Our People
Alex Smith
Partner & Managing Director
Alex Smith
Partner & Managing Director
Shakespeare Martineau Nottingham
As Managing Director of Shakespeare Martineau’s Infrastructure & Specialist Markets Business Unit, I’m responsible for the strategic growth of the business unit, working closely with colleagues in the development of our strategy, values and culture.
Andrew Foreman
Chief Information Officer
Andrew Foreman
Chief Information Officer
Shakespeare Martineau London
Andrew started his career in software development with IBM and developed through various roles into Group Director Projects at SITA, based in Geneva, responsible for delivery globally.
Ben Buckton
Chief Marketing & People Officer
Ben is part of our Main and Exec Boards, and as Chief Marketing & People Officer (CMPO), he is responsible for our people, customer, commercial and marketing strategy.
Karen Walker
Chief Transformation Officer
As Chief Transformation Officer, Karen has a particular focus on transformation and change. Aligning to our ambitious strategy, Karen’s role is focused on maximising the profitability of our business and unlocking our potential.
Mark Beesley
Partner & Managing Director
Mark Beesley
Partner & Managing Director
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Mark is Managing Director of the litigation services and dispute resolution business unit, responsible for growing and developing the litigation and restructuring teams across Shakespeare Martineau.
Paul Bird
Chief Financial Officer
Paul is our Chief Financial Officer and plays a significant role in Shakespeare Martineau’s strategic leadership through an extensive knowledge of growing and managing UK and international businesses.
Sarah Walker-Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Sarah Walker-Smith is the CEO of Shakespeare Martineau. She is the first female, non-lawyer CEO in the legal top 50.
A trained accountant having worked for PWC and Deloitte, Sarah puts people at the core of everything she does as well as the marketing and branding experience gained at Boots plc
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My Recent Articles
- Shakespeare Martineau Announces Bristol Expansion
Victoria Tester
Partner & Managing Director
Victoria Tester
Partner & Managing Director
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Victoria sits on our Main Board and is responsible for our Life & Business, business unit.
Andrew Taylor
Partner & Head of Restructuring
Andrew Taylor
Partner & Head of Restructuring
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Andrew is a highly regarded and experienced restructuring lawyer.
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Languages:
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English
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French
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My Recent Articles
- Administrations up 60% in 2022, analysis reveals
Andrew Whitehead
Senior Partner & Head of Energy
Andrew Whitehead
Senior Partner & Head of Energy
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Andrew is a specialist energy regulatory and contracts lawyer, who works with a range of utility and developer clients and funders to help them manage regulatory and legal risk in a fast moving and complex environment. Andrew is also currently our elected Senior Partner.
Barry Jervis
Partner & Head of Litigation
Barry Jervis
Partner & Head of Litigation
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Barry brings a no-nonsense approach to resolving disputes for his clients whilst involving them at every stage of the process.
Brian Mullin
Partner & Head of Marrons Planning
Brian Mullin
Partner & Head of Marrons Planning
Shakespeare Martineau Leicester
Brian heads up our award winning town planning consultancy, Marrons Planning. He is a Town Planner and chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute with in excess of 15 years of experience accrued in local government and the private sector.
Catherine Rustomji
Partner & Head of Charities
Catherine Rustomji
Partner & Head of Charities
Shakespeare Martineau Works from Home
Catherine Rustomji is a partner and head of charities at Shakespeare Martineau. She has been advising charities, social enterprises and not for profit organisations exclusively for over 20 years.
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My Recent Articles
- Charity expert vows to ‘stand up for the sector’ after committee appointment
Clive Read
Partner & Head of Birmingham
Clive Read
Partner & Head of Birmingham
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Clive has been advising universities and colleges on the management and development of their campuses for 30 years.
David Browne
Partner & Head of Employment
David Browne
Partner & Head of Employment
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
David is the lead employment partner for the firm’s education clients and provides sector specialist advice to universities and colleges.
Duncan James
Partner & Head of Corporate
Duncan James
Partner & Head of Corporate
Shakespeare Martineau Nottingham
Duncan works with fast growing family businesses and entrepreneurs to ensure they are successful and to help them achieve their goals through acquisitions, funding lines and exit and succession planning.
Ed Wright
Partner & Head of Sport
Ed Wright
Partner & Head of Sport
Shakespeare Martineau Nottingham
Ed works with clients from all sectors (particularly healthcare/life sciences, sport, technology, media and communications) on wide-ranging non-contentious contractual, IP, data protection and competition law issues.
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Languages:
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English
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French
Emma Porter
Partner & Head of managed legal services
Emma Porter
Partner & Head of managed legal services
Shakespeare Martineau London
Emma is the Head of Operations for our Volume and Consumer group and has in excess of 18 years’ legal practice management experience.
Joanna Deffley
Partner & Head of West Midlands
Joanna Deffley
Partner & Head of West Midlands
Shakespeare Martineau Solihull
Joanna is a partner in our development team specialising in strategic land development projects.
Joanna Lee-Mills
Partner & Head of Social Housing Development
Joanna Lee-Mills
Partner & Head of Social Housing Development
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Joanna heads up our social housing development team. Her expertise encompasses advising on social housing development transactions, from site assemblies to larger scale phased sales and purchases.
Kavita Patel
Partner & Head of Investment Funds
Kavita Patel
Partner & Head of Investment Funds
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Kavita is Regional Head for our South region and also Head of our Investment Funds sector. She has a formidable reputation amongst her clients for technical excellence and getting the job done and is regarded as the ‘rainmaker of the team’.
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Languages:
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English
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Gujarati
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Hindi
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My Recent Articles
- Shakespeare Martineau’s Corporate Team Continue in Strength
Louise Drew
Partner & Head of Building Communities
Louise Drew
Partner & Head of Building Communities
Shakespeare Martineau Stratford
Louise is the Head of the Building Communities team, having a passion for delivering development that brings major benefit to residents in terms of health, wellbeing, education, employment and the environment.
Mark Merrell
Partner & Head of Corclaim
Mark Merrell
Partner & Head of Corclaim
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Mohammed Saqub
Partner & Head of Islamic Finance
Mohammed Saqub
Partner & Head of Islamic Finance
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Mohammed is a real estate finance and islamic finance specialist with considerable experience in dealing with a range of high-value and complex property investment, finance and development transactions.
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Languages:
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English
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Urdu