Nicholas Fielden heads the corporate and M&A team having formerly been a partner and corporate team leader at a national practice. He advises on all areas of corporate and commercial law including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital work, shareholder and investment agreements. He has particular experience and expertise in the professional services sector, being a member of the Association of Partnership Practitioners and advises a number of practices on partnership and LLP matters. M&A, venture capital work, shareholder and investment agreements are key areas of expertise.

Chambers & Partners said: “Clients value Nicholas Fielden for his hands-on approach and clear, concise and to-the-point advice”. The Legal 500 described Nicholas as having “commercial experience befitting a former City-based partner”. 

Nicholas’ client base includes corporates, investors and entrepreneurs and his team has experience across the retail, distribution, media, manufacturing and pharma sectors

Nicholas is recognised as a leading  commercial litigator known for his straight-talking commercial approach to  disputes. He is also renowned for his ability to grasp the key issues and  provide strategic advice in the early stages of disputes to ensure that the  risks involved in litigation are minimised and the most positive outcomes are  delivered.

He advises clients on a wide  range of disputes specialising in complex commercial and contractual  disputes, property disputes (including overage and option agreements), corporate  shareholder disputes and employment disputes (including injuncting team  moves). He has particular expertise in injunctive relief including freezing  injunctions.

Nicholas has been  recommended by Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 for his specialism in  disputes in the transport and logistics sector many of which have an  international aspect. Chambers has also acknowledged his specialism in  representing clients in complex HMRC disputes and investigations.

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Isobel specialises in dispute resolution and litigation. She has experience across a wide range of sectors including insurance, financial services, construction and energy, agriculture and the public sector. She has advised a wide range of clients from large corporates, insurers, small businesses and individuals on litigation, arbitration, construction adjudication and alternative dispute resolution.

Isobel spent the first eleven years of her career at the London office of Pinsent Masons LLP, working in both the insurance litigation and commercial litigation teams, spending time on secondment to HSBC and qualifying as a Solicitor Advocate. Before joining FMGS she worked for a commercial law firm in the North West and then as a Legal Subject Matter Expert to the Independent Third Party in the review of complaints made by SME customers of RBS’s Global Restructuring Group.

Isobel is valued by clients for her down to earth, pragmatic and commercial approach to disputes. Isobel advises on a wide range of commercial disputes. Her specialisms are professional negligence claims, insurance coverage disputes and claims arising from AHA 1986 Act Tenancies (advising both Landlords and Tenants at arbitration). Isobel has been a Recommended Individual in Legal 500 and Chambers.

Catherine has specialised in advising corporates, family and owner managed businesses and third sector employers since 1993. Her focus is always on practical and high quality legal advice.  Catherine has previously been recommended for several years in Legal 500  and Chambers and has been a partner and Head of Employment Law at several top 20 UK Law firm including Eversheds and Hammonds (now Squire Saunders). A former barrister and experienced advocate, Catherine has particular expertise in discrimination, whistleblowing and business reorganisations  and redundancies.  Catherine has also successfully acted for a number of high profile senior executives and high net worth individuals.

Catherine is particularly interested in providing employment law training to her clients and is a well known commentor on employment law issues for a range of media including BBC Look North, Radio Sheffield, Radio 5Live, The Yorkshire Post and HR periodicals.   

Nicky trained and practiced for a number of years with a leading national firm before joining FMGS.  Nicky specialises in all aspects of corporate law, including mergers and acquisitions, investment agreements and shareholder agreements. She acts predominantly for owner managed businesses. Nicky has vast experience in acting for sellers of veterinary practices, predominantly when selling to large corporate purchasers.

Nicky also does a lot of work with a PLC which specialises in investing in private limited companies, where there is an Employee Ownership Trust structure. In addition, Nicky also has a keen interest in restructuring work for private companies, including reorganisations and demergers.

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Anneka joined the corporate/commercial team as an Associate Director, having built her career as a corporate solicitor at KBL Solicitors LLP following her time at Eversheds LLP.

She has a wealth of experience in advising on company administration, mergers, share sales/acquisitions, company reorganisations and shareholder protection arrangements for owner managed businesses/SMEs in diverse sectors: acting for investors, buyers, sellers and management teams and working closely with accountants and tax advisors to ensure a seamless service. In addition, she has acted for a number of clients reviewing, preparing and negotiating commercial contracts and drafting terms and conditions of business.

Clients value her commercial yet supportive approach in getting transactions “over the line”. Anneka has a number of testimonials from clients in recognition of this, including “I always felt she was doing her upmost for my position and best outcome for the sale. She showed great knowledge and expertise and I felt very confident in our representation – she often went above and beyond to reassure and support me”.

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Deborah is a commercial property Associate Director and heads up our commercial property team.

Having gained post qualification experience in private practice at leading north west firms, she specialises in a broad range of commercial property matters, including acting for both landlords and tenants, acquisitions and disposals, auctions, corporate support and real estate finance.

Deborah acts for a broad range of clients, and has experience in acting for public authorities, pension funds and charities.

Deborah prides herself on the relationships she builds with her clients, taking a commercial approach to assist clients with their business needs and timescales.

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Sarah is an experienced employment solicitor and former Associate at a regional law firm. She provides valuable advice to assist businesses in the management of their people issues, bringing an independent and experienced perspective to the employment issues which they may be facing.

Sarah provides pragmatic advice to allow her clients to achieve the desired result whilst taking into account any potential risks. She advises businesses on general day to day employment law issues – from recruitment to termination; employment tribunal representation and supports our corporate team in relation to employment matters on both mergers and acquisitions and share deals. She also provides employment law training to managers and business owners on best practice.

She has a range of experience in a number of different sectors ranging from professional services, charities, hospitality, manufacturing and construction.  

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Jeanette trained at a large  regional firm in the North West and spent seven years gaining valuable  experience in a wide range of private client matters including Wills, estate  administration and trust and tax work. She has since headed up Private Client  departments in other local firms until she set up her own consultancy business  in 2019.  She is an approachable down to earth person who can empathise  with clients when they are going through difficult or emotional times of  their lives and has a pragmatic approach to any problem and enjoys giving her  clients peace of mind knowing their affairs are in order.

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Nicky was formerly a director at a national firm where she practised for over sixteen years‎. Nicky specialises in all aspects of commercial property acting on a wide range of property related matters for investors, developers, corporate occupiers, landlords and tenants and providing corporate support on transactions. Historically, Nicky has represented various parties/interests in connection with some of the most prestigious developments in the north west.

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Hammad joined FMGS in 2022 and is a solicitor in the Commercial Property team.

In his role as a solicitor, Hammad deals with a variety of commercial property related matters including acquisitions, disposals, refinancing and commercial leases. Hammad works closely with FMGS’s corporate department.

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Kathryn has been advising clients on all aspects of private client work for almost 40 years both in the North West of England and in London.  In particular, she advises on wills and estate planning, probate and lasting powers of attorney.  She also advises charities on legal matters and acts as a charity Trustee for a number of charities.  Clients value her approachable manner and clear advice and support.

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Rachael is a solicitor in our private client team who has a range of experience in dealing with all aspects of private client work including the drafting of Wills, Lasting Power of Attorney, administration of estates and deputyship applications. Rachael previously ran her own department at a North West firm before joining FMGS. Rachael is a full member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners).

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Craig, having completed a law degree at the University of Durham and undertaken the Bar Professional Training Course (being called to the bar by Gray’s Inn in2013), decided to re-qualify as a solicitor and, after a period with the firm as a paralegal, commenced his training contract in 2015 before qualifying into and joining the corporate department full-time in 2017.

Craig specialises in all aspects of corporate law, with particular experience in acquisitions and disposals, re-organisations and shareholders’ agreements. Craig regularly acts for clients, particularly owner-managed businesses of all sizes, on transactions and has had significant experience acting for sellers of veterinary practices and businesses in the manufacturing sector. Craig also has a range of experience in drafting and advising on commercial contracts.

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Liam is a graduate Paralegal and is currently nearing the end of his training as a Legal Executive. He has been part of the commercial litigation team since 2017 during which time he has gained valuable and wide-ranging experience.

Liam supports the team on larger litigation whilst maintaining his own caseload of small claims track and fast track claims. Alongside this he is developing a specialism in costs budgeting.

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Mari-Claire is our accounts manager and the primary client point of contact for any payment or invoicing queries.

Jo is a secretary who has over 30 years experience as a PA/secretary and has been working in litigation since 2015.  She is extremely friendly and diligent and can be relied upon to fully support the litigation team and their clients.

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Ruth is a Legal Assistant who has a wealth of experience having worked in the legal sector since leaving school. She has specialised in private client work for over 17 years and provides administrative support to our Private Client Team. She is very approachable and is always more than happy to assist clients.

Sufiya is a recent law graduate from Lancaster University and aspires to qualify into Real Estate law. She joined FMGS from a national law firm and has experience in assisting with both commercial and residential property matters. She is very approachable and is always keen to assist.

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