Brabners LLP

Ian Alderson

Ian is a Partner in our housing and communities sector team. He is an experienced lawyer who takes a pragmatic approach enabling clients to resolve problems quickly and effectively. Ian handles contentious issues such as housing management, property and commercial disputes, landlord and tenant litigation (particularly residential), human rights cases and judicial review. He acts for clients in both the housing and private sectors. He prepares tenancy agreements and other documents and is an advocate of plain English in legal documents. He advises registered providers on governance issues and complaint handling. Ian has successfully litigated high profile cases in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal including Riverside Housing Association v White (2007) and Briscoe v Lubrizol Limited (2002) and frequently appears as an advocate in courts and tribunals. He is also a qualified mediator and regularly represents clients on a variety of alternative dispute resolution.

Steven Appleton

Steven is a Partner in our private client team. His clients include individuals, trusts and business owners, for whom he advises on all aspects of private client law with a particular focus on advising business owners and family business owners on their estate planning and the creation of multi-generation succession strategies. A member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), Steven is also former chair of Manchester Law Society’s Private Client Committee. Regarded as a highly technical lawyer with excellent client care skills and an ability to explain complex concepts in an understandable way, Steven specialises in advising those concerned with the responsible stewardship of wealth and philanthropic tendencies. He’s often appointed to act as the independent administrator of complex estates where the existing executors or administrators are unable to work together.

Craig Arrowsmith

Senior Associate

Matthew Astley

Matthew Astley is a Senior Associate in our commercial litigation team. He deals with a wide range of commercial litigation and dispute resolution matters, including contractual disputes, shareholder and director disputes and professional negligence cases. He also handles employment-related litigation matters (including claims for breach of restrictive covenant and misuse of confidential information) and similar claims involving contractors and commercial parties. Matthew has a strong track record in sports-related litigation and arbitration cases, as well as sports regulatory and disciplinary matters, having acted for clients in proceedings before sports national governing bodies including The FA, British Cycling and British Dressage. He's a member of The FA’s National Serious Case Panel — which adjudicates on all types of serious disciplinary cases in grassroots football — and a Specialist Member of Sport Resolutions’ Panel of Arbitrators. His reported cases include Fleetwood Wanderers Limited (t/a Fleetwood Town Football Club) v AFC Fylde Limited [2018] EWHC 3318 (Comm) — concerning an appeal against the decision of an FA Rule K arbitrator. Matthew joined us in January 2024 and is based in our Lancashire office.

Amanda Bailey

Amanda is a Partner in our private client team. She is an experienced private client lawyer who specialises in landed estates. She handles a range of succession and tax planning matters such as the preparation of wills, the creation and administration of Trusts and the establishment of Family Investment Companies. Amanda acts for private individuals, business owners, agricultural property owners, family trusts, and landed estates. She also advises on probate matters, with a particular expertise in the application of agricultural and business inheritance tax reliefs. In addition, she is experienced in advising on and establishing ‘Balfour’ type partnership arrangements for landed estates. Amanda has a strong background in all non-contentious tax, trust and estate planning. She is a recognised as a leading authority on family investment companies and gives professional training for lawyers and accountants on the subject via MBL Training and the Offa Group. Amanda is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Colin Bell

Colin is a Partner and leads our intellectual property and technology teams. An experienced commercial lawyer, Colin specialises in intellectual property (IP) law, advising both national and international clients. He handles issues relating to patents, trade marks, copyright, passing-off, brand management, company names and domain names, as well as database, image and design rights. With a strong background in both contentious and non-contentious IP work, Colin is highly experienced in the protection and registration of IP portfolios (including UK, EU and international trade marks), brand strategy, clearance advice, the exploitation and licensing of IP, enforcement and infringement disputes. He has developed an extensive and highly regarded network of trusted agents to assist in the enforcement and defence of IP rights in international territories.Colin also leads our technology team, which advises entrepreneurs, start-ups, scale-ups, established businesses, investors and corporate boards on a wide range of transactional, corporate and regulatory matters. We deal with both general technology-related matters as well as specific matters across a number of sector verticals including esports, the creative industries, IT, cybersecurity and big data.Outside the technology space, Colin represents many clients across the sport and retail sectors, advising on a wealth of commercial matters including commercial contracts, IT contracts, licensing, franchising, agency collaborations, joint ventures, sponsorship, broadcasting, host city and venue agreements, as well as privacy, data protection, GDPR, retail, e-commerce, digital assets, gaming, gambling, betting, advertising and promotion issues.

Helen Brown

Helen is a Partner and the joint head of our housing team, leading on housing development. An experienced property lawyer, Helen is a trusted advisor on real estate acquisitions and disposals, development agreements and complex conditional contracts for registered providers of social housing, property developers and investors. Helen specialises in residential development transactions for registered providers where there are often multiple stakeholders involved, including funders, local authorities and housebuilders. As such, Helen understands principles and risks from different perspectives, enabling her to negotiate effectively and achieve results that work for all parties. Since 2019, Helen has represented us in our sponsorship of the Liverpool City Region investment programme and, through that, attends events such as MIPIM and UKREiiF and has built a strong network of contacts across both the private and public sectors Helen’s clients include Jigsaw Homes, Cobalt Housing, Torus62, Castles & Coasts Housing Association, Regenda, Nugent Care, Lancaster City Council and James Hall and Company.

Fern Bullock

Fern is a Senior Associate in our real estate development team with a focus on acting for agricultural and landed estate clients. Fern has an expertise in acting for private landed estates, agricultural landowners, private trusts and commercial businesses, advising on rural property matters, the sale and promotion of development land on behalf of landowners by way of conditional contracts, option agreements and promotion agreements, as well as agreements relating to renewable energy projects such as large solar farm option and leases. She also advises on general commercial property matters, including sales and purchases, complex title issues and landlord and tenant matters for a range of clients

Claire Burrows

Claire is a Partner in our regulatory and professional conduct team. A specialist regulatory compliance lawyer with expertise in health and safety, environmental, food safety, product safety, medical device regulation, coronial law and anti-bribery legislation, Claire is often involved in complex regulatory investigations. She helps clients to navigate their way through regulatory requirements and assists them to investigate, defend and mitigate enforcement action when things go wrong. She is known for having significant expertise in crisis management, incident response and major investigations. With over a decade’s experience as a regulatory specialist, Claire has acted on numerous high-profile health and safety cases following fatal and serious incidents. An experienced advocate who has appeared in the Magistrates and Coroners Courts on numerous occasions, Claire also advises clients on their regulatory obligations and how to effectively demonstrate compliance. She is able to conduct regulatory due diligence across a wide range of topics to offer advice on compliance issues and practical risk mitigation to corporate clients during acquisitions. Claire advises large, corporate clients (both national and international) across various sectors including construction, demolition, manufacturing and healthcare. Strategic thinking and being fully immersed in her clients’ businesses enables her to offer practical, honest and commercial advice. Claire has advised many clients on the complexities of placing products on the market to ensure that they meet specific product requirements including in respect of medical devices, personal protective equipment, children’s toys, cosmetics and food and drink. She advises clients on their specific legal obligations in respect of health and safety considerations, conformity testing and certification, technical file and labelling requirements. This allows clients to ensure that fully compliant products are placed onto the UK market and regulatory liability is effectively managed in complex supply chains. Claire joined us in April 2023 and is based in our Leeds office although she operates across all of our office locations.

Nick Campbell

Nick is a Partner and leads our employment and pensions team. A hugely experienced employment lawyer with over 30 years’ experience, Nick advises businesses on all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law. His clients describe him as “an expert in his field” and “an excellent lawyer who provides clear and concise advice”. Nick works closely with boards, senior management teams and HR professionals to devise and implement strategies required for people change management. He offers employers his expertise on varying terms and conditions of employment, business sales and reorganisations, TUPE transfers, service provision changes, collective consultations and responding to requests for trade union recognition and threats of industrial action. With extensive experience in advising private sector clients, Nick is recognised for his retail, manufacturing and professional services knowledge. Nick’s clients include Alexander Wang UK Limited, Aperture Trading Limited, Arvato Public Sector Services Limited, Carpenters Limited, James Hall & Co Limited, Matalan Retail UK Limited, PAR Systems Inc., Peel Ports Limited, Ralawise Limited, Riverside Group Limited, Sun Valley Limited, The Professional Footballers Association, Torus 62 Limited, Typhoo Tea Limited and Your Housing Group Limited. With a national reputation for dealing with complex employment-related disputes, Nick has notable experience in employment tribunal claims (discrimination and whistleblowing claims in particular), senior exits, complex grievance and disciplinary procedures, internal investigations, business protection and the enforcement of restrictive covenants.

Elspeth Christie

Elspeth is a Partner in our construction team. An experienced construction lawyer, Elspeth has a strong background in non-contentious construction law and has served as an adviser on major UK-wide developments. She has particular experience in the student accommodation, residential development, office and retail sectors. Elspeth advises clients on projects from their inception through to completion and manages any issues that may arise along the way. She acts for clients at all levels of the construction process and advises a range of clients including developers, contractors, tenants, purchasers and funders.

Richard Cowan

Richard is a Partner in our banking and finance team. He acts for a wide range of lenders (including clearing banks, challenger banks and alternative debt providers and debt funds), corporate borrowers and institutional investors in financing most aspects of corporate lending transactions. Richard has particular expertise in acting on leveraged and structured finance transactions (including MBOs, MBIs and IBOs), as well as real estate investment and development finance. He also has considerable experience in handling general corporate banking matters. Over the past 15 years, Richard has acted for many of the largest corporates in the North West of England, as well as for growth businesses that needed advice and assistance with their financing requirements. He also regularly handles matters with an international dimension and prior to joining us in 2019 worked for an international law firm.

Helena Davies

Helena is a Partner, the head of our retail team and a specialist property litigator. Having practised for over two decades in the specialist field of property litigation, Helena advises on the full range of real estate disputes including adverse possession and boundary disputes, title issues such as restrictive covenants and easement interference, nuisance claims and rights of light. She’s also a leading practitioner in Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 cases and acts regularly on disputes arising from commercial leases including forfeitures, break options, tenant insolvencies and dilapidations.

Simon Ellis

Director. Civil and Criminal Financial Regulatory Defence. Acted in defence of HMRC Assessments for unpaid Excise Duty, and Appeals in respect of direct and indirect tax. Instructed in FCA mis-selling and market abuse. Also instructed in two of the larges Serious Fraud Office Prosecutions of recent years and the largest viivil asset recovery action brought by SOCA

Hannah Fawcett

Hannah is a Partner and Chartered Trade Mark Attorney. She leads our beauty and fashion team. A skilled commercial lawyer who specialises in intellectual property (IP) law, Hannah advises an array of national and international clients, particularly across the retail, fashion, beauty, personal care, cosmetics, aesthetics, leisure and sport sectors — including Regatta, Craghoppers, The Royal Parks and Sosandar. Hannah handles both contentious and non-contentious IP matters, with a raft of experience in the protection and registration of IP portfolios in the UK, Europe and internationally. She advises on the exploitation and licensing of IP, as well as enforcement and infringement disputes relating to patents, trade marks, copyright, passing-off, company names and domain names, in addition to database, image and design rights. Hannah also provides support in corporate matters — such as IP due diligence examinations and IP audits — and advises on general commercial matters including commercial contracts, terms of business, collaboration agreements, sponsorship agreements and IT contracts. A dual-qualified solicitor and trade mark attorney, Hannah is a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and its Unreal Committee as well as CITMA (the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys).

Iain Gamble

Iain is a Partner and head of our real estate practice group. He oversees our entire real estate offering and manages our extensive team, providing clients with strategic advice on complex projects to help them reach a successful completion. Known for his calm approach and personable manner, Iain is a skilled negotiator. With expertise in property development and regeneration, he specialises in long-term, large-scale and complex urban renewal projects. Iain acts on property matters for investors, landlords, developers and corporate occupiers. Since qualifying in 2008, Iain has worked on a significant number of key matters, including Liverpool Waters, Wirral Waters, Chatham Waters and Everton’s Bramley Moore Dock stadium development on behalf of longstanding client Peel Waters, as well as Eden Project Morecambe for Lancaster City Council. Iain’s other main clients include Ion Property Developments and Primark.

Barry Goodall

Barry is a Partner and leads our construction team. Barry acts for contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, developers and employers. He has advised on major projects including Hinkley Point C and also the new Mersey Gateway Bridge, two of the largest infrastructure programmes in the UK.

Thorrun Govind

Thorrun is a Solicitor in our regulatory and professional conduct team. A practising pharmacist and former chair of the English Pharmacy Board of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Thorrun is a recognised and trusted figure in the pharmaceutical sector with first-hand experience of operating in a challenging environment while striving to provide excellent care to patients. Her deep insights into the practical challenges and pressures that regulated professionals face provide expertise in fitness to practise matters, registration and restoration applications and appeals on behalf of a wide range of healthcare professionals. A trusted national commentator on health issues, Thorrun regularly appears on the BBC, Sky, ITV, Talk TV and Times Radio, as well as in print. She regularly provides healthcare expertise on BBC Breakfast offering advice to viewers and commenting on healthcare trends.

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.

Tony Harper

Tony is a Consultant in our corporate team. He is a very experienced corporate lawyer who specialises in banking and finance as well as corporate and commercial transactions. He handles issues such as mergers, acquisitions, disposals, MBOs, MBIs, joint ventures, restructuring, loan finance and bank lending on behalf of a variety of clients including businesses and trusts. He also advises registered providers on corporate governance and finance issues. Tony focuses on assisting entrepreneurs and management teams realise their commercial objectives through common understanding, communication, prioritisation and committed execution. He is the Chairman of Eurolegal, which is a network of independent European law firms.

Christine Hart

Christine is a Legal Director in our employment and pensions team. She is an experienced employment lawyer who handles issues such as TUPE, industrial relations, employment tribunal claims, HR-related matters and recruitment sector legal issues. Christine acts for employers across the North West ranging from SMEs and family businesses to large corporates, as well as business owners and senior leaders such as directors. Christine has a strong background in contentious and non-contentious matters and has practised in employment law for over a decade. In addition, Christine regularly provides training to businesses on key issues ranging from disciplinaries and grievances to anti-bullying and harassmentShe trained under employment judge Paul Holmes and served as Head of Employment at a Bolton-based law firm prior to joining us.Christine is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association.

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.

Ali Hough

Ali is a Legal Director in our employment, pensions and immigration team. He handles Employment Tribunal claims for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal, whistleblowing, discrimination, day-to-day employee relations, redundancies/reorganisations and negotiated settlements. He also drafts employment contracts, service agreements and policy documents.He acts for a range of clients in the automotive, higher education, manufacturing and supply chain, housing and regeneration and recruitment sectors.He also advises on various contentious and non-contentious matters involving disciplinary, dismissal and grievance issues, employment status issues, holiday pay and corporate transactions. Ali is experienced in contentious employment law and has acted for claimants and respondents in a wide range of cases including advocacy work in the Employment Tribunal. He is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and the Liverpool Law Society and is also the former Chair of the Merseyside Junior Lawyers Division.

Richard Hough

Richard is a Partner. He leads our commercial and IP team as well as our healthcare sector team. A commercial and healthcare regulatory lawyer, Richard advises clients on a broad range of commercial issues including terms of business, purchasing, supply, manufacturing, outsourcing, distribution, agency, franchising and joint venture agreements. He also provides broader business advice on issues such as data protection and e-commerce. In his role as sector leader, Richard sets our healthcare sector strategy, leads on solutions to the issues faced by our clients and develops our sector talent pool. Richard also works with international clients and UK businesses expanding abroad in his role as our primary contact for both the Association of European Lawyers and Eurolegal. Richard gained extensive experience as a pharmacist before entering the legal profession and is extremely well versed in healthcare regulatory issues. He established our healthcare team, which helps clients navigate the complexities of healthcare law, engage with regulatory bodies and protect their commercial interests. He advises businesses and professionals in the pharmacy market on acquisitions and disposals, NHS pharmacy contract applications, relocations, oppositions, appeals, healthcare regulation and fitness to practise cases. He also works with veterinary product manufacturers and suppliers.

Siobhan Howard-Palmer

Siobhan is a Legal Director in our employment team and our Pro Bono Lead. She is an experienced employment lawyer who specialises in complex individual claims and also handles all aspects of employment law for employers. This includes employment tribunal claims as well as issues such as whistleblowing, discrimination, National Minimum Wage matters, HMRC audits/disputes, unfair dismissal claims, TUPE and restrictive covenants and also offers HR and employment advice. Siobhan acts for organisations across a variety of sectors from retail and manufacturing and supply chain to energy and professional services, as well as individual clients. She also advises on corporate transactions. Siobhan features on the Pro Bono Recognition List 2025, which recognises lawyers who undertook 25 hours or more of legal pro bono work over the last year.

Matthew Howarth

Matthew is a commercial litigator and the Practice Group Head for our litigation and regulatory teams. With over 30 years’ experience, Matthew regularly advises on complex, commercial, high-value claims including contractual disputes, warranty claims, pensions disputes and professional negligence claims, where he has substantial experience in advising both corporate and private clients. A member of the Professional Negligence Lawyers Association, Matthew has acted for a variety of lenders including Paragon Bank PLC, Paragon Development Finance Limited, Shawbrook Bank Limited, Nationwide Building Society and Santander plc in professional negligence claims against solicitors and valuers. His work includes claims about property development schemes, secured lending disputes and residential and buy-to-let mortgages, concluding cases at trial and mediations. He also has significant experience in group actions brought by lender clients and regularly advises at early stages of claims as to the merits and strategies of potential disputes. Matthew has both executed search and seizure orders and defended clients that have been served with them. He has further acted as a court-appointed supervising solicitor on the execution of such orders by other solicitor firms. He has additional significant experience in commercial fraud-related claims, acting for clients in high-value and complex litigation and working closely with our highly skilled corporate defence and compliance team. Matthew joined us in 2023 and is based in our Leeds office.

Graeme Hughes

Graeme is a Partner and leads our charities, not-for-profits and social enterprises team. An experienced charity lawyer, Graeme has practised exclusively in charity law since 2010. He advises on all aspects of charity law especially the establishment and management of charities, the incorporation of unincorporated charitable trusts and associations, compliance/administrative matters, governance issues, charity mergers, restructures and reorganisations. He also advises on fundraising matters, charities’ relationships with commercial organisations and trading by charities and their subsidiaries. In addition, he is experienced in dealing with the Charity Commission, advising trustees and interim managers on regulatory issues. Graeme acts for charities of all sizes operating both domestically and overseas including museums, research organisations, grant-making foundations, religious organisations, hospices and other care providers, educational institutions, registered providers of social housing, youth and community centres. He is also part of our sports sector team and acts for professional sports clubs, sports personalities and other charities operating in the field of sports (including community amateur sports clubs). He regularly speaks on legal matters affecting charities and delivers training courses for both charity trustees and staff. He is a member of the Law Society, the Charity Law Association and also sits on the Non-Contentious Business Committee of Liverpool Law Society.

Danielle Hutchison

Danielle is a Solicitor in our family law team. She advises a wide range of private individuals on all types of family law matters including finances on separation and divorce, child arrangements and urgent protective orders. A Resolution-accredited specialist in private children matters and complex financial remedies, Danielle is particularly experienced in assisting victims of domestic abuse and has a solid background in complex private children litigation relating to welfare issues like domestic abuse, parental alienation and issues of neglect and addiction, as well as relocation both within England and internationally. Patient, understanding and always willing to go above and beyond, Danielle spends time getting to know her clients to ensure that they feel comfortable, supported and trust her with their case. While she approaches matters amicably from the outset, Danielle will always consider the best approach to achieve a client’s desired outcome. As chair of the Leeds Junior Lawyers Division, Danielle’s extensive network enables her to signpost clients to other resources they may find useful — including charities for issues such as mental health and domestic abuse or fellow professionals like financial advisors and mortgage brokers. Danielle started working in family law in 2018 and qualified as a solicitor in September 2022. She has always worked in Yorkshire and prior to joining us in 2024 worked at the UK’s largest specialist family law firm. Danielle is now helping to build our family law team in Leeds — a city that’s very close to her heart. She features on the Pro Bono Recognition List 2025, which recognises lawyers who undertook 25 hours or more of legal pro bono work over the last year. While studying law at Newcastle University, Danielle volunteered for the National Centre for Domestic Abuse helpline and obtained non-molestation orders for victims of domestic abuse. This is when she decided to continue to use her legal knowledge to help and support people through difficult times in their lives.

Rupert Jackson

Rupert is a Partner and leads our agriculture and landed estates team. An experienced commercial property lawyer, Rupert handles various property-related matters with a focus on agricultural land management and landed estates. He advises on complex rights, titles and liability matters which affect rural holdings and also offers guidance to clients in relation to protecting their interests for renewable development projects. Rupert acts for individuals, trusts, companies and private estates. He has a strong background in non-contentious work and has practised for over two decades. He is highly experienced in representing the interests of the landowning community.

Jennie Jones

Jennie is a Partner in our construction team. An experienced construction lawyer, she has a strong background in contentious construction with particular expertise in adjudication and litigation in claims relating to delay, extensions for time, loss and expense claims, defective works and design. A member of our manufacturing and supply chain, real estate and local authority teams, Jennie has a wealth of experience in acting for contractors, employers and consultant engineers on a large number of disputes, with particular expertise in resolving disputes through adjudication, arbitration, mediation and litigation. She has also been involved in a number of disputes concerning defective cladding and fire safety issues. As part of her role, she provides specialist training and workshops to industry professionals and regularly presents on recent updates in construction law to clients and specialists. Jennie founded and is the Chair of Building Links, a networking group for construction and property professionals that provides a platform to collaborate and share best practice.

Kim Jones

Kim leads our pensions team as Head of Pensions. She specialises in advising trustees and employers in relation to all aspects of pensions law, including scheme mergers, wind-ups on a solvent and insolvent basis (including dealing with the Pension Protection Fund) and benefit design changes, including the closure of schemes to future accrual. Working closely with our corporate team, Kim advises on the pensions aspects of corporate transactions, including refinancing, restructuring, sales and acquisitions. Kim also has expertise in Small Self-Administered Schemes and Self-Invested Personal Pensions and advises a range of employers across the public sector on the pension implications of outsourcing agreements, the application of TUPE and managing exit debts on cessation of participation. Having spent several years acting on behalf of an independent trustee company, Kim brings further experience in managing both defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes. She regularly advises individuals with pension disputes that are subject to the internal dispute resolution procedure as well as complaints submitted to the Pension Ombudsman. Kim is based in our Leeds office.

Jeff Lewis

Jeff is a Partner in our litigation team. A highly experienced commercial litigator, Jeff is known for his tenacity and dedication in fighting on behalf of his clients. He advises on contract disputes, warranty claims, landlord and tenant disputes, professional negligence, shareholder disputes, partnership disputes, restrictive covenants and judicial reviews. He acts for a wide range of clients and for many household names. Jeff also specialises in property litigation and was involved in one of the UK’s leading dilapidations cases. He is also experienced in financial services and sport-related disputes. Jeff is an experienced accredited mediator and is listed on various mediation panels such as Sports Resolution and North West Mediation Solutions. He is a former President of Manchester Law Society and is a Council member of The Law Society. He also represents lawyers from Greater Manchester at the national Law Society. In addition, he is a member of The Law Society’s Civil Justice Committee and a member of the Property Litigation Association. He also sits as a Deputy District Judge and holds Higher Rights of Audience in civil cases.

Sara Ludlam

Sara is a Partner and Chartered Trade Mark Attorney in our commercial and intellectual property (IP) team. Based out of our Leeds office, Sara leads our IP practice across Yorkshire. She deals with both contractual and litigious IP issues, advising across all areas of IP including trade mark and design right registrations as well as commercial agreements, GDPR compliance, licensing, transactions and dispute management. Sara is also experienced in carrying out due diligence exercises for large international IP portfolios. If you’re looking to buy or sell a brand or patent portfolio, it’s critical to understand its true value and ensure that the proper protections are in place. As well as working in private practice, Sara has worked as in-house counsel for the Pentland Group, dealing with French brands Lacoste, Kickers and Luc Berjen as well as IP disputes for brands including Speedo, Red or Dead and Berghaus. She has also worked for Sports World (now Sports Direct) and Lonsdale London. Working in-house gave Sara first-hand knowledge of when to prioritise commercial issues over legal ones and how IP issues affect businesses in reality. She has built in-depth knowledge across a range of specialist markets and works to maximise the value of IP assets while minimising risks, whether in the UK or internationally. Sara qualified in 1996 while training at a niche London-based IP and litigation firm. She holds the highly regarded postgraduate diploma in intellectual property law and went on to run her own practice, where she was known by her clients as ‘Lightning Ludlam’ for her ability to achieve quick results. Sara joined us in 2023.

Paul Lunt

Paul is a Partner and our Head of Litigation. A highly regarded and multi-award-winning commercial litigator and sport lawyer with over 25 years’ experience, Paul specialises in handling high profile disputes quickly and successfully with his practical and pragmatic approach. In the corporate field, Paul handles a variety of contentious commercial matters with a focus on company and shareholder disputes, as well as contractual and tortious disputes, professional negligence claims and insolvency-related matters. His clients include private companies — such as Nichols Plc (Vimto), TJ Morris (Home Bargains) and Arnold Clark — as well as public sector organisations, partnerships and individuals. Paul is also a leading sport lawyer and acts for clients in sporting arbitrations, regulatory disciplinary proceedings and High Court civil claims. He represents a wide range of sport clients, including national governing bodies, prominent sports clubs, Premier League footballers, The Rugby Football League, Ryder Cup golfers, Chester Racecourse, England international cricketers, professional boxers, international judges and umpires, Olympic medallists and sports agencies such as Phoenix Sports Management. Paul also advises on media-related issues (including defamation and privacy), reputation management and intellectual property. As the ‘go to’ lawyer for many high-profile clients in difficult times, Paul has successfully represented: \tColeen Rooney when she was sued by Rebekah Vardy in the ‘Wagatha Christie’ case. \tEngland Cricket Captain, Ben Stokes, when he was suspended following a fight outside a Bristol nightclub in 2017, as well as later suing The Sun for Ben and his mother in a high-profile breach of privacy case. \tFormer England cricket captain, Michael Vaughan, in the dismissal of all allegations against him surrounding the Azeem Rafiq issues on alleged racism in cricket. \tThe Commonwealth Games Federation in its successful nine-figure claim against the Australian Government following the State of Victoria’s withdrawal from hosting the 2026 Games.

David Maples

David is a Partner in our corporate team. He is an experienced corporate lawyer and handles issues relating to corporate transactions such as acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, MBOs, MBIs, private equity matters, reorganisations, shareholders agreements and share options. David regularly acts for and provides general corporate and business advice to private companies, partnerships, LLPs and other businesses.He also advises charities and social enterprises on governance and constitutional issues, as well as ongoing business matters such as mergers, trading activities and subsidiaries. David has a strong background in non-contentious work and has acted for both public and private companies on various issues for over three decades. He previously served as a Partner at a major national practice before joining us. David’s current clients include Brookes Bell, Roanza, Rathbones, Northern Drives and Controls and the Robert Smith Group. He serves as a trustee for the Manchester United Foundation (which he helped establish in 2007) and until recently was also a trustee of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Helen Marriott

Helen is a Partner and the Head of our Brabners Personal team. With over 30 years of experience as a family lawyer, Helen is one of the country's leading specialists in complex financial cases. She takes a highly strategic approach to guide clients through the most critical moments in life — devising the solutions they need to protect themselves and their future generations. Helen specialises in high-value and complex divorce and financial settlement cases that often involve shareholdings, business interests, family trusts, offshore assets and pensions. Many of her clients are business owners who need trusted advice on matters like valuation, liquidity, taxation issues and minority discount. She also has a large client base across the sport and entertainment sectors working with many high-profile individuals where discretion and privacy are key. As the first family solicitor in Liverpool to qualify as an arbitrator, Helen is perfectly placed to adjudicate on interim and substantive financial issues as part of our alternative dispute resolution (ADR) team. Due to Helen’s vast experience in advising and negotiating financial matters on relationship breakdown, she is sought out by other professionals — most notably mediators — to provide tactical strategic advice, often before any proceedings are issued. While she strives to find solutions to keep matters out of Court, Helen is a skilled litigator adept at negotiating settlements within the Court arena when needed. She also has a well-established practice supporting couples with pre- and post-nuptial agreements, civil partnerships and relationship agreements. Sensitivity and judgement are critical. Helen has always felt privileged to work with families. Clients value her empathetic approach and ability to share the burden of their situation while striving to achieve the best outcome as efficiently as possible. Praised for her “second to none” client care and “collaborative and personable” communication skills (Chambers & Partners, 2024), Helen works in partnership with her clients to map out their goals and how best to move forward.

Nick McAleenan

Nick is a Partner in our litigation team. A reputation management, data and media lawyer, Nick is trusted by clients to protect what matters most — their good name, privacy and credibility. He combines legal expertise with strategic communications insight to help individuals and organisations navigate sensitive disputes and reputational crises. Nick works alongside executive and communications teams to manage risk, handle complex situations and respond decisively when crises hit. His approach blends litigation know-how with proactive communications, ensuring that clients stay in control during challenging situations. Nick acts in disputes involving leading online platforms, traditional broadcasters and newspapers, pressure groups, PLCs and influencers. Nick regularly acts for large organisations as well as private individuals. Nick advises on a wide range of legal issues, including defamation, privacy and harassment law. He has successfully acted for victims of harassment, trolling and disinformation. For example, Nick successfully represented the headteacher of a high-performing school in a harassment claim against parents of former pupils. Nick regularly acts in disputes arising from online and social media publications. He often works on new and emerging legal issues. For example, Nick secured the UK’s first reported settlement relating to a political 'deep fake' and has considerable experience of issues concerning use of facial recognition technology. Nick has extensive experience in handling data breach litigation, contentious freedom of information and subject access requests and ICO investigations. He led the UK’s first data breach group action (Various Claimants v Wm Morrison Supermarkets PLC) and represented over 10,000 claimants in the landmark Supreme Court litigation.

Brendan McAleese

Brendan is a Partner in our employment, immigration and pensions team. An experienced employment lawyer, he advises on contentious and non-contentious matters including disciplinary, dismissal and grievance issues, redundancy/reorganisations, TUPE and negotiated settlements. Brendan acts for a wide variety of employers across a diverse range of sectors. He also drafts employment contracts, service agreements and policy documentation. Brendan has a strong background in contentious work and has acted for employers and employees in employment tribunal claims involving complex issues such as unfair dismissal, whistleblowing and discrimination.

Andrew McGregor

Andrew is a Legal Director in our sports team. A highly skilled sports lawyer, Andrew leads our football team and is a longstanding trusted advisor to many high-profile clients in the football market and beyond. Having worked in various in-house capacities, he advises an array of sports sector clients — including governing bodies, associations, organisations and sports agencies, as well as Premier League and English Football League clubs, managers, coaches, athletes and players — on a range of contentious and non-contentious issues. With considerable experience in sports-related dispute resolution, Andrew regularly represents clients in FA Rule K arbitration proceedings, FA Commission proceedings and High Court proceedings, as well as before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He is also experienced at advising on football regulations and the content of football-related contractual documentation, such as domestic and international transfer agreements, player, manager and coaching staff contracts, agency representation contracts, agency consultancy agreements and a variety of other commercial agreements.

Charlotte McRae

Charlotte is a Senior Associate in our regulatory and professional conduct team. She handles issues such as health and safety prosecutions, licensing issues and professional disciplinary matters. Charlotte acts for a range of clients including individuals, SMEs and housing associations.She also advises on firearms licensing appeals as well as criminal matters.Charlotte is experienced in coronial law and has represented a number of clients at inquests in order to protect their interests and helping them avoid or respond to prevention of future death reports.

Hayley Morgan

Hayley is a Legal Director, Chartered Trade Mark Attorney and Part-Qualified Patent Attorney in our commercial and intellectual property team. A commercial lawyer, Hayley deals with both contentious and non-contentious intellectual property (IP) matters including in relation to copyright, designs, trade marks, patents, database rights, company names and domain names. She assists clients throughout the entire IP prosecution process, from IPR audits and clearance searches to filing, prosecution and watches. Hayley also assists in relation to IP strategy, management and policies, as well as contractual matters such as assignments, licences and due diligence during corporate restructuring. A qualified IP litigator, Hayley also specialises in contentious IP. She acts before the registries in oppositions and cancellations and in relation to formal infringement actions and litigation before the courts. She takes a commercially minded and pragmatic approach to disputes, seeking to identify routes to mutual resolution that are beneficial to all parties. Acting for a wide range of clients — from multinationals to SMEs and individuals — Hayley has strong experience in advising professional services organisations and is trusted by many international attorneys. Having studied and worked in IP since 2007, Hayley has a Master’s degree in Chemistry with Patent Law (MChem) and is a part-qualified patent attorney. This has given her a strong understanding of complex concepts and enables her to advise many science and technology companies as a member of our technology sector group.

Adam Murphy

Adam is an Associate in our litigation team. A commercial litigator and media lawyer, he has experience across a broad range of contentious commercial work, including contractual and tortious claims, reputation management instructions and company and shareholder disputes. Adam advises on media-related issues and crisis response, including defamation, data and privacy and harassment, with extensive experience in confidential and sensitive media disputes involving journalists, publishers, broadcasters and digital content creators. He acts for a range of clients across a variety of commercial sectors including media, sport, manufacturing and supply chain, charity, healthcare, hospitality, aviation and retail.

Lachlan Nisbet

Lachlan is a Partner and our Head of Regulatory and Professional Conduct. He also leads our Brabners Protect team. He regularly handles regulatory cases concerning health and safety, public and administrative, criminal and disciplinary law, along with regulatory compliance, white collar crime and trading standards matters. He is acknowledged as the UK’s leading firearms and field sport lawyer advising individuals and a range of businesses and organisations in this area. He is the Legal Advisor to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation. Lachlan acts for regulated professionals, sports personalities and other prominent individuals as well as private companies and public bodies. Lachlan served as the Solicitor to the Anthony Grainger Public Inquiry, and was instructed in the Baha Mousa and Al-Sweady Public Inquiries. He continues to represent senior individuals designated as Core Participants to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Lachlan is a solicitor-advocate and is security cleared for government work. He also has extensive experience in prosecuting for public bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive, the Care Quality Commission and other private prosecutors.

Cara Nuttall

Cara is a Partner and leads our family law team. She’s highly experienced in children and modern families law and specialises in child abduction, child relocation and surrogacy. As a qualified Children Arbitrator, Cara can adjudicate on a wide range of matters relating to children. Cara further advises on all aspects of relationship breakdown — including divorce and financial matters — as well as cases with international elements and in respect of enforcement, including committal. She assists a diverse range of clients from various backgrounds who are based both in the UK and abroad. Cara’s work involves complex and sometimes novel points of law. She has been involved in many significant decisions across both children and financial matters and is actively involved in efforts to review and reform the law where needed. This has seen her participate in regional and national family law committees like Resolution, Women in Family Law, the Child Abduction Lawyers Association and LGBT Family Law Institute, along with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on surrogacy. She frequently appears in the media to discuss family law issues and featured as legal advisor in the Channel 4 documentary ‘Strangers Making Babies’. With a particular specialisms in complex domestic and international children law, modern family structures (including grandparents, step-families, extended families and platonic parenting arrangements) and building families through surrogacy, donation and co-parenting (platonic parenting) arrangements, Cara has extensive experience in cases that involve welfare concerns such as domestic abuse, substance and alcohol misuse and allegations of alienation. She has acquired Resolution specialist status for private law children matters and child abduction. Cara features on the Pro Bono Recognition List 2025, which recognises lawyers who undertook 25 hours or more of legal pro bono work over the last year.

Helen Otty

Helen is a Partner in our litigation team. An experienced commercial litigator, she advises on commercial and company disputes including shareholder and partnership disputes, procurement law and breach of warranty claims. Helen acts for private companies, public sector organisations and individuals, regularly advising clients in the education, food and drink and retail sectors. She has specialist expertise in media law including defamation claims, intellectual property disputes and reputation management. Helen also advises on claims pursuant to the Equality Act, professional negligence claims, company restorations, judicial review and directors’ disqualifications.

Andrew O’Mahony

Andrew is a Partner and our Head of Banking and Finance. An experienced corporate lawyer, he advises lenders, corporate borrowers and institutional investors on various aspects of banking and finance work. This includes structured and acquisition finance transactions, real estate finance transactions (both investment and development), bridging (short term) finance transactions and general corporate banking (including refinancings and reorganisations). Andrew has specialist expertise in advising registered housing providers in the social housing sector on their borrowing requirements. He also has a strong track record in private equity transactions and has worked with many investors to ensure that they take a strategic approach to investing in companies during various stages of development. On the lending side, Andrew’s clients include high street clearing banks, alternative and secondary lenders, debt funds and bridging finance providers. On the borrowing side, he advises corporates, registered housing providers and individuals. Known for remaining calm under pressure and his keen eye for the finer details, Andrew is an outstanding project manager with the ability to explain issues in a clear and concise manner. He takes a highly collaborative approach with clients, ensuring that he stays focused on achieving their objectives through regular calls and email updates.

Mairead Platt

Mairead is a Legal Director in our corporate team. An experienced corporate lawyer, she advises on mergers and acquisitions, shareholder protection, company restructures, exit strategies (including management buy-outs and employee ownership trusts) and advises start-up and scale-up businesses that are looking to grow. Mairead has a niche specialism in the EO (employee ownership) sector and played a key role in developing our EO reputation and client base, which led to us completing our 50th EO transaction in 2024. EOT exits are becoming increasingly popular, with clients looking for experts who possess outstanding levels of experience and technical knowledge. An approachable advisor with a strong commercial outlook, Mairead aligns her clients’ needs with their risk profiles and preferred ways of working to deliver excellent service. She works across corporate transactions of all sizes and complexities on behalf of private companies, SMEs and owner-managed businesses and brings experience in advising clients across the technology and recruitment sectors, with a focus on advanced manufacturing and recruitment technologies. Mairead has advised on various EO transitions on behalf of clients such as Crystal Doors, Granby Marketing Solutions, Day Architectural, AC Plastics, Power Saver Electrical Supplies and Maple Plastics. She has also worked on behalf of the management teams for Inscape Interiors and SEI Group on their MBOs, assisted on recent trade acquisitions for NWF Group Plc and advised the managing director and owner of Marl International on its sale to Glamox. An expert in supporting senior decision makers and businesses through retirement and succession planning, Mairead brings a deep understanding of different exit routes and options. She also assists businesses looking to grow through buy-and-build strategies, helping them to gain new talent or enter new markets while working collaboratively with colleagues to ensure that deals complete efficiently with the right comprehensive support from across our full-service offering. She’s always looking to give back and is an active member of our pro-bono, charity and social mobility committees.

Zoe Pond

Zoe is a Legal Director in our construction team. She advises both private and public sector clients on all aspects of high value non-contentious construction and engineering matters. Zoe drafts, negotiates and agrees building contracts, professional appointments, subcontracts, development agreements, framework agreements, ancillary documents (e.g. collateral warranties and deeds of variation), security documents (e.g. parent company guarantees and performance bonds) and wider commercial agreements. She is familiar with industry standard forms of UK construction contracts.

Deepika Raino

Deepika is a Legal Director in our professional conduct team. She acts for a range of professional clients and organisations in misconduct and fitness to practise investigations by professional regulatory bodies around allegations such as dishonesty, plagiarism, exam cheating, sexual misconduct, drug taking, acting beyond scope of practice, crossing professional boundaries, fraud, gross negligence manslaughter, performance and health concerns. Deepika assists professionals in criminal investigations and interviews under caution and represents healthcare professionals in medical inquests. She also works with students facing university disciplinaries and in applications for registration or restoration onto their professional registers. With expertise in relation to safeguarding concerns, Deepika commissions independent investigations for organisations into allegations of racism and toxic work environments and makes recommendations for improvements. She also advises professionals and organisations in whistleblowing, defamation and harassment cases, as well as data protection and third-party disclosures. She advises many organisations on their existing standards of practice, codes of conduct and whether risk assessments, policies and procedures are up to date and effective. Working across a wide range of sectors, Deepika’s professional client list has included Sports Resolution, British Ice Skating, the Department for Education (DfE), the Independent Doctors Federation, NHS Trusts, ambulance services and trade unions, as well as individual athletes, university lecturers, university students, doctors, dentists, solicitors, barristers, social workers and medical experts. Deepika’s work has led her to deal with trauma victims and those suffering with severe mental stress. Many years in healthcare and social work investigations have provided her with strong experience in cases that involve the abuse of children and inappropriate relationships between healthcare professionals and vulnerable individuals. She leads a contract with the DfE to investigate and case-present against teachers accused of sexual, criminal or inappropriate conduct towards students and investigates and prepares cases for hearing by tribunals in cases of misconduct. An approved panel member of the Sports Resolution Panel for SCMP (Safeguarding Case Management Programme), Deepika receives safeguarding disciplinary investigations through Sports Resolution. A member of our Pro Bono Committee, Deepika appears on the Law Society Pro Bono Recognition List for her support for access to justice.

Mark Rathbone

Mark is a Partner and the head of our corporate team. He supports clients across all areas of corporate law including share options, mergers and acquisitions, MBOs, MBIs, venture capital, equity capital, collective investment schemes, investment structures, joint ventures and complex commercial arrangements. Mark acts for local, national and international organisations — as well as individual business owners and shareholders — across many sectors, including manufacturing and supply chain, media and technology, waste and recycling and hotels and leisure. With a heavy focus in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship, Mark provides much-needed guidance to start-ups and early-stage businesses. He helped to found the tech accelerator Baltic Ventures Limited (for which he remains a non-executive director) as well as the LCR Angel Network (which he continues to actively assist). Mark has a strong background in non-contentious work and three decades’ worth of experience in handling corporate and commercial transactions. He works closely with other teams and departments both across our business and with other organisations to ensure that a fully integrated approach is delivered on all transactions.

Andrew Rogers

Andrew is a Partner and leads our property litigation team. He specialises solely in property litigation and advises on issues such as lease renewals (opposed and unopposed), rent reviews, dilapidations claims, break notices (and other forms of property notices), restrictive covenants as well as rent and service charge arrears recovery. He acts for developers and local authorities as well as landlord and tenant clients. Andrew has significant experience in the retail sector and particular niche expertise in relation to litigation arising from business rates mitigation strategies. Andrew has a strong background in contentious work and has represented clients in the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the County Court and the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), as well as in arbitration proceedings. He also regularly advises clients in relation to forms of alternative dispute resolution including mediation.

David Seddon

David is a Partner in our corporate team. He is a corporate lawyer and a member of our health sector who handles corporate transactions such as mergers, acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, company formations and restructuring, partnership and shareholder agreements and disputes. David heads up the Firm’s Pharmacy M&A Team and has established a reputation as a leading healthcare specialist lawyer, acting for a range of healthcare organisations along with healthcare professionals such as pharmacists, dentists and General Practitioners.

Ross Shine

Ross is a Partner in our real estate team. An experienced commercial property lawyer, Ross advises clients on a broad range of highly complex, multifaceted real estate projects, such as levelling up developments, infrastructure projects, shopping centres and brownfield sites. He handles all manner of real estate matters, including investment acquisitions, property management, development, estate work and landlord and tenant matters. A key adviser to our corporate team on the property-related aspects of complex deals and projects, Ross’ ability to resolve complex problems has seen him advise on significant infrastructure projects like the construction of the Ribble Link Canal and A130 as well as levelling up projects such as Eden Project Morecambe and The Strand (Bootle). With a strong background in non-contentious work, Ross specialises in representing clients across the public sector and the retail, sport and financial sectors, including Lancaster City Council, Carole Nash Insurance and the National Football Museum. Many of Ross’ clients have been with him for over 15 years thanks to his high attention to detail, fast response times and practical guidance. Ross joined us in 1990 and previously led our Lancashire team. He now works across the UK with a focus on London.

Sarah Smith

Sarah is a Legal Director in our corporate defence and compliance team. Her practice focuses on fraud, money laundering, anti-bribery and corruption, cybercrime and all aspects of POCA (criminal and civil). This well-rounded and comprehensive experience allows Sarah to analyse cases through various lenses and issues — including privilege and disclosure — and provide clients with the most objective advice at each stage of the process. The wide definition and application of fraud has seen Sarah be instructed by those accused of dishonesty and fraud across a wide spectrum, including professional disciplinary proceedings brought by the SRA. Sarah’s fraud practice is a full service offering that includes both the traditional contentious work of criminal investigations and prosecutions as well as non-contentious work that includes reviewing current governance and designing and implementing adequate internal procedures and policies. This includes conducting discreet internal reviews and investigations to review, test and draft compliance and protective policies, as well as informing any advice to self-report. She regularly receives instructions from individuals, managers, directors, senior management, boards and corporates — and irrespective of what the trigger for the advice is, Sarah takes the time to understand her clients’ goals and provide strategic and holistic advice in relation to achieving the best possible outcome. With criminal investigations, Sarah has extensive experience in representing individuals in all formal interviews — whether under caution, arrest, voluntary or compelled powers — as well as corporates in relation to written responses under caution. Accurate identification of the issues and analysis of the evidence at this stage can result in no further action being taken or out of court disposals being negotiated. These courses of action offer significant reputational, cost and certainty of outcome benefits in the current climate, where limited resources across the criminal justice system can result in long and anxious delays. This disposal can also avoid some of the draconian ancillary orders that a court may consider, including POCA. Sarah is experienced in managing adverse publicity and seeking to minimise reputational damage.

Tom Smith

Tom is a Partner in our litigation team. He also leads our debt recovery practice. An experienced commercial litigator, Tom handles a broad variety of business disputes including cases that involve shareholder and partnership claims as well as contractual disagreements. With oversight of our debt recovery service, Tom is an expert in the effective and efficient recovery of invoice-based debts for our commercial clients. Having worked in debt recovery since 2005, Tom sets the overall approach and strategy of our service, including client relationship management. He understands both the legal and practical challenges that clients face, providing pragmatic advice and representation to maximise their chances of debt recovery. Tom also specialises in insolvency-related work, where he advises both insolvency practitioners and the former directors of insolvent companies. He has a successful track record in bringing and defending claims on behalf of these parties in relation to the duties, conduct and antecedent transactions of directors. With many years of experience in contentious work, Tom is an expert in resolving commercial issues between companies and individuals who have interests in companies or partnerships. In addition, he has a strong track record of advising and representing family and owner-managed businesses, regularly working with such clients on key issues including succession planning and reducing conflict in family enterprises. A key member of our sports law team, Tom covers a wide range of issues from contractual and business sale disputes through to banking litigation, using his experience of the sector to achieve favourable, pragmatic and commercial outcomes. Tom is a member of the Civil Litigation Section of the Law Society. He's also a trustee of a charity that supports the residents of his local village, Croston. Tom joined us in 2019 and is based in our Lancashire office.

Junaid Sohail

Junaid is an Associate in our litigation team. He has developed a strong commercial litigation practice, advising clients across a broad range of complex and high‑value disputes with a particular focus on shareholder disputes, breach of warranty claims, professional negligence, contractual disputes, financial services matters and pension‑related claims. Junaid acts for a diverse client base that includes private equity firms, investment and wealth management companies, property developers and SMEs. He supports clients through all stages of contentious matters — from early strategic advice and dispute avoidance through to litigation and resolution. His work is characterised by a pragmatic, commercially focused approach that ensures legal strategies align with wider business objectives. Alongside his professional practice, Junaid is deeply committed to community, governance and international development work. He serves as a Trustee of The Leeds East Primary Partnership, contributing to strategic oversight and educational outcomes across local schools. He also volunteers to support humanitarian and development projects in Uganda, Jordan and beyond, having helped to raise in excess of £60,000 for initiatives including clean water wells, food distribution, school refurbishments and refugee assistance. He’s also actively engaged in professional development, mentoring and collaborative work within the legal community. Junaid qualified in 2021 and joined us in 2023. He’s based in our Leeds office.

Becky Spears

Becky is a Legal Director in our property team. She is an experienced commercial property lawyer who specialises in commercial lease transactions (acting for both landlords and tenants), property acquisitions and disposals (both freehold and leasehold) as well as general portfolio management work. Becky acts for a wide range of clients including household name retailers, large property investment firms, small owner-managed businesses and individual investors.She also advises on renewals and procedures under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. In addition, Becky works with colleagues on various retail and manufacturing-based projects.

Eleanor Stirrett

Eleanor is a Partner in our construction team. She is an experienced construction lawyer who has a strong background in non-contentious construction law and has practised for over a decade. Eleanor handles issues such as drafting development and security documentation, creating and amending contracts along with warranties, assignments and novations. Eleanor has successfully dealt with projects involving diverse assets from mixed-use multi-storey towers and residential/commercial developments, to infrastructure works and education facilities. She is actively involved with the Forum for the Built Environment (FBe) networking organisation and currently serves as the committee member responsible for the marketing and communications of the Liverpool branch. She acts for funders, developers, housing associations, local authorities, contractors, tenants and educational institutions. She also advises retail tenants on construction security and related property issues concerned with acquisitions and disposals.

Dan Stowers

Dan is a Partner and leads our corporate defence and compliance team. With over 27 years as a white-collar crime practitioner (having qualified in 1997), he acts for a range of clients including individuals, corporates, partnerships and charities. Over his almost three decades in practice, Dan has vast experience in acting in the full range of criminal and regulatory investigations and prosecutions including those brought by the Serious Fraud Office, Financial Conduct Authority, CPS, HMRC and other regulators including those with parallel regulatory and linked financial, confiscation and restraint matters. In 2015 he became an Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist having been trained by the City of London Police Economic Crime Academy and as such advises organisations and individuals in respect of compliance (including anti-money laundering, bribery and corruption and the Criminal Finances Act 2017) and counter fraud as well as internal investigations. Dan is a member of the Fraud Lawyers Association, Proceeds of Crime Lawyers Association and the International Bar Association (Business Crime). He previously secured the first ever acquittal of a Managing Director of a steel tech company prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for bribery and corruption in the UK’s first prosecution of individuals following the second ever deferred prosecution agreement being reached with the corporate Sarclad Ltd. This case involved an internal investigation conducted by external lawyers instructed by the parent company. Examples of Dan's work include: \tThe SFO investigation into TATA Speciality steels. \tThe SFO investigation into AMEC Foster Wheeler Energy. \tThe SFO case arising from the investigation into the Anglo-American Group. \tThe SFO Miners Compensation Fund investigation. \tThe SFO case arising from the collapse of the menswear group Ciro Citerrio. \tThe SFO investigation involving Lord Davenport and Gresham Ltd. \tThe SFO prosecution of individuals in the Duckers Furniture Ltd asset stripping case. \tThe SFO prosecution involving the collapse and asset stripping of Uno Shopfitting Ltd, Wavetown Ltd and Abbotts Wholesale (Tobacconists and Confectioners) Ltd. \tThe SFO prosecution of individuals in the Prudential Commercial case. \tRepresentation of two directors charged with bribery and corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 in respect of matters concerning the London Underground. Dan joined us in 2022. He works with clients across the country.

Sadie Thomson

Sadie is an Associate in our regulatory and professional conduct team. A criminal litigation and regulatory law specialist, Sadie works across coroner inquests, criminal defence, private prosecutions, public inquiries and professional misconduct proceedings — with a strong background in police misconduct. Sadie has represented clients facing criminal prosecution for serious offences brought by the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office, Trading Standards, HMRC and private prosecutors. Sadie also has experience of representing both individuals and organisations in bringing private prosecutions. Sadie’s clients span a range of sectors including leisure and hospitality, housing solutions and healthcare. She’s experienced in handling professional conduct matters in the education and public sector and has extensive experience representing police officers — up to the level of Superintendent and Deputy Assistant Commissioner — facing both criminal and gross misconduct proceedings, as well as teachers facing misconduct proceedings before the Teachers Regulation Agency. Her clients value her approachable and transparent communication style. She fosters an open dialogue with clients where they’re free to ask questions about their case and the legal process generally. Sadie keeps clients updated with the prospects and progress of their case with honest yet sensitive discussions about any difficulties that they face.

Fiona Tinsley

Fiona is a Partner and our head of medical negligence and serious personal injury. She holds a Clinical Negligence Accreditation from The Law Society and deals with all aspects of medical negligence relating to delay, misdiagnosis, mismanagement and consent issues where a patient has become injured, deteriorated or has passed away as a result of negligent treatment or care. Her work includes cases that involve chemotherapy negligence, brain injuries, spinal injuries, neurological injuries and disorders, maternal and birth-related injuries, gynaecological injuries, surgical injuries, A&E care and GP care. Fiona acts for clients that seek representation to resolve medical disputes against healthcare providers including GPs, NHS Trusts and private hospitals, dentists, pharmacists and care homes. When it comes to serious personal injuries, Fiona acts on behalf of claimants who’ve suffered catastrophic or life-changing injuries caused by an accident at work, on the road, in a public space or on private property. Dedicated to helping our clients access justice and rebuild their lives as quickly as possible, Fiona’s role requires a deep understanding of medical law and the ability to analyse medical records — the main source of evidence required to establish the high threshold in proving a case. With a strong background in both areas, Fiona has advised in a wide range of complex cases. These include a claimant who lacked capacity in relation to a delay in diagnosis and treatment of a cyst in the brain, which caused cognitive impairment and compromised mobility; a claimant who suffered negligent post-operative treatment and care following kidney transplant surgery; and a mother whose baby was tragically stillborn as a result of negligent delay in treatment and care and also for the father who suffered psychological injury.

Imogen Trafford

Imogen is an Associate in our charities, not-for-profits and social enterprises team. She advises on a range of charity law issues and matters including setting up, incorporating and registering new charities, restructuring, merging and reorganising charities, closing charities, providing governance advice including carrying out governance reviews and assisting with constitutional and trustee/membership issues. Imogen also handles matters involving the Charity Commission including applications for cy-près schemes, applications to release permanent endowment and dealing with conflicts of interests. Imogen also features on the Pro Bono Recognition List 2025, which recognises lawyers who undertook 25 hours or more of legal pro bono work over the last year.

Victoria Trigwell

Victoria is a Legal Director in our commercial and intellectual property team. She specialises in contract and EU public procurement law and handles a range of commercial contracts including agency and distribution agreements, terms and conditions, collaboration and non-disclosure agreements and advises on all aspects of EU public procurement law and data protection law. She acts for both public and private sector organisations including manufacturers, recruitment companies, technology companies, registered providers of social housing, local authorities and charities. Victoria has a strong background in non-contentious work and has practiced for over a decade. She worked at an international private practice law firm specialising in commercial contracts and public procurement law as well as working as an in-house lawyer for a professional services umbrella organisation before joining us.

Nicola Turner

Nicola is a Partner and Head of Contentious Trusts and Probate. As part of our litigation team, Nicola specialises in disputes relating to wills, inheritance, estates and trusts, as well as financial abuse of the vulnerable and property trust cases. She conducts litigation in the High Court, County Court, Probate Registry and Court of Protection. Nicola is a full member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Solicitors. Nicola has a varied and complex caseload, including: \tDisputes between beneficiaries and executors/trustees regarding the performance of their duties and the administration of estates or trusts, which may require executors to be replaced or the court’s involvement to resolve an impasse. \tChallenges and investigations to the validity of a will (including cases that involve undue influence or mental capacity). \tClaims for provision from estates on behalf of disappointed potential beneficiaries made under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. \tCases with a business or commercial element, including disputes as to whether business interests and assets fall within an estate. \tCases where Probate Registry proceedings can be used as an alternative to expensive litigation, including applications for an inventory and account or to force the production of testamentary documents. \tDisputes regarding jointly and solely owned property within the context of estate assets, including proprietary estoppel and constructive and/or resulting trusts arguments. \tFinancial abuse cases, representing the most vulnerable people in society, including those who are protected parties and have (or require) an attorney or deputy, including disputes regarding lifetime transactions and/or gifts and the actions of attorneys. Nicola receives most of her instructions through recommendation. She is not only seen as the lawyer of choice by the public in the contentious probate field, but also by fellow lawyers in their own right. Nicola takes the time to deeply understand her clients’ priorities, end goals and the specific approach they would like taken in their case, which helps her to develop bespoke strategies to resolve cases with the best possible outcome. Prior to joining Brabners in September 2023, Nicola worked for two Lancashire-based law firms. After training and qualifying as a solicitor in 2005, Nicola went on to become Head of Civil Litigation before holding the role of Partner and Head of Contentious Probate. She is based in our Lancashire office.

Georgina Vokes

Georgina is a Solicitor in our will and inheritance disputes team. She specialises in contentious trusts and probate litigation, dealing with a wide range of matters on behalf of both beneficiaries and executors including Will validity challenges, Inheritance Act claims, disputes between beneficiaries and executors regarding the performance of their duties and the administration of estates. She also deals with Probate Registry claims. Georgina reviews each case in detail to ensure that she fully understands the nature of the issues at play — as well as each client’s priorities and objectives — before providing astute, tailored legal advice to achieve the desired outcome.

Simon Whitehead

Simon is a Partner and leads our recruitment & workforce solutions team. Simon is an experienced employment lawyer who handles director/senior management disputes, exit strategies and settlement agreements, employment contracts and service agreements. He also advises on redundancies and reorganisations, TUPE, outsourcing, employment tribunal claims, data protection issues, complex discrimination cases, post termination obligations, IR35 and status generally, as well as National Minimum Wage investigations. He supports national and international recruitment businesses dealing with regulatory issues such as the Agency Workers Regulations, the Conduct Regulations, the GLAA and the issues arising from the Good Work Plan. He also advises on general recruitment issues arising from using and supplying temporary workers, contractors and the gig economy generally.

Nicola Whittle

Nikki is a Partner in our corporate team. An experienced corporate and insolvency lawyer, she handles a broad range of corporate transactions (on both a solvent and insolvent basis) including mergers, acquisitions and MBOs. Nikki works with a variety of clients — from SMEs to large corporates — and regularly handles matters relating to owner-managed and family businesses throughout their life-cycles, from the start-up stage right through to eventual exit via trade or private equity sale, management buy-out or sale to an employee ownership trust. She also advises business owners on scaling up by natural expansion, acquisition or private equity investment and assists investors and shareholders to properly protect their investments by preparing and advising on the appropriate agreements that need to be in place — from the pre-investment stage all the way through to handling investor exits. Nikki’s corporate clients include Eventura Limited, Carefoot PLC, Origin Control Panel Solutions Limited, Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses Limited, Wise One UK Limited, Lancashire County Developments Limited, Stanmore Insurance Group and National Westminster Bank PLC. Nikki also sits on the advisory board to Lancashire County Council, where she advises on early-stage investment in the Lancashire market — helping to shape the landscape and create a thriving ecosystem. Taking a highly commercial approach to corporate transactions, Nikki likes to get the job done with an appreciation that both parties have the same end-goal — and that their lawyers should be on-hand to assist in reaching the best possible conclusion, rather than point-scoring. Nikki also likes to give back to her clients, which is why she founded the networking events Business Circle, Business Club and The Care Collective. Having advised financial institutions, company directors and shareholders and acted for insolvency practitioners (both pre- and post-appointment) across the North West, Nikki has a strong background in non-contentious insolvency work. Her insolvency clients include Leonard Curtis Business Solutions Group, RSM Restructuring Advisory LLP, Begbies Traynor Group, FTS Recovery Limited, Paddington Street Limited and Arbuthnot Specialist Finance Limited. Given her experience in acting for accountants, IFAs, solicitors and insurance brokers in the M&A arena, Nikki is a key and founding member of our professional services sector team. Nikki’s accolades include winning the ‘Young Lawyer of the Year’ award at the Insider Young Professionals Awards in 2018 and being named one of the region’s top 25 female entrepreneurs and innovators to watch in 2021 by Lancashire Business View. Nikki qualified as a lawyer in 2008 and joined our Lancashire office in 2016. Hailing from a working-class background, Nikki was the first member of her family to attend university and obtain a degree. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be a lawyer and followed this dream, funding her own way through university by working two jobs. Nikki has been a charity trustee for Recycling Lives Charity — a leading national charity that works in offender rehabilitation, homeless support and food redistribution — since February 2020.