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Association of Partnership Practitioners

Committee Members

Mark Briegal - Honorary Treasurer - Bennett Briegal LLP

Mark Briegal is a founding partner at Bennett Briegal LLP, a specialist legal practice advising other lawyers and professionals on the business of law, partnership matters, mergers and acquisitions, business structures,professional regulation and employment.

Mark was on the Executive Board of a Top 200 law firm during a period of sustained growth. He originally worked in banking, running a range of banking operations for Chase Manhattan Bank, and then in management consulting, before qualifying as a solicitor. Mark aims to bring a very practical approach to business law.

Mark set up Association of Partnership Practitioners in the North West and has been ranked in Legal 500 and Chambers legal directories. Mark has an MBA from Manchester Business School and a Classics degree from Cambridge University.

Outside of work, Mark is involved in sports. He is currently Chair of Archery GB, the national governing body for Archery in the UK and, as a former quite-competitive rower, is now a qualified rowing coach and multi-lane endorsed umpire. He chairs the British Rowing North West Umpire Committee. He is also a Trustee of the Rowing Foundation, a charity which promotes the participation in rowing of young people and the disabled of all
ages.

Mark is married with adult children (and a cat) and lives in Cheshire.

Bennett Briegal LLP
Mark@bennettbriegal.co.uk
07973 283678

Sarah Chilton - CM Murray LLP

Sarah Chilton is a Partner at CM Murray LLP specialising in partnership and employment law.

She is dual qualified to practice in England & Wales and Scotland and has represented clients in both the English and Scottish Courts.

Sarah advises partners, partnerships, LLP members and LLPs on a wide range of issues including: termination provisions and senior partner exits, protection of confidential information, remuneration structures and issues arising in relation to deferred remuneration and incentive plans, business reorganisation and redundancy, conduct and performance issues, whistleblowing and discrimination. 

Sarah regularly advises on cross-border issues involving multiple jurisdictions including the US, Russia, the Middle East and Europe and the Scottish law implications relating to funds using Scottish partnerships structures.

CM Murray LLP
First Floor 
36 – 38 Cornhill 
London 
EC3V 3NG

sarah.chilton@cm-murray.com
020 7933 9125

Aster Crawshaw - Acting Chair and Honorary Secretary - Addleshaw Goddard LLP

Aster is Addleshaw Goddard's Senior Partner and a member of the firm's market leading Professional Practices Group. 

Aster is recognised as a leading adviser to professional services firms on transactions, advisory matters and partner disputes. The Legal 500 cites Aster as a "leading individual" and has said that he has "great technical expertise", "clearly knows his stuff, is friendly, responsive and solution-oriented". Chambers ranks him in Band 1 for non-contentious partnership work and quoted a client as saying: "He is superb, everything that a trusted adviser should be: commercial, responsive and a pleasure to work with." Aster has been included in The Lawyer's Hot 100.

Aster's transactional work includes mergers, acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures and LLP conversions. His advisory practice encompasses partnership agreements, governance, risk management and structuring issues. He has a particular interest in international structuring, including the establishment and operation of network structures (such as the Swiss Verein). On the contentious side, he assists firms and individuals with partner disputes, including team moves.

As well as professional services firms, Aster works with businesses in the financial services sector, including hedge funds and private equity houses, on the use of LLPs and partnerships.

Addleshaw Goddard LLP
60 Chiswell Street
London
EC1Y 4AG

aster.crawshaw@addleshawgoddard.com
020 7880 5926

Caroline Field - Fox & Partners

Caroline is head of Fox & Partners' litigation practice. Caroline frequently acts in high-value and sensitive City disputes arising from a fall-out between (i) employers or professional firms (LLPs and traditional partnerships) on the one hand and (ii) employees, shareholders and directors or LLP members/partners on the other, and in senior executive and partner moves.
Advising professional partners, typically in the professional services and financial services sector, such as complex hedge fund and private equity structures, and senior executives is the cornerstone of Fox & Partners' practice.

A great deal of Caroline's time is spent acting on disputes
arising out of breaches of partnership agreements, including relating to actual or threatened expulsion of partners, changes to partners' remuneration or other rights (including good leaver and bad leaver provisions and carried interest), unfairly prejudicial conduct, alleged discrimination and whistleblowing.

Caroline regularly advises on business protection cases, providing strategic advice in relation to team moves, restrictive covenants, fiduciary obligations and duties of confidentiality. She has significant experience defending and enforcing such provisions, including by obtaining and defending interim injunctions. With experience acting for employers/firms
(former and recruiting employers) and moving employees or partners, she offers a unique perspective and understanding of the pressures on both sides.

Caroline is recognized by the independent guides to the legal profession for her work representing employees and partners before the employment tribunal and courts. Restrictive covenants are a notable area of strength. One client
observed: "she is strategically astute and does not neglect any aspect of the case before her.she is also very supportive and empathetic, making her an ideal legal adviser to navigate uniquely complex legal situations"
(Chambers 2021 - Partnership/Senior Executive).

Fox & Partners
4 - 6 Throgmorton Avenue
London
EC2N 2DL

cfield@foxlawyers.com
020 7618 2400

Jonathan Gavaghan - Ten Old Square

 
Jonathan Gavaghan is a barrister at Ten Old Square, Lincoln’s Inn. 

He specialises in partnership and LLP law and is recommended in all the leading Legal Directories.  He acts for both firms and individual partners.  He has acted in disputes for solicitors, accountants, doctors, dentists, farmers, veterinary surgeons, property developers and stone masons to name a few.

Chambers & Partners say “He’s a very clever man much liked by clients extremely personable, easy to work with, technically excellent and a very good advocate.”, while the Legal 500 states he is “A superb and persuasive advocate as well as an excellent cross-examiner”.

He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and accepts appointments as an arbitrator.  He also sits as a Recorder in the Crown Court

Ten Old Square
Lincoln's Inn
London
WC2A 3SU

Katie Illman, Evelyn Partners LLP 

Katie is a tax director at Evelyn Partners and leads the Professional Practices tax team.

As a specialist in partnership taxation, Katie advises firms and partners on key issues arising as tax legislation evolves, responding to changes in policy and rates. Advice covers mergers and acquisition, business structure reviews, the application of the salaried member and mixed member legislation, tax risk management and topical issues including basis period reform.

Katie regularly advises on partner remuneration arrangements and how to navigate complex partnership-specific anti avoidance legislation.

Evelyn Partners LLP
45 Gresham Street,
London EC2V 7BG


katie.illman@evelyn.com
020 7131 8505

Sue Mawdsley - Legal Risk LLP

Sue is a solicitor and partner in Legal Risk LLP with over 30 years’ experience. She advises law firms and property professionals on risk management, claims prevention and regulatory compliance.  She has particular expertise in anti-money laundering and financial crime; advising firms on AML problems and compliance strategies. Sue has extensive experience of developing bespoke policies, controls and procedures for law firms, as well as helping them undertake risk assessments and AML audits.

She is described as “excellent” and “brilliant”  in Legal 500 2018 and is a ranked lawyer in Chambers UK 2019.

Legal Risk LLP
28 Bixteth Street 
Liverpool
L3 9UH

sue.mawdsley@legalrisk.co.uk
0845 330 6791

Nicky Owen - Crowe U.K. LLP 

Nicky is tax partner and Head of Professional Practices at Crowe U.K. LLP, with over 30 years of tax experience working with LLPs, partnerships and their partners.

Nicky advises her clients on a range of areas including basis period reform, LLP conversion, cashflow analysis, mergers and acquisitions, international expansion and growth, service company planning, salaried member issues and structuring.

Nicky is also a member of the Midtown Business Club and a co-attributor to the books ‘Partner Retirement in Law Firms’ and ‘Preparing for Partnership’.

Crowe U.K. LLP
55 Ludgate Hill
London
EC4M 7JW

Nicky.Owen@crowe.co.uk
020 7842 7339

Matthew Stanford - Barclays

Matthew has over 30 years' banking experience with Barclays and has been a Relationship Director with the Business & Professional Services team for the last 10 years, responsible for a portfolio of law firms, accountants and property services firms.

An experienced member of the team, with the greater part of his career to date focused on the corporate market in client facing roles.

Matthew has a particular focus on the legal market, enjoying working closely
with professional practices firms.

Barclays
1 Churchill Place
London
E14 5HP


matthew.stanford@barclays.com
07775 555 930

John Staniforth - Moore Kingston Smith LLP

John Staniforth

John is a General Practice partner at Moore Kingston Smith and Head of the Professional Firms sector. John has over 25 years of experience (including 18 years as a partner) advising professional services clients and is highly experienced with limited liability partnership issues and has an extensive knowledge of both IFRS and FRS102, as well as the SORP for LLPs. In his time at Moore Kingston Smith, John has held several important firm positions, including being a member of the Governance Board, HR Partner and is currently Head of Technical. Externally, John is a member of the Solicitors Special Interest Group of the ICAEW. John is the author of Financial Management for Solicitors and the Solicitors Accounts Rules published by Tolley’s Butterworths, and regularly presents training courses, seminars and webinars on the SRA Accounts Rules and partnership matters for both clients and professional training providers.
 

Moore Kingston Smith LLP
6th Floor
9 Appold Street
London
EC2A 2AP

JStaniforth@mks.co.uk
020 4582 1000

 

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