Nigel is Joint CEO of DLA Piper. As a corporate lawyer he specialised in corporate finance, private equity, mergers and acquisitions and led a number of high-profile transactions, before moving into the management sphere. In 1990, Nigel was appointed head of the commercial group at Dibb Lupton Broomhead. His management career quickly accelerated from there and he was first appointed to the board, then made Deputy Managing Partner in 1995 and, finally, Managing Partner of DLA in 1996. Nigel has led the organisation through a host of successful mergers, including the transatlantic merger with Piper Rudnick Gray Cary Ware and Freidenrich in 2005 which created DLA Piper. From a largely UK presence the firm has expanded into Europe, Asia and the US.

In 2005 Nigel was named "Partner of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards and "Partner of the Year" at the Legal Week Awards. He is also the chair of the Managing Partners' Forum ("MPF"), the UK's leading association for professional firm leaders and their management teams. Nigel is a Client Relationship Manager for a number of clients and focuses passionately on the organisation's clients, on its people and on its role as a good corporate citizen.

"partner" refers to a member of DLA Piper UK LLP

• Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales