LAW firm Shakespeare Martineau has appointed a “triple-qualified” commercial and corporate business lawyer and partner based in Edinburgh in a move it says builds on its Scots law offering.
Trevor Fenton, who the firm notes has more than 15 years of experience and is qualified in England, Scotland and Canada, has joined Shakespeare Martineau's Scottish business from Plain English Law, which he founded in 2019.
Shakespeare Martineau said: “As both a business adviser and lawyer, Trevor has a practical understanding of small and medium sized businesses following two terms as a non-executive director with Modo, Vancouver’s car-sharing cooperative; five years as head of legal at a rapidly-growing Scottish multinational; and more than four years building his own Scottish law firm.”
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“He works with enterprises across the UK and worldwide to deliver legal and commercial support, including commercial contracts, corporate law, data protection and privacy, and mergers and acquisitions, spanning the IT (information technology), manufacturing and professional services sectors.”
Mr Fenton said: “I am thrilled to have joined Shakespeare Martineau at such an exciting time and key stage in the firm’s expansion as it further establishes a presence in the Scottish market. In my new role, I am hoping to build a strong Scottish practice with an international market, particularly towards Canada. With 14% of the Canadian population claiming Scottish heritage, it is surprising how few commercial ties there are between the countries.
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“In particular, I enjoy helping small and mid-sized businesses to get the legals out of the way of their sales and cash flow – stripping out the legalese and formalities so they can get back to doing business. I spend most of my time getting to understand clients’ business models – what they do, why they do it, how they make money and what relationships they are seeking with customers, suppliers, employees and business partners. Once you understand all of that, the contracts almost write themselves.”
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Shakespeare Martineau noted that Mr Fenton’s appointment follows its hiring of “dual-qualified” real estate legal director Nicky Grant in Edinburgh and its appointment of Grant Docherty to lead the firm’s banking practice in Scotland.
The firm observed it had also recently recruited commercial property and real estate finance solicitor Myeda Aarif.
Mr Docherty, partner at Shakespeare Martineau (Scotland) LLP and head of the firm’s Edinburgh hub, said: “As businesses increasingly expand their operations across the UK, we are frequently asked to advise our clients on Scottish and cross-border transactions. We continue to provide tailored Scots law services to our clients and are investing in quality recruitment to expand our resources and services.
“I am really excited to welcome Trevor to the firm as a new senior appointment. He has a wealth of commercial experience and will be a great asset to our growing team. Based in Edinburgh, Trevor has a network of connections across the UK to grow our practice even further and his triple-qualification means we can seamlessly transact in multiple jurisdictions for our clients.”
Amal Kaur, head of the Scottish practice, added: “We are delighted to welcome Trevor to the team as part of our client-led growth. We are committed to providing a tailored service to our clients and Trevor is a key part of our expansion, as is Myeda in strengthening our property and finance offering.”
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