Avocats – England

David Wright

David has a broad range of commercial litigation experience acting for claimants and defendants in a wide range of matters. David has particular experience of contractual disputes, commercial disputes, company and shareholder disputes and also professional negligence. Alongside this, David has also developed a specialism in financial services litigation and has acted in many Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) regulated disputes on a range of investments, pensions and mortgages through the courts, Financial Ombudsman Service (‘FOS’) and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (‘FSCS’). David seeks early resolution of matters wherever possible and understands the need for clear, concise advice in a timely manner.

Seddons GSC LLP

David Wyles

Consultant

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP

David Young

Partner

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP

David de Maupeou

David acts for developers, landlords, tenants, and investors (be they listed property companies, high profile developers, business occupiers, entrepreneurs, overseas investors or corporates), who wish to acquire, develop, sell or manage commercial property. His particular expertise is in central London office space and acting on mixed use development schemes.

Wedlake Bell LLP

Davina Fernandes

Senior Associate Davina is part of the Immigration Department, where she advises both corporate and private clients on a wide range of matters relating to UK immigration and nationality law. Her work covers all aspects of immigration procedure, providing strategic and practical guidance tailored to each client’s needs.

Magrath Sheldrick LLP

Davina Given

Partner Davina Given takes on the most complex commercial and financial disputes for clients. She advises multinational corporates and financial institutions on a range of disputes, including claims arising out of financial structures such as hedge fund linked notes and syndicated loans, as well as breaches of warranty and professional negligence. In addition, she has extensive experience of national and international internal, regulatory and criminal investigations in relation to money laundering, bribery, sanctions, smuggling and compliance with financial regulation. Davina also has an interest in art-related disputes.

RPC

Davinia Gransbury

Partner, Head of Dispute Resolution

Gowling WLG

Dawn Hilton

Partner

Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP

Dawn Shadwell

Partner, Co-Head Insolvency & Corporate Recovery

Cripps

Dean Chauhan

Partner

Shakespeare Martineau LLP

Dean Cooper

Dean is an experienced senior lawyer in the firm's real estate team, with broad knowledge acquired over many years working with clients on commercial real estate transactions and which includes acting for investors, occupiers, developers and lenders. His experience includes advising on all aspects of commercial property related matters, including: purchasing, selling and managing investment properties; landlord and tenant matters; letting of shops, offices and industrial units; acting for large corporate occupiers; acquiring and structuring sites for commercial and residential development, as well as coordinating teams on the end unit sales process. Some particular examples of Dean’s wide experience include: acting for large industrial investment funds on acquisitions, disposals (including £150m portfolio), and asset management of large portfolios of industrial estates; acting for a large logistics operator in acquiring a new 150,000+ sq. ft. facility at London Medway pursuant to a development agreement for lease; acting for a large transatlantic financial services operator in the taking of new London headquarter premises in Paternoster Square; advising and acting for a large PLC on the disposal of its £100m+ Manchester office portfolio; acting for overseas investors in the acquisition of £60m+ plus office building in Mayfair; advising residential developers on the acquisition and structuring of residential development sites; acting for a substantial private investment and development company in its acquisition, development and forward sale of sites including for electronic vehicle charging and self-storage facilities; advising alarge property developer in connection with its proposed £150m PBSA scheme; and providing corporate support on the acquisition of care homes, acting on the real estate aspects of those business acquisitions.

Shoosmiths LLP

Dean Drew

Dean is a corporate partner with over 20 years’ experience at national and regional law firms in the UK, during which time he has also held key business leadership roles. His principal areas of expertise include mergers & acquisitions, disposals (private sale and auction), equity investment and fund raisings, group company restructuring, reorganisations and demergers, joint ventures and shareholders’ agreements, commercial agreements and UK Companies Act compliance. Dean provides specialist advice to clients on the process and approach to closing successful mergers & acquisitions and other transactions. Over recent years he has won awards for his work on complex and high-value acquisitions and fund raisings. His work is mainly in the technology, automotive and real estate sectors where he is able to provide deal-related sector insight to clients based on wide-ranging experience.

Lester Aldridge LLP

Dean Fuller

Dean is a partner who brings more than 30 years’ experience as a solicitor to advise on partnership, employment and shareholder disputes. He counsels professional firms and individual partners, employers and employees, companies and shareholders alike on their rights and obligations, with a focus on high-value matters involving strategic, regulatory, financial or reputational risk. Dean acts for respondent employers, LLP members and employees in connection with team moves, partnership disputes, restrictive covenant claims and wrongful dismissal, breach of contract, discrimination and whistleblowing complaints. He also has extensive experience advising on the employment aspects of a wide variety of private equity, M&A and outsourcing transactions, as well as workforce restructurings. Dean has a keen interest in corporate governance and compliance issues and has advised companies, limited partnerships, senior executives and LLP members on their responsibilities under the SMCR, UK Corporate Governance Code, FCA/PRA Remuneration Codes and recommended best practice. Dean is regularly asked to advise on the corporate aspects of employment and partnership law. He advises on partnership conversions and supports firms looking to ensure their constitutional documents (and associated policies and Codes of Conduct), and indeed business models, are fit for purpose and facilitate the objectives of the business. He is often praised by clients for his pragmatic and solution-driven approach.

Fox & Partners

Dean Nicholls

Partner

Rosenblatt Law

Dean Poster

Dean is a Partner in the Corporate department. His practice focuses on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, sports-related mergers and acquisitions, and property-related corporate work - with the latter including deals in excess of £1.5 billion. Client companies come from a wide range of industries, most notably real estate agencies and financial services entities, and include names such as CB Richard Ellis and Dover Corporation. Dean is a member of the firm's Sports law group and has recently been involved in a number of football-related transactions, including the acquisition of Bolton Wanderers, the acquisition of Leeds United on behalf of the Cellino family and the sale of Leyton Orient FC on behalf of Matchroom Sports. Before joining Mishcon de Reya, Dean spent over 15 years at US law firms in London. In view of his US connections and clients, he has been appointed Co-Regional Head of Mishcon de Reya's International Development Group for the US, responsible for developing and strengthening the firm's relationships with US law firms.

Mishcon de Reya LLP

Dean Ryan

Dean is a Legal Director and Chartered Tax Adviser in the Private Client department at Payne Hicks Beach. He advises on a broad range of personal tax, trust, estate and succession planning issues for UK and international clients. His work involves a variety of disciplines, from advising trustees in relation to the exercise of their powers and drafting trust and supplemental deeds, undertaking probate work and advising high net worth clients in relation to their estate planning, to managing personal and trust tax disclosures both in the UK and abroad, dealing with cross-border restructurings of corporate and trust structures, and acting for charities in relation to funding endowments. As a Chartered Tax Adviser he is able to distil complex multi-faceted cases into clear and practical advice for clients and solve red flag issues before they develop further. Dean regularly works alongside Payne Hicks Beach’s Family lawyers to provide trust, estate and tax advice within the context of divorce proceedings. He also advises executors on the administration of UK and international estates and has experience in creating and registering UK charities and liaising with the Charity Commission for England & Wales on behalf of trustees. He is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers.

Payne Hicks Beach LLP

Deanna Hurst

Deanna is a partner in our Private Client team with a wide range of expertise. She acts for individuals, families and charities and enjoys building lasting relationships with her clients. Deanna started her legal career at Royds (now RWK Goodman following our merger) in 2007 where she progressed to partner in 2011. Deanna studied Law and Criminology at the University of Sheffield and was awarded a distinction for the Legal Practice Course (LPC) by the London College of Law. Whilst studying there she was awarded the Law Society’s National Prize for Outstanding Performance. The Legal 500 UK recognised Deanna as “efficient, reliable and highly intelligent. She works hard, thinks ahead and forgets nothing.” The same source also commended Deanna for her “excellent client relationship skills”. As part of Deanna’s role, she regularly attends meetings of the Charity Law Association and the Law Society Private Client Section. She is a fully qualified member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). Deanna enjoys walking and cycling in the countryside, cooking and entertaining for friends and family and travel. Practice areas Estate planning Inheritance tax mitigation Wills Probate and estate administration Trusts Mental capacity including Lasting Powers of Attorney Court of Protection Charity law

RWK Goodman

Deanna Phillips-Mills

Senior Associate

Shakespeare Martineau LLP

Deanne Hamilton

Senior Associate.

HCR Law

Debbie Ashenhurst

Debbie is the head of Wilsons' Education team and a partner in our Dispute Resolution team. She also leads our data protection and reputation management practices. Dispute resolution Debbie has a broad commercial litigation practice which includes handling a wide range of contractual, commercial and corporate disputes. She has particular expertise in reputation management including defamation, privacy, confidentiality, data protection and harassment law. Her practice also focuses on information law and she regularly advises clients on compliance with data protection and marketing laws. She has advised businesses, charities and schools on GDPR compliance, responding to subject access and similar requests and bringing or defending claims for breach of confidence, breach of data protection laws, misuse of private information, removal of online material and harassment. Education Debbie's focus is on providing practical and technically excellent advice to schools and parents on education-related matters including the legal and practical aspects of admissions, behaviour and discipline, exclusions and removals, complaints and appeals, SEND and discrimination claims, governance, commercial and contractual issues and safeguarding. She also has experience of drafting and reviewing school contractual, policy and other documents. Her background in dispute resolution, data protection and reputation management is particularly useful when advising clients on contentious matters, information sharing, data protection compliance, subject access and Freedom of Information Act requests and dealing with negative content on traditional or social media. Debbie's advice is informed by attention to the underlying law and a determination to deliver the best result for her clients at a reasonable cost and within a timescale that recognises the fast-paced reality of school life.

Wilsons

Debbie Chism

Partner in the Divorce and Family department. Debbie’s leading national reputation in family law is built on over 20 years’ experience advising high net worth individuals. Spear’s 500 describes her as “one of the most respected family solicitors in London, Debbie is known not only for winning fierce court battles, but also for devising creative out-of-court methods to settle complex disputes.” Chambers says: “If you have a difficult divorce, there is nobody better in London than her. She’s clear, she’s strategic – what more could you want?” Debbie’s practice encompasses all aspects of family law (complex asset valuation, business interests, trusts and wealth protection structures). She advises regularly on international pre-nuptial agreements. Debbie is known for her expertise in collaborative law, and she co-founded England’s first multi-disciplinary group of collaborative professionals (Creative Divorce). Experience IR v OR [2022] – Debbie acted for the wife, achieving an award of over £70m (exceeding the husband’s offer by over £20m). The case dealt with how wealth generated before the marriage and from the sale of a family business should be treated, as well as the enforceability of a pre-nuptial agreement. XW v XH [2019] EWCA Civ 549; XW v XH [2019] EWCA Civ 2262, [2020] 4 WLR 22 – Debbie acted for the wife who was awarded one of the highest recorded English divorce settlements by the Court of Appeal. The case dealt with issues of special contribution, privacy and foreign marital contracts. The wife was successful, exceptionally, in her application for the reporting restrictions order granted in the High Court to be maintained in the Court of Appeal. HRH Prince Louis v HRH Princess Tessy [2017]– Debbie acted for HRH Prince Louis of Luxembourg in the successful application for a reporting restrictions order relating to family proceedings.

Stewarts Law LLP

Debbie Coyne

Partner & Head of Employment - Employment & HR

Slater Heelis (Part of Lawfront)

Debbie Gale

TLT

Debbie Heald

Debbie is a Partner in our family law team. She advises a wide range of private individuals both in the UK and internationally on all types of family law matters including finances on divorce, nuptial agreements, child arrangements and cohabitation disputes. A Resolution-accredited specialist in private children matters and complex financial remedies, Debbie has substantial experience in dealing with mid- and high-value financial cases, including those with international elements or technically complex features such as the treatment of business assets and valuable pension funds. With her calm, down to earth and compassionate nature, Debbie is used to working with vulnerable individuals where capacity is a live issue. She considers each case carefully and analytically to provide practical solutions alongside straightforward legal advice, with a focus on developing strong relationships with all clients founded on empathy, trust and confidence.

Brabners LLP