Ian is an accomplished commercial practitioner with in-depth experience and knowledge of a wide range of sectors of industry and business.

Before moving into private practice Ian spent 20 years in the in-house sector, primarily with Nestle and Boots, an experience which he describes as the perfect environment for mastering the art of being an effective commercial lawyer, and in particular for developing the ability to provide advice and solutions which, in addition to being legally robust, most effectively support the client in achieving its commercial and legal objectives.

Having decided on a career change in the form of a move into private practice, Ian enjoyed spells as a commercial partner at Geldards LLP and Spearing Waite LLP (which was acquired by Knights in 2018) before joining Bexley Beaumont in 2022.

Ian has an extensive track record in advising on all the key disciplines within the commercial field, embracing contracts for the sale and purchase of goods and services, agency, franchising and distributorship arrangements, IT agreements including software licensing, development, maintenance and support agreements plus SaaS arrangements, IP and know-how transfer and licensing, new product development, manufacturing and engineering agreements, especially in the food and drink and transport sectors, collaboration projects, sponsorship and endorsement arrangements, funding and financial services agreements including consumer credit.

Much of Ian’s work has had an international element.

In addition to his expertise in the field of commercial contracts, Ian advises extensively on certain areas of compliance and trading law, specifically advertising and sales promotion, lotteries and amusements, data protection, trading law, GSCOP, competition law and financial services compliance. This work Ian regularly includes the provision of training to clients.

The range of organisations advised by Ian over his career is similarly diverse and includes several major retailers, train operating companies, financial institutions including banks, three Premier League football teams and one county cricket club, pharmaceutical companies, two of the UK’s three leading opticians’ chains, educational institutions including leading universities as well as public sector organisations and many SMEs and owner-managed businesses.

Ian is a former Chair of the Law Society’s Commerce and Industry Group and speaks occasionally at legal conferences.