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.

Alex Watt

Partner, Howard Kennedy

Alex Watt is an experienced intellectual property lawyer who specialises in commercial transactions that have intellectual property, often brands and their growth, at their heart.  Alex is a Partner whose practice tends to involve commercial legal work in IP-centric businesses, such as licensing, gaming, egaming, franchising and publishing. He is also known for his work within the art world, within which he advises galleries, auction houses and the artists themselves.

He has a deep knowledge of advertising and marketing and he leads the firm's advertising & marketing practice, providing advice to both agencies and brands directly.  Recently such work has included increasing amounts of affiliate marketing and work a lot of work with influencers, and influencer agencies – as well as promotional advice, drafting ISBA compliant agency agreements, production agreements, sponsorship agreements, and advice more generally on ASA complaints and compliance.

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.

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.

Leigh Sayliss

Partner, Memery Crystal

Lucie Burniston

Legal Director, Memery Crystal

Lucie is a Legal Director in the Corporate team. She specialises in acquisitions and disposals of private companies and advising on fundraisings by growth companies. She also advises on a range of other company law matters including the structuring of new companies, corporate re-organisations and joint ventures across a variety of sectors.
Outside work, Lucie enjoys doing jigsaws with her son and building Lego with her daughter. Lucie is passionate about raising autism-awareness and dedicates time to supporting autistic families. She keenly follows fashion and football, particularly Tottenham Hotspur.