Our People

Daniel Banton
Partner
Dan is an experienced Partner in the Corporate Team specialising in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and joint ventures.
Dan has over 15 years’ corporate finance experience and acts for wide range of clients including, mid-market corporates, PLCs, litigation financing companies, OMBs and education institutions.
Dan has more recently acted as director of a European litigation business backed by an international credit fund.
Dan is based in our Nottingham and Leicester offices with a great reputation as an active member of the East Midlands business community.

Daniel Jennings
Partner
Daniel Jennings
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Leicester
Daniel is a highly regarded experienced specialist commercial litigator and defamation expert, ranked as a Leading Partner by the Legal 500

David Wells
Partner
David Wells
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Milton Keynes
I am a City trained commercial real estate solicitor with over 20 years’ PQE with current partnership and leadership experience, a high level of commercial and financial awareness, an ethic of client focused service delivery and a keen interest in business development.

Dean Chauhan
Partner
Dean Chauhan
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Leicester
Dean works with owner managed businesses and larger corporates on a wide range of corporate deals/transactions, domestic and international business reorganisations, and corporate governance matters.

Debbie Irwin
Partner
Debbie Irwin
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Debbie works closely with her clients to ensure that she understands the required outcomes and works pragmatically to achieve them.

Debra Burton
Partner
Debra Burton
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Leicester
Debra is a specialist contentious trust and probate solicitor who advises on all areas of contentious trust and probate matters, representing private individuals, trusts and charities.

Ed Atkin
Partner
Ed Atkin
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Lincoln
Ed has undertaken all aspects of residential conveyancing with a large proportion of his work at the top of the market dealing with £1 million plus transactions.

Ed Wright
Partner
Ed Wright
Partner
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 Joy Smith
Partner
Emma Joy Smith
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Stratford
Emma manages a growing sales team within our social housing department, acting specifically for Housing Association clients. Emma is passionate about her role and what the team can achieve, working together to benefit the needs of the client.

Esther Maxwell
Partner
Esther Maxwell
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Esther is an experienced and trusted advisor to the firm’s education clients and supports universities, FE colleges and schools in dealing with a range of sensitive and complex employment and education related issues. As well as being a solicitor, she is a qualified workplace mediator, using her mediation skills to help nip workplace issues in the bud. She also regularly undertakes investigations into matters involving both staff and students.

Fiona Pask
Partner
I am delighted to have joined Shakespeare Martineau in Scotland, a certified B Corp firm that embodies a culture of bravery, collaboration, trust and authenticity.. For me, this means I am free to develop and grow a team in a supportive environment. The firm has an impressive national client base. I look forward to working with clients, adopting an outcomes-based approach in dealing with their disputes.

Gareth Hegarty
Partner
Gareth Hegarty
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau London
Gareth listens to his clients to understand and achieve their goals and objectives.

Gary Ekpenyoung
Partner
Gary Ekpenyoung
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Nottingham
Gary is a social housing specialist who engages with all stakeholders to ensure landlords and property managers achieve their goals for their housing stock.

Gemma Tyson
Partner
Gemma Tyson
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Gemma has been working in the healthcare sector for over 15 years and has acted for dentists, pharmacists, opticians, care home providers, domiciliary care agency providers, fostering agencies and specialist care providers in a wide range of transactions.
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My Recent Articles
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Dental Beauty Partners Achieves 50-Practice Milestone
Right Arrow

Grant Docherty
Partner
Grant Docherty
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Scotland
Grant heads up the banking practice in Scotland and has more than 32 years’ experience in the banking sector.

Hannah Tait
Partner
Hannah Tait
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Solihull
Hannah is a private client specialist working with all types of individuals to provide tailored asset protection and estate planning solutions.
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Languages:
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English
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French
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German

Holly Lockley
Legal Director
Holly Lockley
Legal Director
Shakespeare Martineau Leicester
Specialising in the acquisition and disposal of development land, Holly works with clients to maximise development potential and avoid potential pitfalls.

Huw Witty
Corporate Tax Partner
Huw Witty
Corporate Tax Partner
Shakespeare Martineau London
Huw is a highly experienced in advising on the tax aspects of corporate finance, venture capital, property finance, property and capital market transactions and funds, and international private wealth.

Jack Kelly
Partner
Jack Kelly
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
Jack works with developers, landowners and promoters to bring forward residential development, specialising in the acquisition, promotion and disposal of land and developer-side affordable housing deals.

Jake Holmes
Partner
Jake Holmes
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Southampton
Jake Holmes leads the firm’s banking and financial services offering from our Southampton footprint.

James Fownes
Partner
James Fownes
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
James works with clients and colleagues to find effective solutions to property disputes and problems.

James Hawkeswood
Partner
James Hawkeswood
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Southampton
James leads the firm’s corporate offering from our Southampton footprint, providing commercially relevant and astute advice in relation to shareholder and financing issues and generally on corporate governance matters.

James Myatt
Partner
James Myatt
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Bristol
James Myatt is a director, head of the family department and personal legal services, based in the Bristol office. James has over 40 years of experience in family and private client law.

James Woolstenhulme
Partner
James Woolstenhulme
Partner
Shakespeare Martineau Birmingham
James is an expert in managing and resolving complex disputes and guiding his clients through commercial problems so that they can focus on their business.
We focus on getting the best result possible for our clients and ensuring the process is as easy as possible.