Avocats – England

Charles Frank

Charles is an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer who advises businesses, shareholders, directors and investors. His specialisms include mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions, reorganisations and joint ventures. Charles also regularly advises on non-transactional matters, such as shareholder/partnership agreements, business succession and a wide range of commercial agreements. Charles’ clients range from start-ups to listed companies and he often advises clients who are based outside the UK.

Keystone Law

Charles Frost

Partner

Squire Patton Boggs

Charles Fursdon

Charles advises private, commercial and institutional clients on a wide range of contentious matters. He advises both claimants and defendants on all stages of the litigation process from pre-action up to trial. He has experience assisting on multi-million pound cases in the High Court as well as smaller matters in the County Court.

Farrer & Co

Charles Gerada

Principal

Clintons

Charles Gordon

Charles Gordon is a mediator and arbitrator, recognised by the Legal 500 for his mediation expertise. Charles handles a broad range of disputes including insurance and reinsurance, energy, professional negligence, property, shareholder and joint venture disputes . He is appointed by a wide range of law firms in London, the UK regions and internationally. He writes on disputes resolution topics and lectures on the subject. Charles is also involved in mediation training. He was a law firm partner for over 30 years and led the International Insurance practice at DLA Piper until his retirement in 2014. He still acts a consultant to clients in the insurance and reinsurance sectors. Charles was also, until October 2016, the litigation director of The RBoS Action Group advising on the £5 billion shareholder litigation against the Royal Bank of Scotland. Charles is also a visiting lecturer at Queen Mary University College in London. He is admitted to the Bar of the Bahamas. He is also a mentor with the Princes Trust. Having advised on leading cases at all levels of the English court, Charles was consistently recognised, during his years in private practice, in Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500 guides to the legal profession. He is noted for combining a warm sense of humour with robust probing of parties’ positions, Charles is described as a “natural mediator” whose style is built on meticulous preparation and a thorough understanding of clients’ commercial positions. Charles’ approach to mediation is to engage with the parties on the issues, to drill down into the details of the dispute, in order to establish and help influence the key sticking points which have prevented prior resolution.

IPOS Mediation

Charles Gothard

Charles specialises in advising international families and entrepreneurs as well as the family offices, trust companies and other institutions helping them. His work often relates to their estate planning, structures (whether trusts, foundations or other vehicles), philanthropy and personal affairs. This frequently involves complex international tax and estate planning, co-ordinating advice from advisers in different jurisdictions and often in situations with little or no UK connection. He also regularly advises foreign residents on the most tax efficient way to structure UK investments or a move to the UK. Charles also has significant experience of contentious UK and international trust and probate work – resolving disputes between trustees or executors and beneficiaries, acting for either side. Charles heads the firm’s family office group and is country partner for Switzerland so has overall responsibility for our relationships in Switzerland. Charles lectures regularly in the UK and abroad and has published articles in many of the leading professional publications. He is the joint editor of The World Trust Survey – an overview of the trust laws of 34 jurisdictions published in 2010 by Oxford University Press and the joint author of a chapter on “Protectors” in Tolley’s Administration of Trusts. Charles is a member of ACTAPS (Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists). Charles is ranked as a Tier One adviser in the UK and Global editions of the independent Chambers guide and as a leading individual in the UK Legal 500 guide. He has been recognised in the eprivateclient 2021 50 Most Influential list and is recommended in the 2020 Spear’s 500 guide.

Macfarlanes LLP

Charles Green

Head of Global Private Client

Farani Taylor Solicitors

Charles Grossman

Charles joined Druces as a Senior Associate in our Property Litigation team in May 2024. Charles qualified as a Solicitor in June 2017 and has previously worked for both City and regional firms. Charles has a broad range of experience encompassing commercial landlord and tenant, real property and residential landlord and tenant. Charles’ experience includes acting for clients and advising on lease renewals, break notices, dilapidations, adverse possession, party wall matters, possession claims, forfeiture claims (including tenant breach of covenant), easement disputes, trespass, nuisance, land registration issues including alteration of the register. Charles has experience acting for a broad range of clients including Housing Associations, Hotels, House Builders, Developers, High Net Worth Individuals, SMEs etc. Charles is recommended and named as a ‘Recommended Lawyer’ by Legal 500 [UK 2023]. Whilst Charles is experienced in alternative dispute resolution, particularly mediations and arbitrations, Charles’ clients have always appreciated his pro-active and proportionate approach to litigation. He has successfully taken cases to trial and also brought litigation to an early conclusion through the use of interlocutory applications and obtaining interim injunctions where required. Charles is a member of the Property Litigation Association. Client Reviews “ I really Couldn’t be happier with the work that Charles has done for me. … I have been so impressed with his approach and ideas with managing this case.” – Portfolio Landlord Client

Druces LLP

Charles Hansford

Charles is a Partner in our property team. He is a property lawyer who is experienced in all types of commercial property including issues such as landlord and tenant law, acquisitions, corporate support, development and renewable energy project matters. Charles specialises in acting on landed estates and agricultural property and represents clients with considerable land holdings. He deals with matters ranging from farm and land purchases/sales to mines and minerals, sporting rights and fell rights. He advises on development project-related issues such as option and planning promotion agreements and supports colleagues in our corporate team on property matters. He sits on the Parliamentary Property Rights committee and the Cumbria branch committee of The Country Land and Business Association. Charles is a Governor at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Penrith. Charles joined us in 2014 and is based in our Lancashire office.

Brabners LLP

Charles Harding

Charles represents academic organisations, SMEs and blue chip companies before the UKIPO and the EPO in patent matters in the life sciences sector. His portfolio covers various technologies such as molecular biology, immunology, biotechnology, virology, veterinary science and food science, through to protein chemistry, chemistry, pharmacology, pharmaceuticals and devices. After more than 35 years in the sector, he is still passionate about working with innovative clients who are breaking new ground and making a genuine difference. Charles has an extensive practice in EPO oppositions and appeals, with over 25 years' advocacy experience including representation before the EPO Enlarged Board of Appeal. He has been involved in litigation (including at first instance and appellate level) in the UK, France, Germany, USA, South Africa and Japan and has also attended interviews at the US Patent Office. Charles has frequently chaired and lectured at numerous international conferences and conventions on issues concerning patents in the life sciences. He has been giving lectures at Queen Mary, University of London to candidates wishing to become European patent attorneys since the 1990s.

D Young & Co LLP

Charles Heppenstall

Partner - Large Loss 2

Weightmans LLP

Charles Hicks

Partner specialising in trusts, probate, wills, capital taxation and wealth management for high-net-worth individuals for the past 40 years. He has assisted numerous families to resolve family disputes relating to trust, probate and inheritance matters, usually managing to engineer a satisfactory conclusion by agreement without expensive and protracted litigation. In the 90s he focused on the problems of Lloyd’s membership, particularly at the individual level, advising in excess of 1,000 clients over time and at action group level. He is now the firm’s COLP and COFA and focuses primarily on compliance and risk management matters.

Wedlake Bell LLP

Charles Hodder

Charles has over 25 years’ experience in commercial property and advises clients ranging from landlords of commercial buildings to corporate occupiers and developers as well as banks and other lenders. His experience encompasses offices, shopping centres, retail units, industrial warehouses and development as well as acting on property finance transactions covering bother residential and commercial property. Charles has acted for a number of overseas clients with a particular emphasis on Malaysia and Singapore. These include major banks and investors in property acquiring and lending on UK property. Other work includes purchases and disposals, leases, renewals and lease re-gearing, alterations and portfolio restructuring, as well as corporate mergers and acquisitions, advising on personal and corporate guarantees, and rent deposits as security.

Sherrards Solicitors LLP

Charles Jackson

Charles is a Legal Director in the Real Estate Division. He has experience of all aspects of real estate work and specialises in acting for investors, developers and funders in relation to investment sales/purchases, commercial, mixed use and residential developments, forward sales/purchases, forward fundings, and lettings. Charles has particular sector expertise in relation to build to rent, mixed use and healthcare transactions (including care homes, retirement villages and primary care centres). Recent experience includes: acting on the purchase of a residential-led mixed use city centre development for a London-based property fund; acting on the purchase of a major city centre office building and the forward funding of a build to rent development/conversion for a London-based property fund; acting for a local authority in relation to a major mixed use town centre redevelopment, including cinema, food and beverage lettings and a retail lease re-gear; acquiring a development site for a retirement village developer and advising on structuring and set-up issues in relation to the development; and managing the team acting for the landlord of a major city centre shopping centre in relation to retail unit lettings.

Shoosmiths LLP

Charles Leveque

Charlie is the firm’s co-managing partner and head of the corporate practice. Outside of his management roles, Charlie advises on a wide range of corporate transactions from private and public mergers and acquisitions to investments, joint ventures, fundraisings and shareholder arrangements involving private equity, venture capital, family office and strategic parties. He has advised on a number of IPOs on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. His clients comprise investors, funds and companies of all sizes, from startups to international corporations in a wide range of industries; he is particularly experienced in advising clients in the technology, media, entertainment, retail and leisure sectors. He is also passionate about advising entrepreneurs, accompanying them from the inception of their ideas to exit.

Harbottle & Lewis LLP

Charles Lloyd

Charles is a private client disputes lawyer with over 25 years of specialist experience in a broad range of international trust and estate disputes as well as general commercial litigation. He has a depth of experience and specialist expertise in advising trustees, beneficiaries, protectors, executors, administrators in contentious situations arising out of disputes involving these structures. In particular, he advises on disputes relating to the succession of valuable family businesses and other assets held in complex structures, involving trusts, foundations, partnerships and other corporate entities, as well as cross-border estates. These cases have often involved issues around the capacity of settlors and testators. Charles frequently works at the point of intersection between traditional private client litigation, white-collar crime, regulatory investigations, and fraud. In addition, he advises trustees facing challenges in matrimonial litigation and has experience handling disputes involving Sharia law. Charles is described in directories as “a brilliant litigator, incredibly clever and accessible“. He is ranked Band 1 in Chambers & Partners, listed in the ‘Hall of Fame’ by The Legal 500, and recognised as ‘Top Recommended’ in the contentious trust Spear’s 500 index. Before becoming a partner at Harbottle & Lewis in April 2025, Charles was for 25 years the head of Macfarlanes’ private client disputes group.

Harbottle & Lewis LLP

Charles Maesschalck

Charles is an Associate, qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive (Fellow), with 23 years' experience handling claimant and defendant insurance claims. Charles has worked at Weightmans LLP since January 2017, handling defendant motor claims for a variety of insurer clients

Weightmans LLP

Charles Maurice

Commercial, technology and regulatory partner advising both businesses and individuals. Charles heads the technology sector group and supports clients across the financial services and insurance sectors on their tech and regulatory requirements.

Stevens & Bolton LLP

Charles Maxwell

Charles Maxwell is a partner and Head of Commercial Development. He is a real estate solicitor specialising in residential development, commercial real estate and residential real estate transactions. He is fluent in Hebrew and is Head of the Israel Desk. Charles acts for real estate companies, public funds, high-net-worth individuals and international investors on a wide spectrum of non-contentious property matters, including sales, acquisitions, refinancing, management and bulk purchases of both residential and commercial properties. On residential development matters, Charles typically works with his clients through the entire property cycle from site acquisition to individual plot sales, and provides clients with a round-the-clock service to ensure transactions are completed efficiently and in a timely manner. He acts for a wide variety of Israeli real estate investors actively investing in the UK real estate market. Charles also has experience in the leisure sector advising restaurateurs, hoteliers, and nightclub and bar operators.

Howard Kennedy LLP

Charles Middleton-Smith

Commercial full-time mediator with 20 years’ experience in all business sectors. During this period Charles has established (non-exclusively) specialisms in media, arts and entertainment, banking and finance, mergers and acquisitions, family business, and trusts, wills and probate. Feedback from his clients indicates the ability to deploy, where appropriate, evidence of detailed preparation, establishing trust and rapport, robust challenging, calming high emotion, and humour. Charles was also published in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame 2018.

IPOS Mediation

Charles Miéville

Partner

Forsters LLP

Charles Osborne

Slaughter and May

Charles Powell

I have over 25 years’ experience as a mediator and have now conducted over 450 mediations. I am a founder member of the Association of Midlands Mediators. I joined the In Place of Strife panel in 2018. I specialise in commercial disputes, partnership disputes, professional negligence, property claims, fire damage claims and banking/asset finance disputes.

IPOS Mediation

Charles Proctor

I specialise in regulatory matters for banks and investment firms. I am also active in various specialised banking transactional fields, including asset-based lending and Shariah-compliant financing structures. I have extensive experience in the banking and financial sectors, especially in matters with an international dimension. My background includes some nine years working in South East Asia. During the financial crisis, I acted for numerous banks that were facing the insolvency of their counterparties – frequently, other banks! I made a speciality of the Greek debt crisis and the risk that the drachma might be revived. I have always believed that problems are eternal, and that the future belongs to those who seek to solve them. I have helped banks and others with the challenges of post-Brexit financial regulation and how to maintain their services. I have advised banks on the abolition of the LIBOR benchmark and the options for its replacement. I believe that problems are the constant of our world, and that the future belongs to those who fashion the solutions!

Fladgate LLP