Keystone Law—12 appointments

Keystone Law has announced the appointment of 12 senior lawyers, further strengthening the firm’s capabilities in dispute resolution, fraud & financial crime, corporate, restructuring & insolvency, employment, tax, commercial property, and family law. The appointments enhance the breadth and depth of expertise available to clients and reflect the firm’s continued growth across a wide range of practice areas.

Joining the firm are Dispute Resolution Partners Stephen Joelson, Charles Enderby Smith, and Tom Spiller OBE, Fraud & Financial Crime Partner Polly Sprenger; Corporate Partner Susanna Stanfield; Restructuring & Insolvency Partner David Steinberg; Employment Partner Matt Freeman; Tax Partner Linda Adelson; Commercial Property Partner Paul Engelbrecht; Property Litigation partner Shinead Wilson; and Family Partners Caroline East and Emilie Helm.

Commenting on the appointments, James Knight, Founder and CEO of Keystone Law, said:

“I am delighted to welcome this latest group of new joiners to Keystone. Each lawyer brings an impressive track record in his or her respective field and further strengthens our capabilities across a range of key practice areas; together they enhance further the tremendous breadth of experience we offer our clients.”

The new joiners are:

Stephen Joelson – Dispute Resolution

Stephen (pictured) has over 40 years’ experience as a barrister, US attorney, and solicitor, and focuses on litigation and disputes across the entertainment, media, sports, and luxury sectors. He is particularly recognised for his expertise in complex cross-border disputes, arbitration, and mediation.

Stephen joins from Clintons, where he was a Principal, and prior to that, a Partner.

Charles Enderby Smith – Dispute Resolution

Charles advises individuals, corporates, and sovereign states on complex international and domestic sanctions matters, public international law, commercial disputes, and reputation management. His practice frequently encompasses strategically sensitive matters spanning disputes, geopolitics, regulatory risk, and reputation across multiple jurisdictions.

Charles joins Keystone from Carter-Ruck, where he was a Partner.

Tom Spiller OBE – Dispute Resolution

Tom is a disputes and investigations lawyer who advises on complex, high-value commercial disputes, regulatory matters, and investigations, often involving a political or international element. He advises a diverse range of clients, including sovereign wealth entities, political organisations, business owners, company directors, and corporate investors, in a wide range of high-stakes contentious situations.

Tom joins from Rosenblatt, where he was a Partner.

Polly Sprenger – Fraud & Financial Crime

Polly specialises in private prosecutions and corporate crime, and advises corporates, boards, and senior executives on internal and cross-border investigations, regulatory matters, and parallel civil and criminal litigation. Her experience includes investigations into fraud, bribery, corruption, and money laundering, alongside asset tracing, civil recovery, and complex disclosure matters.

Polly held positions at Addleshaw Goddard, Katten Muchin Rosenman UK, Eversheds Sutherland, and the Serious Fraud Office before joining Keystone.

Susanna Stanfield – Corporate

Susanna is a corporate and venture capital lawyer with more than 25 years’ experience advising high-growth companies and investors, particularly within the life sciences and technology sectors. Her practice focuses on venture capital investments, scaling businesses, and the commercialisation of innovation.

Susanna joins from German law firm YPOG, where she was a Partner.

David Steinberg – Restructuring & Insolvency

David advises debtors, creditors and insolvency officeholders on complex, high-value insolvency matters, including court-driven and out-of-court restructurings and pre-packaged enforcements. He has particular expertise advising clients in the insurance and regulated financial institution sectors.

David served as General Counsel at LIBERTY Steel Group before joining Keystone.

Matt Freeman – Employment

Matt is a senior employment lawyer with more than 20 years' experience advising financial institutions and multinational organisations across the UK and EMEA. His practice encompasses complex employment disputes, senior executive exits, regulatory matters, tribunal litigation and large-scale restructurings, with a strong focus on supporting boards and senior leadership teams on strategic employment issues.

Matt joins from AXA UK, where he was Head of Employment Legal.

Linda Adelson – Tax

Linda has over 30 years’ experience advising on all areas of VAT and indirect tax, and has particular expertise in financial services, insurance, fintech, e-money, real estate, and complex cross-border matters. Her clients have included banks, insurers, intermediaries, fund managers, fintech businesses, gift card companies, and property developers as well as other businesses.

Linda held positions at Forvis Mazars, Berwin Leighton Paisner, Citigroup, and Lloyds Banking Group before joining Keystone.

Paul Engelbrecht – Commercial Property

Paul is a commercial property partner with more than 30 years’ experience advising landowners, developers, investors, lenders and corporate occupiers across a broad range of real estate matters, including strategic land, development projects, secured lending, investment property, and renewable energy schemes.

Prior to joining Keystone, Paul was a Commercial Property solicitor and Notary Public at BPE Solicitors.

Shinead Wilson – Property Litigation

Shinead advises developers, landowners, investors, and commercial and individual owner-occupiers and tenants. She specialises in rights of light matters, but has broad experience across a full range of property issues, including boundary disputes, party wall issues, adverse possession, rights of way, and noise nuisance, acting on both contentious and non-contentious matters. She is also highly experienced in transactional property matters including acquisitions, sales, and high-value refinancing.

Prior to joining Keystone, Shinead was a Legal Director at Osborne Clarke.

Caroline East – Family

Caroline specialises in divorce, financial remedy, and children-related matters, often involving substantial assets, family businesses, and international issues. She regularly advises high-net-worth individuals on complex financial disputes, trust structures, and multi-jurisdictional family matters.

Caroline was a Senior Associate at Penningtons Manches Cooper prior to joining Keystone.

Emilie Helm – Family

Emilie advises clients on all aspects of family law, including divorce, financial claims, children matters, and pre- and post-nuptial agreements. A native French speaker, Emilie is particularly experienced in Anglo-French family law and complex international family disputes.

Emilie joins Keystone from MBS Family Law.