Our People
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Joss Alcraft
Senior Partner
Joss qualified in 1999 and has worked in the City and the West End, most recently as Head of Corporate at a boutique commercial firm in Mayfair.
Joss’s main areas of work include public company IPOs, bond issues (on capital markets both in and outside the United Kingdom), public and private mergers and acquisitions, advising in relation to FSMA and the FCA rules (including applications for change of control approval), corporate restructuring, private equity, joint ventures, shareholder agreements and share buy-backs.
Mark Archer
Managing Partner
A former stockbroker, Mark qualified as a solicitor in 1998 and worked in large regional firms before becoming a corporate partner in City and Mayfair firms.
Mark’s main areas of work include public and private mergers and acquisitions, debt and securitisation issues (on capital markets both in and outside the United Kingdom), ICO's and ITO's, regulatory advice in relation to FSMA and FCA compliance matters (including applications for change of control approval), interpreting MiFID and MiFID II, and corporate restructuring. Mark also advises on EIS investments and structures, EMI Share Schemes and investments through crowd-funding platforms (including equity and crypto-investments).
Sanjeev Verma
Chief Risk Officer
Sanjeev is an experienced financial services regulatory practitioner with over 20 years experience; he is also the firms CRO. He has a good understanding of the regulatory landscape and has worked across a range of governance-related activities, including insolvency and repatriation of client assets.
Most recently, having worked for Smith and Williamson (now Evelyn Partners) on a Special Administration, providing a comprehensive overview of insolvency rules within financial services, and been involved in the court-approved Distribution Plan for sourcing brokers and the migration of corporate and retail clients.
He has previously completed a similar role for PwC on a high profile Special Administration collaborating with insolvency practitioners, enhancing their comprehension of complex assets and clients for migration, providing significant exposure to delinquent assets, financial crime as well as dealing with red flag countries.
Sanjeev has previously sat on panels for Trade Bodies specialising in governance rules for the financial services industry and central securities depositaries.
Sarah Chambers
Partner
Sarah is a partner in the Commercial Litigation department and specialises in both commercial and insolvency related issues on behalf of individuals and businesses.
Sarah studied at the University of Westminster and completed her training at a Legal 500 firm in Central London. She has experience in both high value complex litigation cases which have proceeded to trial as well as less formal resolutions of disputes such as mediation.
Sarah enjoys the daily challenges that her role brings and feels a great sense of satisfaction being able to help clients obtain successful resolutions.
Nick Davies
Partner
Nick qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and worked in various London practices as a commercial litigation partner, including two Legal 500 firms, before joining Maddox as Partner.
Nick’s main areas of work include commercial, construction, insolvency and property litigation, employment and contentious probate. He also has significant experience of arbitration and adjudication both nationally and internationally.
Nick acted for the successful parties in the following reported cases:
- People In Mind v Armchair Answercall Ltd [2016] EWCA Civ 1039, which concerned the doctrine of frustration;
- Global Corporate Ltd v Dirk Hale [2018] EWCA Civ 2618, which concerned the ability to recover dividends paid to an owner/manager when the company became insolvent.
Tania Albazi
Solicitor
Tania was admitted as a Solicitor in December 2020. Prior to joining the commercial litigation and insolvency department at Maddox Legal in October 2023, she trained and worked in a niche London firm dealing with contentious and non-contentious matters acting for developers, restaurant chains and other retail businesses. In commercial litigation, she specialises in contract and property related disputes.
Tania provides excellent and conscientious client care and proactively aims to ensure the successful settlement of all claims within the pre-action phase. She has experience dealing with high value complex cases up to trial or mediation. She regularly negotiates all disputes to a successful settlement without the need for court intervention. She also extends her knowledge in drafting and reviewing the viability of various business contracts and providing advice upon the same.
Warren Nichols
Partner
Warren qualified as a solicitor in 2006 and joined the firm in December 2021, having previously worked at practices in London, Kent and Surrey.
Warren has extensive experience of assisting clients with all aspects of contentious and non-contentious family law matters. His work includes divorce and the subsequent division of assets, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, separation advice, cohabitation and relationship breakdowns, property ownership disputes plus disagreements regarding children and their welfare. Having built up a strong client base over the years, Warren specialises in complex high net worth financial remedy claims and has acted for FTSE 100 company directors, bankers, lawyers, celebrities and entrepreneurs both here and abroad.
In addition, Warren maintains a niche civil-based caseload of claims under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (“TOLATA”) as well as the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Warren was included in the Citywealth Leaders List in 2018 and 2019 which brings together the leading individuals in the private wealth and private client advisory sectors. His inclusion means his family law expertise has been recognised by his peers, latterly named as one of the top 50 divorce lawyers in London in the 2019 edition.
Warren’s recently reported cases
Warren acted for Mr Khan in the well-publicised Islamic marriage case of Akhter v. Khan [2018] EWFC 54 in which the Court was tasked with determining whether a religious Nikah created an invalid or void marriage under s.11 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.
The Court at first instance declared that the marriage was void and that Ms Akhter was subsequently entitled to a decree of nullity (thereby permitted to pursue financial remedy claims accordingly) – a decision which was overturned successfully on appeal (Akhter v. Khan [2020] EWCA Civ 122).
Mark Parkhouse
Partner
A solicitor for over 30 years, Mark is an experienced litigator, advocate and restructuring specialist.
Mark gives commercial advice and aims to bring prompt cost-effective solutions in complex commercial issues including finance, fraud, construction, media, data, maritime and insurance disputes. He also advises on asset sales and group restructurings.
He was a licensed insolvency practitioner for over 20 years (taking one appointment of a solicitor's firm, jointly with a leading accountant) and the first solicitor advocate to appear successfully against Queen's Counsel at a High Court trial.
Matthew Thom
Partner
Matthew studied Law at the University of Kent before completing his Legal Practice Course at The University of Law in London where he received a distinction. Matthew has specialised in family law since qualifying and has gained extensive and varied experience at several respected and leading specialist family law firms before joining Maddox Legal.
He has experience at dealing with a wide range of family law matters including financial matters involving mid to high-level assets. Matthew also regularly advises on pre-nuptial agreements, applications to vary maintenance, disputes regarding arrangements for children and cases involving cohabitees. He is a member of Resolution, whose members are committed to the constructive resolution of family disputes. Matthew and other Resolution members agree to follow a Code of Practice that promotes a non-confrontational approach to family problems.
Matthew is also a Resolution Accredited Specialist Solicitor in the areas of complex and high net worth finances as well as private law children matters.
Notable reported cases
Mr E
Matthew acted on behalf of a husband in a divorce and financial case where virtually all of the assets were accrued by the husband prior to the parties' marriage or relationship. Despite this, the wife argued
for an equal share of the assets to be provided to her as part of the parties' divorce.
Matthew worked with the husband to formulate a case to demonstrate to the Court that there was no need for the wife to receive an equal share of the assets since her reasonable needs could be met from a far smaller share. The Court accepted this argument and the parties ultimately settled matters outside of Court with the husband retaining the majority of the assets which he brought into the parties' marriage.
Mr & Mrs D
Matthew acted separately for a brother and sister who each wanted post-nuptial agreements prepared to help protect their future wealth ahead of their father distributing large financial gifts to them as part of his inheritance tax planning.
The siblings were already married to their respective spouses meaning pre-nuptial agreements were not options for them. However, Matthew successfully negotiated the terms of their post nuptial agreements with the solicitors acting for each of their spouses and with the aim of protecting the financial gifts and likely inheritance due from their father.
The value of the potential gifts and future inheritance was up to £50 million each and, thus, the agreements are potentially very valuable for protecting the family wealth against division in a divorce in the future.
Monika Gill
Associate Solicitor
Education: Monika completed her degree in Criminology and Sociology at Royal Holloway University, before going on to complete her Graduate Diploma in Law and the Legal Practice Course at the University of Law.
Career: Monika has worked at a range of leading legal 500 family law firms and has been working exclusively in family law since 2015. Monika deals with various areas of family law such as Divorce, Finances, Non-Molestation Order & Occupation orders and has a real passion for Children work.
Approach: Monika likes to give a holistic approach to all her clients with great emphasis on understanding and empathy.
Personal: Monika enjoys reading and travelling in her spare time. Monika is passionate about volunteering with a charity called Nishkam SWAT who help feed the homeless in and out of London.
Sabina Ahmed
Senior Associate
Sabina qualified as a solicitor in May 2013. Prior to joining Maddox Legal in January 2023, she worked for both London and regional Legal 500 firms.
Sabina’s areas of practice include all aspects of private family work, with particular knowledge in financial remedy proceedings. She is able to effectively advise clients in complex financial proceedings, which can include issues such as overseas assets, dissipation of resources and company interests.
Sabina is also experienced in all private children matters including general contested child arrangement applications to those involving applications for leave to remove from the jurisdiction, prohibited steps orders and national relocation. She has also previously advised in cases where there has been a history of significant domestic abuse, which has warranted the involvement of Social Services and the need for parallel injunction proceedings.
Ella McCabe
Trainee Solicitor
Ella attained a first-class English & History degree from the University of Birmingham in 2022. She previously worked as an Account Assistant in PR before opting to pursue a career in the legal sector.
In July 2017 and September 2021, Ella was successful in securing legal internships in the family departments of other central London law firms which stirred up her initial interest in this fast-moving and complex area of law whilst she was an undergraduate. She enjoys the problem-solving element to the work she has been exposed to and feels passionate about helping clients overcome what is invariably a traumatic and emotionally sensitive time in their lives.
Ella joined Maddox Legal in August 2022 as a Paralegal in our family team, supporting Solicitors within the department by undertaking, amongst other responsibilities, legal research, the drafting of documents/correspondence, as well as general case administration. She is also invariably the first port of call for new family law clients. Ella recently began studying at the University of Law, preparing to sit the Solicitors Qualifying Examination in July 2024 and began working as a Trainee Solicitor at Maddox in September 2023.
Abi Day
Paralegal
Abi attended the University of Reading, where she achieved a 2:1 Honours Degree in LLB Law. During her undergraduate studies, she was crowned champion of the Osborne Clarke Mooting Competition, which involving numerous mock trials across different areas of law. She then went on to complete the Legal Practice Course alongside a Masters in Law in Business, Law and Management and attained a Commendation award with the University of Law. Whilst studying the LPC, her chosen electives were Advanced Criminal Law, Employment Law, and Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence.
Abi started her legal career at a niche criminal law firm in Devon, specialising solely in Road Traffic Law. She started as a case worker and progressed within 3 months to a Case Progression Officer, managing her own caseload and progressing client’s cases to court. She provided advice on cases involving both guilty and non-guilty pleas, from speeding offences and mobile phone offences, to driving without due care and attention and failing to stop and failing to report, achieving a fantastic success rate at court. Upon relocating to London, Abi worked in a full-service law firm as a Paralegal, working in a wide variety of cases including employment matters, divorce and dissolution matters, insolvency, private client, wills and probate, commercial and corporate matters, and commercial and property litigation.
Abi joined Maddox in August 2023 as a Paralegal in the litigation department. She supports Nick Davies and Sarah Chambers and works closely on a variety of litigation and insolvency matters. Her role involves legal research, drafting correspondence and documents and general file management. Abi has a keen interest in litigation and looks forward to building her knowledge in this area.
Hannah Kavoosi
Paralegal
Hannah joined Maddox Legal in September 2023 as a Paralegal in the family department and provides support to our lawyers on a variety of family law related matters. She works closely with the wider family law team on a diverse range of cases and is looking forward to further building her knowledge in this specialised area.
Hannah has a passion for law and a commitment to delivering exceptional legal services. She holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology from Toronto Metropolitan University with a first-class distinction, as well as an LLB from City University of London. Hannah is currently pursuing the LPC. With valuable experience gained from notable city law firms in both Toronto and London, Hannah has previously been fortunate enough to gain practical exposure to employment and property law.
Our clients trust Hannah to provide attentive and supportive legal assistance, helping to guide them through the legal process with care and commitment.
Outside of work, Hannah enjoys making pottery, exploring new destinations through travel, and cycling around London.
Sacha Withey
Trainee Solicitor
Sacha was awarded a Distinction level LPC MSc in Law, Business and Management at the University of Law Bristol in 2023. She previously attained a Merit in MA Law (University of Law, 2022) and an Upper Second-Class degree in BA English (University of Southampton, 2021).
Sacha developed an interest for corporate law during work experience in another central London firm in September 2020 and September 2021. During her LPC MSc Sacha chose the elective modules of Mergers and Acquisitions, Banking and Debt Finance, and Competition Law to ensure she had a strong footing when entering the corporate sector. The additional MSc qualification allowed her to focus on the relationship between the finance industry and the environment by completing a dissertation on ESG and the private equity sector.
In September 2023 Sacha joined Maddox Legal as a Paralegal in the corporate team. She looks forward to the challenges her role will entail and the opportunity to further develop her interests and skillset in corporate law.
Tom Banister
Practice Manager
Tom joined the firm in January 2024 as our Practice Manager.
Tom has extensive practice management experience and assists Maddox in ensuring
compliance with the firm’s internal processes, policies and financial matters. He is
responsible for all day-to-day financial control, budgeting, collection and payroll, and also
assists in developing the firm, providing advice and input on business plans,
strategies and facilities management.
Tom has worked in the accounts departments at law firms for over 15 years and takes pride in his work.
Tom has completed his Diploma with the ILFM and Level 3 at AAT.
Outside of work, Tom has a keen interest in sports, most notably football and motorsport. Tom used to race karts at club level and now volunteers with Motorsport UK stewarding at various events up and down the country.
Alex Gerver
Senior Consultant Solicitor
Alex is a company and commercial lawyer with more than 25 years’ experience, mostly gained with firms in the City.
Qualified in England & Wales and Scotland, Alex particularly focuses on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and business angel investments, demergers, shareholder agreements, and partnership and LLP agreements for professional firms. He also regularly advises on a wide range of consumer and commercial contracts and terms of business.
Ian Searle
Consultant Partner
Ian has more than 25 years’ experience handling contentious and non-contentious Insolvency, Corporate Recovery and Restructuring matters.
He regularly advises Insolvency Practitioners, secured and unsecured creditors as well as companies, directors, partnerships and individuals to find practical solutions to maximise value and minimise the risk of incurring civil, criminal or personal liability. Ian is one of around 100 dual-qualified Solicitor Licensed Insolvency Practitioners in England & Wales, authorised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) as an Insolvency Practitioner (non-appointment taking).
Ian is also a member of the Insolvency Lawyers’ Association, a Fellow of the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3) and a member of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA).
Omone Pusey
Consultant Partner
Omone qualified in 2003 specialising in real estate transactions including residential and commercial property. She was previously a partner in a London firm with a thriving private client practice. Her wealth of experience covers, property acquisitions, sales, secured lending, lease renewals and enfranchisement, various landlord and tenant matters . Her client base typically covers both the UK and the international market and varies from business clients to high net worth investors.
Omone works to provide a service that is highly client focused and knowledgeable, ensuring clients needs are always met. She aims to foster within her client relationships, a sense of trust and confidence.
Adam Fuge
Senior Consultant Solicitor
Adam Fuge
Senior Consultant Solicitor
Adam qualified in 1999 and has worked in the City for many years for leading law firms in the employment law field.
Adam was also a partner at a regional law firm for over 3 years, where he was Head of Employment. Adam is currently a partner of specialist City employment law firm Walbrook Law (which he co-founded in 2013) and also provides employment law consultancy services to Maddox Legal.
Adam advises employers and senior executives on a wide range of employment matters. Adam is also experienced in providing employment advice on corporate and commercial transactions and outsourcings (including in relation to the TUPE regulations), which is a particular area of focus for his work with Maddox Legal.
Helen Monson
Senior Consultant Solicitor
Helen Monson
Senior Consultant Solicitor
Helen qualified in 1999 and has worked in the City for many years for leading law firms in the employment law field. She was also a Partner and Head of the Employment Team at a Thames Valley law firm for over 3 years.
She acts for employers and employees bringing with her a wide range of experience in both contentious matters (such as Employment Tribunal claims) and non-contentious employment matters including ad hoc employment queries, corporate support and employment insolvency issues. Helen's clients range from multinational companies and financial institutions to SMEs, family-run businesses, educational institutions, charities and senior executives.
The focus of Helen’s approach is on offering prompt, pragmatic and commercial advice in clear language and free of legal jargon. She recognises that understanding clients’ business or individual objectives is a key part of this process. She has been recommended in The Legal 500 Directory for several years and in the Chambers & Partners Directory and is described by clients as being “quick and responsive”, having “excellent client care” and as adopting “a highly commercial outlook.
Peter Brown
Senior Consultant Attorney
Peter Brown
Senior Consultant Attorney
Peter is a commercial lawyer with information technology and intellectual property law expertise gained through working at law firms in both London and New York.
Peter's experience includes advising on, drafting and negotiating a wide range of commercial contracts. Within information technology law.
Peter has particular expertise in IT projects, software issues (including development, licensing, maintenance and distribution), SaaS, Cloud and virtualization issues, outsourcing, facilities management, new media solutions, solutions for/methods of transacting on and via the internet, ecommerce generally, liability management strategies, IT audits, procurement, IT policies, data protection and freedom of information issues. Peter also has extensive experience in the protection and exploitation of intellectual property rights.