Roy Saunders

Founder and Chairman, IBSA

Since qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1967, Roy Saunders has accumulated a wealth of commercial experience working independently in commercial property, international tax, advertising and other industries. He is the Chairman of IFS, a boutique international tax practice based in central London. Academically, he is known throughout the world for his many books and publications, the foremost being his red book, International Tax Systems & Planning Techniques published by Sweet & Maxwell. Roy has also taught an MA Course on International Taxation at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London.

Roy is very proud of the fascinating client base of entrepreneurial individuals that he has built up at IFS. He feels strongly about the role that ethical tax structuring plays in the growth of an economy, and that this needs to be better understood by the public at large. Roy founded the IBSA to enable business professionals around the world to discover new business relationships and promote best practice by creating sustainable business structures compliant with international transparency, corporate governance and social responsibility.

Robert Carpmael

Partner, Marks & Clerk

Robert is both a Patent and Registered Design Attorney. He handles mechanical subject matter, including engineering equipment and utilities, construction and automotive products, manufacturing processes, medical devices, surgical equipment and prosthetics, healthcare products and miscellaneous commercial products such as travel goods, toys and packaging. Robert has substantial patent drafting and prosecution experience both for large and small companies and his practice includes the provision of advice concerning patent and design filing strategies. He also handles general IP portfolio management and the provision of advice or opinions in relation to patent or design right infringement. In addition, he has considerable experience in representing clients at oral proceedings at the European Patent Office before Examining Divisions, Opposition Divisions and Boards of Appeal. Robert graduated from the University of Durham with an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering. He entered the patents profession in 1995, and during his qualifying exams he was awarded the Drafting Prize for being the candidate achieving the highest mark in his UK patent drafting paper. Robert moved to Marks & Clerk in 2009, and became a Partner of the firm in 2010. He was mentioned in the Legal 500 2009 edition and a number of his articles about securing intellectual property have been published in national, local and engineering press.

Catherine Jewell

Partner, Beck Greener

Catherine Jewell is a Partner at Beck Greener LLP and provides patent-related services in the chemical field, from initial advice on patentability, to drafting and filing applications and their prosecution, including opposition and appeals. She has a particular interest in the new unitary patent system which is expected to come into force in Europe in 2017.

She is also a Chartered and European Trade Mark Attorney and has advised on a variety of issues in relation to the use and registration of marks, from clearance searches and pre-filing advice, through to opposition and invalidity/revocation actions.

The majority of her experience relates to European patent and trade mark applications, but she has also handled global portfolios covering countries such as the US, China, Korea, Japan and Canada.

Catherine worked in solid-state and materials chemistry before joining the IP profession, concentrating on the synthesis of inorganic materials and manipulation of their structure and properties.

Mark Bloomberg

Of Counsel, Zuber Lawler

Mark Bloomberg is an intellectual property litigator.  With more than 30 years of experience, he has represented clients in infringement actions, and advised clients concerning patent infringement, validity, remedies and licensing.  During this time, Mr. Bloomberg has participated in all aspects of patent litigation, including jury trials, bench trials, claim construction hearings, arbitrations and appeals.

Mr. Bloomberg’s experience ranges from representing an American-based international consumer product company in a landmark damages trial that resulted in a $925 million damages award, to representing a start-up satellite radio company that successfully launched its satellite radio service after designing around patents asserted by its competitor. He has represented clients in a number of technology areas, including computers, video games, telecommunication systems, electronic trading systems, business methods and medical devices, and has substantial experience representing clients in connection with patent damages and injunctive remedies. Mr. Bloomberg also has experience with patent litigation and counseling concerning a variety of products in the consumer electronics field, including personal computers, video monitors, satellite radios, cellular telephones and cameras.

Mr. Bloomberg also counsels clients in connection with various intellectual property issues and disputes. He has evaluated potential infringement and validity of patents, developed strategies to redesign products to avoid infringement, assessed the merits, potential damages and potential injunctive relief for ongoing litigation in connection with diligence, and negotiated and prepared patent licenses, settlement agreements and purchase agreements.

Prior to joining Zuber Lawler & Del Duca, Mr. Bloomberg was a Partner at Ropes & Gray LLP.  Before becoming a lawyer, Mr. Bloomberg worked in the Spacecraft Steering and Control Group at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, where he designed algorithms for the inertial guidance system of the MX Missile.

Anthony Turner

Partner, Farrer & Co

Anthony is a partner in the Corporate team.  He advises both corporate and individual clients on the full range of company law and corporate transactions including acquisitions and disposals, restructurings, equity investments and joint ventures. Anthony is a member of the firm's International Private Wealth group and has particular experience advising trusts and trustees on corporate matters.  Anthony also advises on admissions and fundraisings on AIM.

Anthony is recommended by Legal 500 as a corporate lawyer. He is an editor of the Butterworths Corporate Law Service and is the author of a chapter on the Companies (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2007. Anthony is a member of the Legal Committee of the Quoted Companies Alliance and he regularly lectures on company and corporate law matters.

Jimmy Sexton

Founder & CEO, Esquire Group, Dubai

Jimmy has been advising clients throughout the world on international tax matters for over 15 years. Widely recognised as an expert in international taxation, Jimmy often speaks throughout the world at such organisations as the U.N., eBay, and the American Chamber of Commerce, and is regularly quoted and published by such media outlets as CNN, The Washington Post and Forbes.

From his base in Dubai, Jimmy regularly travels throughout the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, meeting with clients, speaking and overseeing Esquire Group’s global operations.

Jimmy’s area of expertise include: International taxation, Wealth Structuring, Expatriation, Citizenship & Residency Planning, Corporate Structuring and Investment Funds.

Jimmy is an instrument rated private pilot, avid snowboarder and fitness enthusiast.

Vernon Dennis

Partner, Howard Kennedy

A highly experienced specialist in business transformation, Vernon has over 25 years’ experience designing and implementing financial recovery and restructuring plans for business clients and is Head of the Business Recovery and Reconstruction group at Howard Kennedy.  

Leading our specialist group of experts he utilises the full resources available from within the firm, whether tax, employment, banking or real estate to provide pragmatic and commercially driven solutions for clients. And where applicable, he works in collaboration with leading industry experts.

Known for his technical expertise, but for making the complex, simple, Vernon advises insolvency practitioners, creditors, and debtors on a wide range of corporate recovery, reconstruction, and business rescue issues, both domestically and cross-border. He specialises in strategic and advisory support for company boards when planning programmes of business turnaround, restructuring, or transformation.

He has extensive experience in retail and restaurant distress, property portfolio restructuring, and cases known for their technical complexity.

Vernon is a Fellow of R3 (The Association of Business Recovery Professionals). A regular lecturer and commentator on insolvency, he is author of The New Law of Insolvency (2003), Insolvency Law Handbook (1st Ed 2005; 2nd Ed 2007 and 3rd Ed 2013), Administration (2010), Liquidation (2011), and Bankruptcy (2012). These have all been published by The Law Society.

2021 sees the fourth edition of his Insolvency Law Handbook published by The Law Society. This step-by-step guide carefully explains each of the main insolvency processes, highlighting the key decisions to be made, the options available and the potential pitfalls. The handbook continues to act as an essential asset for professionals called upon to advise debtors faced with personal or corporate insolvency, or their creditors.

If you would like to purchase the book, please visit The Law Society Bookshop.

Ben Bidnell

Principal, Shipleys LLP

Ben looks after the audit and accounting requirements of fast growing entrepreneurial businesses, which often need to draw on his corporate finance experience to move forward effectively. His expertise in this area includes financial and commercial due diligence, both for business owners contemplating an acquisition and lenders looking at a borrowing request, debt finance and restructuring and advising on the process of floating on markets such as AIM and Plus.

Jonathan Riley

Partner, Memery Crystal

Jonathan Riley handles commercial law and commercial contracts work.  His focus is on project structuring, management and delivery, including shareholders' agreements, joint ventures, partnering, collaborations, R&D contracts, outsourcing and service agreements, supply contracts and terms of business.

He also advises on related areas of law including agency, distribution, licensing, franchising, sponsorship, merchandising, e-commerce, and related regulatory areas including data protection, anti-bribery, and consumer protection.  He is also highly experienced in managing and exploiting intellectual property rights, particularly in the technology, brands and media sectors.

Jonathan is well used to implementing tax-driven structures and commercial arrangements usually multi-jurisdictional or with a cross-border element.

Jonathan has a strong international client base, with a particular focus on North America and Europe.

Konstantin Kudryavtsev

Crypto Developer and ex-Parity Tech

Konstantin is an ex-Ethereum, ex-Parity Tech. crypto developer, community manager, trader and angel investor.  After achieving an MSc High Performance Computing alumni at Edinburgh University, Konstantin got involved in the Bitcoin scene in 2013 and later joined the Ethereum project as a developer and a community manager. After Ethereum, he helped build Parity Technologies (formerly EthCore) from it's earliest days leading the DevOps team and hiring.  After 2017 he became a full-time trader and investor with a main focus on emerging crypto markets and decentralised finance.

David Gubbay

Partner, Farrer & Co

Corporate tax expert David Gubbay works across the firm's sectors to help clients through some of the most complex issues they face. He is known for his considered style allied with a grounded pragmatic manner.

Corporate tax expert David Gubbay works across the firm's sectors to help clients through some of the most complex issues they face. He is known for his considered style allied with a grounded pragmatic manner.

David has been practising for over 25 years and has a broad base of experience, falling into three areas.

His corporate tax practice covers all aspects of mergers, acquisitions, disposal, joint ventures, demergers, flotations, re-organisations, capital raising and private equity. The work he does is often international, advising non-UK corporates and funds active in the UK and Europe, and advising clients on the appropriate structures for overseas acquisitions and holding entities in conjunction with other advisers. He also advises individuals selling their companies and businesses, giving advice on entrepreneurs relief, rollover and tax clearances plus new investment structures.

His investment fund work sees him advising both fund managers and funds including the establishment of open and closed-ended offshore funds and onshore funds and investment trusts, the merger and reorganisation of offshore and onshore funds, private equity and property fund work. This includes setting up tax efficient structures for onshore managers and owners, many of whom are non-doms, the use of LLPs and the use of offshore manager structures.

The third part of David’s work portfolio is a mix of real estate, finance and employment and incentive tax work. The real estate work includes property acquisitions, development projects and real estate finance work, including for non-UK purchasers and charities, VAT and stamp duty land tax planning and property fund structures. He advises on a variety of incentive schemes, including EMI and growth share plans, and on the tax issues relating to the commencement and termination of employment, and related employment related securities issues.

Daniel Edgson

Partner, Blick Rothenberg

Daniel has over 15 years’ experience in advising clients on complex tax matters.  He specialises in corporate and partnership tax with a particular focus on those issues surrounding clients in the financial services industry.  His work ranges from the completion of fund tax returns and calculations of reportable income to advising on VAT and FATCA matters.

In addition to compliance work, Daniel has also been heavily involved with structuring a number of UK funds, providing tax structuring advice and due diligence on acquisitions and navigating the changes arising from the Disguised Investment Management Fee rules.

Away from financial services, Daniel has helped clients make claims for R&D tax credits, secured SEIS and EIS relief for a number of start-up companies, implemented EMI schemes and produced transfer pricing reports across a range of different sectors.

Daniel firmly believes in giving clients the advice they need in a timely manner considering both tax and commercial factors. He also takes great pride in being able to convey complicated legislation in an understandable manner (as far as possible!).

Maurizio Marullo

Senior Partner, LAWP

Maurizio Marullo is a Partner at LAWP.  His practice focuses on commercial, corporate, international tax law and criminal tax law. He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, joint-ventures, corporate finance transaction as well as in estate and succession planning, insolvency and restructuring procedure. He is also involved in real estate transactions.

Author of publications on commercial and tax law. Maurizio is the co-author of the Italian chapter of the volume International Tax Systems and Planning Techniques published by Sweet & Maxwell.

Lecturer and speaker at seminars and conferences on commercial law and tax criminal law; lecturer at postgraduate Master courses in Taxation and Business Law organized by Il Sole 24 Ore Business School.

Admitted to practice before the Italian Supreme Court since 2015.

Steve Butler

Business Tax Associate Director, EY Frank Hirth

Steve has been practicing in the field of corporate and personal tax and accounting matters since 1991.  Having joined EY Frank Hirth in 1999, Steve quickly established himself as a US/UK cross-border tax specialist.

Steve has an in-depth knowledge of transatlantic business activities, and the US and UK rules and regulations surrounding this specific area. He has worked extensively with US individuals located in and carrying on business in the UK, US businesses expanding into the UK, UK businesses expanding into the US, Sportspersons and Entertainers operating in these areas and private equity and hedge fund operations.

Steve is driven to providing a personalised service tailored to meet each client’s individual requirements, creating practical solutions for individuals and businesses who can then focus their energy on commercial development.

Having partnered with businesses ranging from individual start-ups through to large multi-national corporations, Steve has helped many businesses navigate the vast complexities of cross-border tax planning, meet filing obligations, optimise global tax costs, and manage cash flow between the business and its owners.

Steve is a qualified Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA), a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA), and a US Enrolled Agent (EA). He also sits on the Tax Technical Team within EY Frank Hirth whose primary role is to provide technical support to the wider firm.