About Mills & Reeve
Whether you're a tech entrepreneur looking for investment, a multinational negotiating a strategic technology deal or you have an innovation you are looking to protect and commercialise, our technology lawyers are here to help.
We are the legal advisers behind some of the UK’s most successful technology businesses. We act for entrepreneurs leading fast-growth technology startups and spin outs through to IPO, and work closely with global technology giants and their investors.
We provide the full range of legal services that you need, always with a focus on your objectives. Our specialist team advise on, intellectual property and trademarks, corporate structures for investment, going through funding rounds, negotiating strategic commercial deals and the appointment of key team members.
Paul Johnson
Corporate partner, Head of Leeds office
Paul has over 20 years’ experience of advising clients across a range of sectors but in particular recently technology businesses using Mills & Reeves extensive expertise in the tech sector. He specialises in buying and selling businesses, structuring growth capital investments and generally helping clients grow and then realise the value in their businesses with a particular focus where private equity or venture capital are involved.
Alex Newman
Commercial partner specialising in IP
Alex helps businesses to devise and implement intellectual property strategies. He has been a specialist intellectual property lawyer for more than 25 years, and has learned a lot along the way. He combines technical expertise with commercial awareness and makes return on investment the key focus of his thinking, advice and the way he operates.
Email Alex | View Alex’s profile | LinkedIn
Oliver King
Corporate lawyer
Olly has been advising businesses on their corporate dealings for over 10 years, assisting start-ups and companies in their growth and scale phase, right through to investment and exit.
Emma Wilson
Corporate lawyer
Emma is a corporate lawyer at Mills & Reeve LLP, with five years of experience working a range of technology businesses from edutech to insuretech. Emma works with businesses on a range of matters, including helping early start ups getting corporate governance documents in place (shareholders agreements and articles), and general share transactions during the life of a business be that; buybacks, share issues, restructures, and acquisitions and sales.
Mark Pearce
Intellectual property partner
Mark helps clients to protect and exploit their intellectual property, whether it's a new technology or brand. He makes IPR law clear and helps clients to develop effective strategies. He enjoys getting to know clients' businesses and making IPRs work to help them grow and prosper.
Paul Knight
Commercial partner
Paul is a partner specialising in technology and commercial law, including data protection. This means he advises on commercial contracts, software licensing, e-commerce and GDPR compliance, amongst other things. Paul works with clients from different sectors to negotiate contract terms, to help quantify risks and to provide realistic solutions to protect his clients.
Vicky Protano
Corporate partner
Vicky is a partner in the corporate team with a particular focus in the life sciences and technology sectors. She works with clients on a variety of corporate matters including: disposals and acquisitions, investments (equity and debt); corporate governance; shareholder and joint venture arrangements and corporate restructures and reorganisations.
Charlotte Lewis
Principal Associate
Charlotte is a specialist in commercial health with a passion for innovation. She loves to work with clients who are looking to break into new areas or do things differently.
Charlotte advises the health and care sector on a wide range of commercial and corporate matters including corporate/contractual structures, new care models, and transformation programmes, as well as general commercial enquiries. She has a particular interest in healthtech and works with technology and digital companies operating within the sector.
Email Charlotte | View Charlotte’s profile | LinkedIn
Douglas McDonald
Commercial disputes partner, Head of Technology sector
Douglas heads the Firm's national technology practice, which acts for fast-growth technology startups through to global technology giants.
Douglas' own practice focuses on commercial dispute resolution, including high-value complex contract disputes, product recall, international distribution agreements, IT outsourcing agreements, injunctive relief, High Court litigation and alternative dispute resolution. Douglas is an experienced commercial litigator with the knowledge and strategic awareness to assist clients in securing the desired outcome.
Peter Wainman
Commercial partner
Peter is a technology lawyer and specialises in IT law and data protection. He can typically be found drafting and negotiating IT contracts, from major IT outsourcing projects for public sector bodies and PLCs to standard “software as a service” terms for early-stage technology businesses.
Zickie Lim
Corporate partner, Head of VC & Investments
Zickie heads up our Funds, Venture Capital and Investments Team. Her clients range from institutional fund managers, investment funds, business angels and angel groups, corporates and family office funds to those seeking such funding, namely entrepreneurs, start ups and spin outs and fast growing technology businesses. The team regularly support their investor clients on their fund creation and fund structuring.
Edward Sloan
Partner, Head of VC & Investments, London
Edward advises on venture capital investments and specialises in leading and negotiating investment rounds on behalf of investors and companies. He regularly advises institutional investors, funds, universities and angel syndicates, as well as founders and growth companies, from spin-out through to later stage. Edward acts on transactions across all stages of investment, from seed to later alphabet rounds.
Kevin Calder
Commercial partner
Kevin specialises in providing commercial and procurement advice to clients including plcs, government departments and industry regulators. Kevin supports customers on major outsourcing projects, typically with a technology focus, and works with suppliers to protect and exploit their intellectual property internationally.
Alex Woolgar
Commercial partner
Alex specialises in intellectual property (IP) and data, and related legal areas such as commercial contracts, the regulation of technology, and disputes and litigation involving technical subject matter.
He has over 10 years of experience advising diverse clients – from start-ups and scale-ups to global brands – on a wide range of legal and commercial strategies involving intangible assets, across transactional, strategic, advisory and contentious scenarios.
Alex also founded and grew the legal Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practice at his previous firm. He therefore has significant experience of helping organisations to navigate the legal, regulatory and operational complexities of this rapidly evolving area.
Jagvinder Singh Kang
Partner, International & UK Head of IT
Jagvinder has over 25 years of technology law expertise from having advised on billions of pounds worth of UK and international technology transactions, including those involving FTSE100, NASDAQ listed and other world-class corporates. He has also undertaken: in-house secondments with global technology companies, including FTSE100 and FTSE250 corporates; global data protection compliance projects for some of the world's largest companies in their sectors.
David Hall
Commercial lawyer
David is a digital technology and data lawyer, and leads our technology work in Birmingham. He advises on the commercial, information/data and contractual implications of digital technology: microchips and gadgets, networks and cloud services, apps and enterprise systems, security measures, and the data that flows in their veins. David advises across all sectors served by Mills & Reeve.