David is a private client barrister and international commercial counsel. He brings 30+ years of business, legal and strategic experience to the table for his clients. His exposure to both UK, US and SEA business and legal sectors - and the distinctive cultural aspects of each - is especially helpful for clients contemplating cross-border transactions.
Routinely called on to advise on the terms of commercial transactions and agreements, David is an experienced litigator. He represents clients in court proceedings, arbitration hearings, mediations and before government regulatory bodies. He is an Accredited Civil & Commercial Mediator.
In addition, David is a LegalTech founder & Investor, Non-Exec. (NED) / Advisory Board member and the Publisher of High Performance Counsel ("HPC"). He co-founded CLiXLEX (now KIM Technologies), a legal technology company focused on legal process automation, which was successfully acquired by a leading legal services provider.
David spent his early years in private litigation practice, largely focused on substantial construction, engineering and commercial real estate disputes. He worked for leading law firms Pinsent Masons and Linklaters in London before moving to New York to join Credit Suisse. As Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer, he helped negotiate & execute the relocation of Credit Suisse into its (now) NYC global HQ, the iconic Eleven Madison Avenue.
David has directed major global outsourcing, shared sourcing, HR operations & process efficiency initiatives, including the digitization of records and the global roll-out of PeopleSoft HRMS & Y2K Compliance. He has worked extensively in the UK, US, Philippines, India and China markets in the areas of data management, HR and BPO - and most recently LPO, LegalOps.
Jurisdictions & Availability:
- Global
- London & UK
- Dublin & Ireland
- Helsinki & Finland
- New York & USA
- Manila & Philippines
- Singapore
My approach
I bring not only legal experience and expertise but also a business perspective to the work I undertake with clients. When dealing with legal matters, it is also essential to have a real world view so that what we do aligns with client goals and priorities. Wherever possible I try to avoid legal jargon - it's important that clients understand their situation, the issues and their options. While I am a highly-capable advocate and litigator, I am a pragmatist on the subject of negotiation and achieving helpful outcomes for clients.
My work
From my earliest days, I have been fortunate in having exposure to both legal practice and business. The two are intimately connected - law in a vacuum is nonsense. Law must have a real-life context so this is always critical to understand. What is the context of a situation, what are the drivers, what are the issues, what are the goals, what are the risks, what represents a good outcome - these are essential to address. I ask plenty of questions - and I welcome questions. I believe there is no such thing as a silly question when I am working with a client to both understand the situation, address options and drive outcomes.
Professional & academic
Jurisdictions
- Global
- London & UK
- Dublin & Ireland
- Helsinki & Finland
- New York & USA
- Manila & Philippines
- Singapore
Education
- College of Legal Education (Bar School), London
- Honours in Law, University of Manchester
- Exec. Ed., Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Memberships
- Middle Temple
- Bar of England & Wales
- American Bar Association
- New York State Bar Association
- New York City Bar Association
- Federation of Integrated Conflict Management
- The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
- The Society of Mediators
- The Civil Mediation Council
- The Dispute Resolution Agency
- London
- National
- Surrey
