Leading full-service law firm Shakespeare Martineau has built on its Scots law
offering with the appointment of a new triple-qualified commercial and
corporate business lawyer and partner.
Based in Edinburgh, Trevor
Fenton—who has more than 15 years’ experience and is qualified in England,
Scotland and Canada—has joined the firm’s Scottish business from Plain
English Law, which he founded in 2019.
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.
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, manufacturing and professional services
sectors. Trevor is also a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe and
a Certified Information Privacy Manager.
Trevor 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.
'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.'
Trevor’s appointment comes after
Shakespeare Martineau hired dual-qualified real estate legal director Nicky Grant in Edinburgh and Grant Docherty to lead the firm’s banking
practice in Scotland. The firm also recently welcomed commercial property and
real estate finance solicitor Myeda Aarif.
Grant 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—saving them valuable time and money.'
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.'
Shakespeare Martineau is proactively seeking talented people to join the firm on its growth journey, including mergers, team recruitment and lateral hires nationally.
