About Ian
Experience
Ian is a corporate and commercial lawyer with wide experience of mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, joint ventures and collaborations, reorganisations, and general company and commercial work in a number of different sectors.
Ian is the joint managing director of Star Legal, which he founded with Philip Hands, and is also responsible for corporate and commercial work. Ian is also fluent in Japanese and has a good knowledge of, and extensive contacts in, the Japanese market.
Legal experience includes:
- Numerous business and share acquisitions in a variety of different sectors
- Restructurings and reorganisations, including de-mergers, buybacks and capital reductions
- Establishment of joint ventures and R&D collaborations
- Sale and leasebacks and lease in lease out finance transactions
- Refinancing transactions
- Establishment of Investment Schemes and regulatory requirements
- Drafting and negotiation of a wide variety of commercial agreements, including supply and framework agreements, distribution and agency agreements
- Advising on and establishment of partnerships and LLPs and shareholder arrangements
- Compliance and regulatory advice
- General company, commercial and contract advice
Sector experience includes:
- Building supplies and materials
- Financial products and wealth management
- Travel and leisure
- Electrical and audio equipment
- Printing
- Beverages
- Poultry and eggs
- Agriculture and energy
- Textiles
- Media and IT
Background
Having read law and Japanese at the University of Leeds and Kobe Gakuin University, Japan, Ian trained as a solicitor at Denton Hall (now SNR Denton) in London. Ian qualified as a solicitor and joined Herbert Smith in their Tokyo office in 2001.