philip’s arrival we feel that we are in a better position than ever to service our clients’ needs.’

Also boosting its City practice, LB top 30 firm Kennedys has brought in the former insurance practice group head of CMS Cameron McKenna’s Hong Kong office, Michael Skrbic as a partner in its London office.

Prior to CMS, Skrbic was a partner in the London office of New York and Chicago specialist insurance law firm Boundas Skarzynski Walsh & Black, and was a corporate insurance attorney in Bermuda with Appleby.

He has also held senior in-house roles at ACE Group, Zurich Financial Services, Dresdner Kleinwort and Commerzbank.

Peter Cashin, Kennedys international head of corporate insurance based in Hong Kong, says: ‘Kennedys already has a substantial corporate insurance practice, based in Hong Kong, and this appointment strengthens the international presence of the firm in corporate insurance.

‘With financial sector assessments, assessments on the implementation of the insurance core principles, and the many other aspects of international insurance regulatory reform, we expect regulatory and transactional activity in the insurance sector to continue to grow and to be increasingly cross-border. Michael is one of the few lawyers with the experience in these areas across a number of jurisdictions most important to our clients.’

Also in London, TLT – which counts financial services as 40% of its client base – has recruited financial services and regulatory partner Emily Benson to join regulatory head Clare Hughes, advising on all aspects of FCA regulation.

Benson joins from financial services regulatory boutique firm Kinetic Partners, having previously worked in-house for Santander and spending five years in the Financial Services Authority’s enforcement division (now part of the Financial Conduct Authority).

Hughes said: ‘The majority of TLT’s financial services regulatory team, like Emily, have worked in the legal and compliance departments of financial services institutions or regulators. We understand the need for commercially based legal solutions in this technically exacting area. Emily’s arrival will boost this experience and help ensure that our clients are pre-warned and pre-armed in the ever complex and dynamic world of financial services regulation.’

francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

LB100 firms review partnership model as HMRC’s LLP changes loom

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The impact of HM Revenue & Customs’ decision to overhaul the way salaried partners are taxed is being felt across the City as a number of leading firms confirm they are reviewing their arrangements, although some of the largest Legal Business 100 firms have come out to categorically deny the changes will have any effect at all.

Firms including Herbert Smith Freehills, Ashurst, TLT, DWF, Weightmans, and Trowers & Hamlins have all confirmed to Legal Business that they are reviewing their partner remuneration arrangements in anticipation of the new rules, which will mean partners with under 25% of their salary attached to profits will be regarded as having a ‘disguised salary’ and treated as employees by tax authorities in a move expected to add thousands of pounds onto firms’ tax bills.

In response to the overhaul, which HMRC stated at the end of February will come into effect in April 2014 despite protests from the industry, Hogan Lovells is understood to be currently considering the changes but no final decisions had been made at the time of going to press, while Herbert Smith Freehills said it is ‘looking into how [the changes] will impact us’.

While top 15 LB100 firm Ashurst says it will ‘not ask for any additional capital’ it is ‘reviewing the structure of remuneration packages’, according to a spokesperson, and at Simmons & Simmons, which has 85 non-equity partners, a spokesperson added: ‘[The firm] eagerly awaits further guidance that was due to be issued, which will assist in assessing whether changes to the remuneration or capital structure are required.’

Of the Magic Circle firms, Linklaters and Slaughter and May have very few non-equity partners – 28 and four respectively according to figures provided for the Global 100 – and both firms said they expect no real impact from the latest measures.

Allen & Overy, which has 85 non-equity partners, told Legal Business that it expects the proposals to have ‘no significant impact on us as all our partners share in the profits of the firm’.

Partners with under 25% of their salary attached to profits will be regarded as having a ‘disguised salary’.

Magic Circle rival Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which had only 29 non-equity partners at the last tally, stated that none will be affected by the changes, although it declined to say why.

With 166, Clifford Chance has by far the most non-equity partners of the Magic Circle firms, but was the only one to decline to comment on its plans.

Of the firms that have announced substantive changes so far, TLT has requested that each of its 60 fixed-share partners contribute £20,000, a move that will boost its funds by a minimum of £1.2m. ‘We will put in place external funding for fixed-share partners if needed, to support any capital contribution,’ a spokesperson for the firm said.

National firms Trowers & Hamlins and Weightmans are both expected to require fixed-share partners to inject capital following a consultation.

Norton Rose Fulbright, CMS Cameron McKenna, Dentons and Macfarlanes all refused to comment.

sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

LB100 firms review partnership model as HMRC’s LLP changes loom

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Salaries AshurstDWFHerbert Smith FreehillsTLTWeightmans
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The impact of HM Revenue & Customs’ decision to overhaul the way salaried partners are taxed is being felt across the City as a number of leading firms confirm they are reviewing their arrangements, although some of the largest Legal Business 100 firms have come out to categorically deny the changes will have any effect at all.

Firms including Herbert Smith Freehills, Ashurst, TLT, DWF, Weightmans, and Trowers & Hamlins have all confirmed to Legal Business that they are reviewing their partner remuneration arrangements in anticipation of the new rules, which will mean partners with under 25% of their salary attached to profits will be regarded as having a ‘disguised salary’ and treated as employees by tax authorities in a move expected to add thousands of pounds onto firms’ tax bills.

Legal Business

‘Go on, have a go’ – TLT partner joins DWF drawn by ‘huge number of opportunities’

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The momentum and energy surrounding DWF’s rapid growth has been credited for its latest hire, TLT corporate partner Richard Tall, who arrived in the London office this month with two associates, bringing the top 30 firm’s national corporate practice to 31 partners.

Acting for bidders, targets and financial advisers including major listed companies, Tall (pictured), who joins with solicitors Joe Cobley and Caroline Urban, has experience in schemes of arrangement and rule 9 dispensations under the Takeover Code, as well as securities offers from unlisted bond issues to the Official List.

Recommended in the Legal 500 as ‘very commercial and practical in his advice’, Tall brings with him work in progress including an unlisted bond issue and an enterprise investment scheme job.

Commenting on his appointment, Tall said: ‘As such a fast growing business, DWF is presenting itself and its people with a huge number of opportunities. I came in for chat with [CEO and managing partner] Andrew Leaitherland and head of corporate in London Jay Birch, and really got the impression that they see and do things differently. There are a number of initiatives that I was keen to run, they listened to what I had to say and I felt like I could make a difference as well.’

He added: ‘I’ve got a number of particular strands in my own specialism which I am keen to take forward in DWF; I’ve got some not necessarily mainstream ideas in terms of products and services that we can provide on the corporate side. And the great thing is that having suggested them, people are saying: “go on, have a go!”‘

The lateral hire follows the appointment of former Lawrence Graham (LG) employment partner Helga Breen, who left LG ahead of its planned merger with Wragge & Co, which is expected to go live in May, to lead DWF’s London employment team.

DWF’s 80-strong corporate team has seen a 140% year-on-year increase in deal volumes across the UK, with particular growth in the financial services, real estate and TMT sectors.

Currently in 22nd position in the LB100, the firm has had almost two years of rapid expansion, including its February 2013 acquisition of the lion’s share of Cobbetts, and its merger with City insurance practice Fishburns. In November the firm posted a 57.5% increase in H1 revenues from £59.4m to £93.6m.

John Wood, head of TLT’s corporate team said of Tall’s departure: ‘Our growing national team of corporate lawyers will continue to advise our UK-wide client base. Two recent hires include corporate partner Jon Close and specialist energy & renewables corporate associate Kay Hobbs.’

francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

Team hire: TLT takes on 30-strong Irwin Mitchell team in Manchester

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TLT is putting its fledgling Manchester office at the centre of its UK-wide growth plans as the top 60 LB100 firm takes on a 30-strong Irwin Mitchell team, including former commercial litigation head John Lord.

The six-partner team, who will join the 250-lawyer firm’s six month old Manchester office before Christmas, also includes non-contentious property partner Andrew Bell, employment partner Ed Cotton, corporate partner Jon Close, commercial litigation partner Julien Luke and banking and finance litigation partner Tom Seabrook, along with 24 solicitors, paralegals and support staff.

Servicing predominantly financial services, retail and leisure clients as well as offering wider commercial legal services, the team’s areas of expertise builds on TLT’s existing expertise in Manchester and ‘on a wider footprint nationally’, said managing partner David Pester (pictured).

‘This is a clear marker in the sand about our UK-wide growth intentions. We want to get the right people and the right expertise into the business to deliver for our clients when and where they need us. Adding a team of 30 people, which includes six experienced Manchester-based partners, is a major step towards achieving that,’ said Pester.

He added: ‘We’re capitalising on the opportunity to grow market share, as well as deepening expertise, which is what Manchester is about. We don’t manage or drive the firm by office, we’re very keen that we’re seen to drive the firm by a UK-wide offering. But what Manchester brings with it is clients in the industries that we focus on.’

Having launched in July 2013 with the appointment of former Pinsent Masons legal director and commercial litigator Emma Flower and former DLA Piper Manchester head of commercial law Stuart Campbell, TLT’s Manchester arm is currently nine-strong and includes rated former DLA Piper intellectual property partner Graeme Orchison.

Six-office TLT has been in expansive mode recently, in 2012 opening an office in Belfast and separately in Glasgow and Edinburgh following the firm’s merger with Scottish firm Anderson Fyfe. It saw its 2012/13 revenues rise by 10% from £44.5m to £50m, with financial services counting for 40% of its turnover, leisure for just short of 20% and retail for just shy of 15%.

Lord’s arrival date is still under negotiation, but he is expected to join TLT before the end of the year.

francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

London Boroughs’ Legal Alliance halves panel as Pinsents, TLT and Ashford reappointed

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The London Boroughs’ Legal Alliance (LBLA) has joined the rising number of organisations to drastically slim down its roster of legal advisers in a bid to achieve better value after revamping its panel for the third time in four years.

The LBLA, which includes the London boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, the City of London Corporation and the West London Waste Authority, more than halved its legal panel to seven in its latest review.

The only new entrant to the two-tier panel, which is worth an estimated £5m over three years, is Freeth Cartwright, which has been appointed to advise on complex regeneration, development, property and planning work alongside Ashfords, Bevan Brittan, Sharpe Pritchard, and TLT.

The second tier of the panel, which covers a range of mainstream legal services including litigation, contracts, procurement, PPP/PFI, property and employment, sees Ashfords, Sharpe Pritchard and TLT again appointed to advise alongside Pinsent Masons and Michelmores.

The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea acted as central purchasing body on the procurement exercise, which was led by specialist legal consultancy Kennedy Cater.

Vivienne Horton, director at Kennedy Cater, said: ‘We are delighted by the response to this rigorous procurement process, which has delivered firms with recognised expertise and experience in local government who are well placed to provide the LBLA authorities with legal support that fulfils the significant cost and quality criteria required.’

Tasnim Shawkat, bi-borough director of law at Kensington and Chelsea added: ‘This is a great outcome for the LBLA – delivering once again a panel of firms committed to delivering exceptional service and supporting the challenging and wide ranging work being undertaken by our in-house legal teams. We are particularly pleased with the competitive rates achieved, which show a reduction on those under the old framework.’

Haringey Council and other authorities in London and the South East, although not members of the alliance, will be able to have access to this panel.

The LBLA’s first panel framework, which was established in 2009 saw 16 firms appointed including Eversheds, Kennedys and legacy Dickinson Dees.

francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk

Legal Business

LB 100 – The second 50: Scattered in the wind

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Legal Business 100 2013 StewartsTLT
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The gulf between success and failure among the firms occupying the second half of the LB100 is as pronounced as ever. From highly profitable boutiques to ravaged regionals desperate for a merger, we chart the haves and the have-nots

Collectively making up just a tenth of the LB100 firms’ total 2012/13 revenue for 2012/13 of £19.1bn, law firms ranked between 51 to 100 in the table can be polar opposites. The gap between high and low performing firms in these two quartiles is as startling, with profit per lawyer (PPL) varying from £177,000 at ascendant litigation specialist Stewarts Law to just £15,000 at the beleaguered Manches.

Legal Business

Revolving Doors: Field Fisher hires Taylor Wessing’s David Kent as Irwin Mitchell and TLT make key hires

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Strategic recruitment FieldfisherIrwin MitchellTLT
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Taylor Wessing’s long reputed head of inward investment David Kent is to join Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) in a week that has also seen Irwin Mitchell and TLT make strategic partner hires.

Kent is a corporate partner specialising in advising emerging growth and listed companies from the US, Canada and Europe on structuring, establishing and operating businesses in the UK and Europe, mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures, technology transfers, distribution and licensing agreements.

A Taylor Wessing veteran, Kent co-founded the firm’s Cambridge office in 2002 and led the merger discussions between Taylor Joynson Garrett and German firm Wessing, which went live in 2002. He later co-founded the firm’s Tech City office in London in 2011.

Kent’s hire comes as FFW has also hired Pinsent Masons legal director George Gillham in its London tax and disputes practice and SJ Berwin senior associate Robin Spender, who will become finance partner.

These are the latest in a series of hires for the firm, including Eversheds’ City corporate partner Neil Matthews last week. However, the firm in May lost a three-partner franchising team led by rated partner Mark Abell to Bird & Bird.

In the north-west, meanwhile, DLA Piper IP dispute resolution partner Graeme Orchison became TLT’s second partner hire to launch its new Manchester office this summer.

Orchison, who specialises in heavyweight trademark, design and patent cases in the High Court and appellate courts, is the latest recruit in an on-going process to build the firm’s base in Manchester’s Spinningfields, which will open with a team of eight, including three new partners and three assistants. The firm anticipates the office, which will initially offer commercial contract, commercial litigation and IP litigation work, will grow to 20 to 30 people within its first 18 months.

Orchison is the second DLA partner to join the TLT Manchester team after commercial partner Stuart Campbell joined earlier this month, along with Pinsent Masons legal director Emma Flower.

TLT’s managing partner, David Pester (pictured), said: ‘These strategic appointments support our aim to deepen our expertise and are in direct response to demand for services from some of our major clients based in the north of England. The launch of an office in Manchester supports our strategy to have a strong UK-wide presence from which to deliver services and also supports our industry sector focus.’

Elsewhere in the north-west, Irwin Mitchell also appointed a trio of partners to its family practice across Manchester and Leeds. Louise Halford joined the Manchester office from Pannone alongside Fiona Turner from London family firm CKFT, while former DWF partner Carol Grundell joined the firm in Leeds.

Halford has 15 years’ experience dealing with complex child disputes cases involving foreign jurisdictional problems and is recognised by the Legal 500 as a leading expert in child abduction cases.

Irwin Mitchell’s head of national family law Martin Loxley said: ‘The vision of the family team is to be the leading firm in complex relationship breakdown in the UK.

‘We are seeing more and more clients all the time approaching us for advice on international matters and we are delighted to be welcoming these new partners to our innovative and growing team,’ he added.

 

francesca.fanshawe@legalease.co.uk