Team
Our Team
We believe that our client-side experience and understanding of business objectives and processes helps us to provide a really effective legal service. For this reason our team includes lawyers who have direct experience of working in industry. Nigel Kotani and Jeremy Clarke, two ex-City lawyers, head the firm, supported by Rachel Barber, Andrew Fishleigh, David Glover, Nick Marshall, Trevor Cowan and Bob Grayson:
Nigel Kotani - Commercial & Corporate
Nigel Kotani joined LLC in the summer of 2008 after 10 years with the London office of Salans, the international law firm. Nigel specialises in corporate transactional and commercial contract work, including AIM listing, UK and international company and business disposals, buy-outs, private equity finance and investment, joint ventures, supply and distribution agreements and outsourcing service contracts (including TUPE). As a former computer programmer, Nigel has also developed an expertise in computer law and contracts. In addition to his UK experience, Nigel has extensive transactional experience in Central and Eastern Europe particularly in Ukraine.
His clients include a supermarket chain, fashion manufacturers, technology suppliers, private equity investment funds, mining organisations and outsourced service providers.
Nigel has run a number of in-house legal training programmes for UK and international clients and has presented and written widely on corporate law transactions including management buy-outs and the conduct of private equity transactions.
Jeremy Clarke - Commercial & Corporate
Jeremy founded LLC Law as the vehicle for a more flexible, pro-active legal service for businesses after several years in the City and in-house with an international PLC. Jeremy specialises in domestic and international outsourcing, off-shoring (including tax driven re-structuring), manufacturing, procurement & tendering, agency distribution & franchising together with joint venture arrangements, private equity & venture capital and corporate M&A advisory work, including the acquisition and sale of companies and businesses. His clients include leading blue chip PLC's and SME's in the UK, Europe and Far East with whom he has built a reputation for providing practical solutions for often complex commercial arrangements.
In recognition of UK and continental clients' growing requirement for support in the creation of ancillary outsourcing documentation, Jeremy has transitioned LLC Law's specialist commercial and corporate legal service into a fully integrated solution for the management of outsourced operations and processes. This support is provided through the practice's SLA ProTM, KPI ProTM and CMO ProTM support services. Jeremy has brought together sector specific professionals to combine their knowledge and expertise in creating operational and process mapping services to simplify clients' creation of effective operational service level specifications and key performance measures.
Jeremy is a member of the Logistics Directors Forum, the Institute of Logistics & Transport, the European Logistics Users Providers & Enablers Group and the Road Haulage Association and has written articles and lectured widely on contracting, TUPE and outsourcing in the UK and across Europe.
Rachel Barber - Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Previously at national firm Eversheds, Rachel has 15 years’ experience in dispute resolution and commercial litigation, where she specialises in acting for small and medium sized businesses. Rachel has a broad range of experience across many different industries and professions, handling matters ranging from simple debt collection to complex multi-party disputes. Her areas of expertise include commercial contract disputes, credit control procedures and debt recovery, property disputes, injunctions, partnership and shareholder disputes, mediation of disputes, enforcement of restrictive covenants and commercial agency compensation claims. Working with small and medium sized businesses has provided Rachel with good experience of providing cost effective advice and finding practical solutions, with or without court proceedings.
Andrew Fishleigh - Employment
Andrew started his legal career at the Treasury Solicitor before moving into private practice with city law firm DJ Freeman. After a successful time in the City, Andrew became one of the founding partners of Arthur Andersen’s offshoot law firm Garretts. Andrew has specialised in all aspects of employment law for over 25 years, during which he has developed a commercial and practical approach to legal advice in both contentious and non-contentious matters. In addition, Andrew has undertaken employment training seminars for clients, and spoken at legal and business seminars on TUPE, redundancy, unfair dismissal and disciplinary procedures, Works Councils, discrimination in the workplace and other related topics.
David Glover - Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Specialist in Transport Regulation & Environmental. Formerly an official in the Vehicle
and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), David brings 15 years experience prosecuting and defending actions and advising on best practices under the Road Traffic Acts and Transport regulation. Uniquely, David has both extensive prosecutor and operator experience enabling him to provide an invaluable "inside" perspective on VOSA and other governmental officials approach to regulation implementation. In particular, David's expertise extends to operator Licensing, Public Inquiries, Driver Conduct Hearings, Compliance Audits and Training, Driver's Hours and Tachographs, Defending Prosecutions, Overloads and Construction and Use, Clandestine Entrants, Livestock Haulage, Dangerous Goods.
Nick Marshall - Litigation & Dispute Resolution
Specialist in HM Revenue & Customs, Health & Safety, Transport & Road Traffic Act, Carriage of Goods, CMR & STGO. Nick has extensive experience in advising Transport operators, managers and manufacturing/distribution companies on regulatory matters and compliance relating to the movement of goods and the operation of vehicle fleets. In addition, Nick has developed a niche practice in HMRC issues including Departmental Reviews, Condemnation Proceedings and VAT & Duties Tribunals. As part of his compliance practice, Nick advises on Health and safety Compliance Audits & Training, Waste Management and Pollution Control, Carriage of Waste, Dealing with Environment Agency and Defending Prosecutions.
Bob Grayson - Employee Share & Incentive Schemes
Bob specialises in global employee share schemes and incentives, previously heading up the international employee incentives team at Linklaters before working in house for a major oil multinational. He works with many international companies structuring, setting-up and managing their global and domestic share and incentive plans. His expertise covers options, free shares, share purchase plans, revenue approved plans, charge-backs and transitioning the effect of corporate takeovers and restructurings on group schemes. Bob has lectured and presented seminars in the UK, Europe, America, China and the Far East. Previously, Bob worked in international corporate finance in London, Hong Kong and Japan. Bob studied law at Cambridge where he was awarded the Frere Smith prize for law.
Trevor Cowan - Property
Trevor is our specialist property consultant practising at the associated commercial, industrial and residential property practice, Thornton & Co where he has been the principal solicitor since 1991. He has over 20 years specialist conveyancing experience gained within the City at Herbert Oppenheimer and Howard Kennedy. Trevor has extensive experience of dealing with all office, shop, warehouse and industrial leases with a largely
corporate client base in the retail, investment, development and industrial sectors including entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals.