Cleaver Fulton Rankin

cleaverfultonrankin.co.uk

Michael is the head of the Employment and Business Immigration law team and also leads the firm’s HR consultancy practice, CFR HR. Michael has been with Cleaver Fulton Rankin since 2008, having qualified as a solicitor in 1993. Michael has considerable experience in employment law and HR advisory work and is also involved in education and charity law as well as dispute resolution. Michael is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development by examination. Michael acts for a number of public, private and third sector organisations including Invest NI, Catalyst, DailyPay, IceMOS Technology, Sports Council Northern Ireland, National Museums Northern Ireland, Titanic Belfast Limited, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, CCEA Northern Regional College, South Eastern Regional College and the Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman’s Office.

Karen is Chairman and Director at Cleaver Fulton Rankin and specialises in planning and environmental law, liquor licensing and public law. She advises a wide range of clients, particularly in the mining, waste, energy and aviation sectors on their development proposals, including advice on environmental impact assessment and habitats issues. She also advises on regulatory issues arising from on-going manufacturing and processing operations. Karen also has extensive experience in the judicial review and liquor licensing courts.

Kathryn is a Director in the Real Estate team of Cleaver Fulton Rankin. Her depth of expertise and significant experience in all aspects of non-contentious commercial property sets her apart in the market. Her interests lie particularly with commercial development, the retail sector, acting for both local and national preservation charities and projects work, both on behalf of clients in Northern Ireland and also in England and Wales (where she is qualified to practice). Kathryn is experienced in dealing with complex disposal and acquisition transactions as well as leading teams of solicitors where required, in dealing with major projects. Kathryn also has experience in providing advice to leading financial institutions and also for administrators in preparing property portfolios for sale and the sale of the assets themselves. She has been a key player in some of Northern Ireland’s largest retail and private sector developments.

Stephen is head of Cleaver Fulton Rankin’s corporate finance and banking department. Stephen advises on corporate finance, banking and commercial law, acting for public sector bodies, financial institutions and businesses in Northern Ireland. Examples of specific areas of Stephen’s practice include project finance, ABL, structured finance, renewable energy projects (for developers and funders) and funding by public bodies and other intermediaries to third sector bodies.

Jeanette Donohoe

Jeanette is a Director and Head of the Dispute Resolution department at Cleaver Fulton Rankin. She also leads the firm's Business Restructuring & Insolvency team. Jeanette specialises in providing advice in all areas of insolvency, corporate recovery, banking litigation and enforcement of security acting on behalf of banks and lending institutions, supervisors, fixed charge receivers, administrators, receivers, liquidators and trustees in contentious and non-contentious matters. She also has a specialism in administering the disposal of properties which arise from all areas of insolvency. Jeanette’s clients include HSBC Bank PLC, Ulster Bank Limited, Bank of Ireland (UK) Plc, Invest NI, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, BDO, Grant Thornton, McCambridge Duffy LLP, PKF-FPM, HNH Group, Keenan CF and Cavanagh Kelly. Jeanette has published several articles on a variety of legal issues in the local press including the Belfast Telegraph, the Irish News and Ambition Magazine.

Patrick Fleming

Patrick is a Director in the Dispute Resolution department. He specialises in construction and procurement law, commercial litigation and regulatory. Patrick has represented many clients in all aspects of Construction and Procurement from the initial strategy to the contract conclusion. He has active practice in Health and Safety law including corporate manslaughter. He has extensive experience of all forms of dispute resolution including Arbitration, Adjudication, Mediation and High Court Litigation. He is also a qualified adjudicator.

Jonathan Forrester

Jonathan is the Managing Director of Cleaver Fulton Rankin specialising in real estate litigation, construction disputes, disputes about Wills and Trusts and commercial litigation. Jonathan is especially adept at handling high value class actions in property disputes. Cases have ranged from a multi million pound class action on behalf of 66 residents of a housing development, to acting in a dispute between joint venture partners in connection with a landmark commercial property, which settled for a sum in excess of £100m. He has also developed a strong reputation in the area of probate and trust litigation. In particular, he regularly acts for major charities in proceedings concerning the validity of wills, Inheritance Order claims, construction summonses and rectification proceedings. He has previously been described by Legal 500 interviews as ‘a truly excellent litigator’, who provides ‘excellent litigation advice’. Jonathan is also a keen proponent of alternative dispute resolution and has successfully completed the alternative dispute resolution and mediation training provided by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. Jonathan has published several articles on a variety of legal issues in the Northern Irish Press and Business magazines, including the Belfast Telegraph, Business First and the Institute of Legacy Management newsletters. He has also given presentations to numerous local businesses and NICVA.

Michael is the head of Cleaver Fulton Rankin’s Private Client Department which offers a full service to clients including wills, administration of estates and trusts, tax planning and matters affecting elderly clients. He also deals with a substantial amount of Office of Care & Protection Work including Controllerships and applications for statutory wills. Michael was instrumental in the formation of the Northern Ireland Branch of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners in November 2007. Michael was Chairman of the branch from 2021 to 2015.

Michael King is a commercial litigator with particular expertise in intellectual property and information law. He regularly advises on cases involving freedom of information and data protection issues. Recently he has been working with organisations on the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Joe is a Director and Head of Cleaver Fulton Rankin's commercial property department. He acts for a wide variety of clients across all aspects of property law, including commercial leasing, disposals and acquisitions, portfolio management, property finance and development and has particular expertise in the renewable energy, retail and telecoms sectors. Joe’s advises clients from the public and private sectors, including energy and utility companies, renewable developers, telecommunication providers, retailers, banks, local councils and charities. Joe has published several articles on property law matters in local press and business magazines.

Alan is a Director working in the firm’s Commercial Real Estate department. He has a wealth of expertise in all aspects of commercial law although currently he specialises in commercial property both contentious and non-contentious and contractual advices. Alan has been practising law for over 25 years and is an articulate and approachable solicitor who has a creative attitude when it comes to solving client issues. He has advised a number of the largest construction companies in Northern Ireland on construction contract issues and is a good person to turn to for advice regarding the tender process and procurement matters.

Paul is a Director and Head of the Corporate & Commercial team at Cleaver Fulton Rankin. Paul is recognised as a leading lawyer in Corporate & Commercial, specialising in corporate governance, mergers & acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, with particular experience in the technology sector. Paul has advised leading local, national and international businesses on mergers & acquisitions, equity finance and intellectual property.

Anna McClimonds

Aaron is a Director in Cleaver Fulton Rankin and specialises in Construction, Product Liability, Banking Litigation, Professional Negligence. He advises a range of clients in contested property matters such as Landlord and Tenant disputes, dilapidations, adverse possession, derogation from grant, rent recovery and forfeiture. His Commercial Litigation Practice has significantly grown in recent years. Aaron has a niche Product Liability Practice. He regularly acts for leading automotive manufacturers in the defence of claims brought in Northern Ireland and has an enviable client base. He has recently advised in high value mediations and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Aaron primarily acts on behalf of blue chip and high profile retail tenants in his role as Director in the Dispute Resolution Team.

Patrick O'Hanlon

Timothy is a Director in the Private Client department. He specialises in the drafting and administration of wills, trusts and estates as well as dealing with capacity issues such as Controllership and Enduring Powers of Attorney.

Start is a Director in Cleaver Fulton Rankin's Corporate & Commercial team. Stuart advises clients from a range of sectors, including manufacturing, finance & banking, energy & renewables, technology, property, retail, and media. Stuart works to really understand his clients’ commercial needs in order to deliver practical, efficient and straightforward advice.

Sinead is a Director in the Banking & Finance team at Cleaver Fulton Rankin. Having previously worked for multi-national law firms in London, Birmingham and Belfast, Sinead is triple qualified as a solicitor in Northern Ireland, England & Wales and Ireland. Sinead advises a wide range of financial institutions and borrowers across various industry sectors in relation to general corporate lending, real estate finance, development finance, debt restructurings, distressed real estate projects, and loan portfolio sales and has acted for lenders and insolvency practitioners in the management and sale of distressed real estate across Northern Ireland, England & Wales and Ireland.