Executive Board

Sir Nigel is Group CEO (having previously served as Chairman of the Group from September 2017 to May 2020). He spent over 38 years at DLA Piper, a global law firm, where he was Global Co-Chairman and Senior Partner, and, previously, Global Co-CEO and Managing Partner from 1996 to 2015. During his tenure as leader of DLA Piper and its legacy firms, revenues of DLA Piper grew from £52 million to in excess of £1.5 billion.

Sir Nigel received a knighthood in 2009 in recognition of his services to the legal industry. In 2015, he was awarded the Legal Business “Outstanding Individual Achievement Award” and in 2016 the Financial News “Editor’s Choice” award.

Sir Nigel holds an LLB degree from the University of Sheffield and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law, Chester. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Sheffield and is a Fellow of Harris Manchester College Oxford.

Sir Nigel was admitted as a solicitor by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 1980 and is a registered foreign lawyer with the Law Society of Scotland.

Matthew is Group Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Executive Board.

Background and experience

Matthew is Group Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for our Group's operations, corporate development activities, and post-acquisition integration projects.

Matthew is a corporate lawyer by background with 25 years' experience in M&A and equity capital markets transactions.  He led the project team which delivered DWF's ground breaking IPO on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in March 2019.

Matthew holds an LLB degree from the University of Birmingham and completed the Law Society Final Examination in 1993 from the College of Law, Chester.

He was admitted as a solicitor by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 1996 and is a registered foreign lawyer with the Law Society of Scotland.

Chris joined the management team of DWF LLP in April 2016 and was appointed to the Board of DWF Group plc in September 2018. 

Background and experience 
Chris has around 20 years of experience in the professional services sector. 

He was previously the Finance Director of Ernst & Young’s EMEIA Advisory business (2014 to 2016), the Global Service Line reporting lead of Ernst & Young London (2013 to 2014), a director in the UK Core Business Services Finance team of Ernst & Young London (2012 to 2013) and the CFO of Ernst & Young Republic of Ireland (2010 to 2011). 

Chris has extensive experience in advising executive boards on all aspects of financial management, control, and performance and profitability improvement, as well as a track record of business optimisation to drive profit improvements and/or cost savings while also supporting revenue growth. 

Chris holds an LLB degree from the University of Strathclyde and was admitted to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in 2001.

Zelinda joined the Group in January 2019 as Chief Marketing Officer. She is responsible for shaping our global business development, client engagement, and marketing strategy, across the UK, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and America.

 

Background and experience

Zelinda has more than 20 years' experience in law firm marketing and business development. Previously, she was the International Marketing Director at DLA Piper (2008 to 2018) and the Marketing Director of Eversheds Sutherland (2005 to 2007).

 

Zelinda holds a bachelor’s degree in French and German Languages and Literature from Manchester Metropolitan University, a diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a postgraduate certificate in marketing management from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Louise joined the Group in July 2022, and was promoted to the role of Chief People Officer in December 2022.  She is responsible for shaping our global HR function and delivering the people strategy across all DWF offices.
 
Background and experience
Louise has more than 20 years' experience in senior roles in a variety of international organisations, with a focus on financial and professional services. Previously, she was the HR Director at Aldermore Bank and Head of HR for Berenberg Bank .
 
Louise holds a bachelor’s degree in French and German Languages and Literature from Durham University, a Master's degree in Human Resource Management from South Bank University, and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Jason joined the Group in January 2017 as a Partner and became CEO of Connected Services in July 2017. He is responsible for delivering the Group’s suite of connected services to clients.

 

Background and experience

Previously, Jason was the Chief Operating Officer at Triton Global Ltd (2013 to 2017), a multi-disciplinary alternative business structure and one of the first businesses to be granted a licence following the implementation of the Legal Services Act. Prior to that, he worked as a partner at Robin Simon LLP.

 

Jason holds an LLB degree from the University of Sheffield and a postgraduate diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law, Chester.

 

He was admitted as a solicitor by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 1991 and is a registered foreign lawyer with the Law Society of Scotland.

Paul is Legal Advisory CEO with responsibility for leading the legal advisory division, which brings together the operations previously within our Group's Commercial, Insurance and International divisions. 

Background and experience
Paul is a corporate lawyer by background, advising across merger and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions. He is ranked as a leading corporate lawyer in both Chambers and the Legal 500. 

Paul has also previously acted as General Counsel of one of the largest pensions funds in the UK, giving him first-hand experience of the role of the General Counsel and a deeper understanding of client needs. 

Darren joined the Group as Group General Counsel and Company Secretary in April 2021. He is responsible for providing senior management with strategic legal advice, while overseeing legal compliance, corporate governance and managing risk. 

Background and experience 
Darren has more than 20 years of private practice and in-house legal experience. Previously, Darren was Group Legal Director and Company Secretary at Radius Payment Solutions, and prior to that was Group General Counsel and Company Secretary of Moneysupermarket.com Group PLC between 2007 and 2019. 

Darren has been a non-executive director at the Halle Concerts Society since March 2019, where he chairs its Nominations and Remuneration Committee.

He practised as a corporate/ commercial lawyer at Addleshaw Goddard LLP, where he trained and qualified in 1999.

Darren holds a BA (Hons) degree in Law and Economics from Durham University, a postgraduate diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law, York and a postgraduate certificate in Investor Relations from the Investor Relations Society. Darren is a member of the Law Society of England.

Damien was a founding partner of the Australian law firm, Kaden Boriss, which was acquired by DWF in 2017. He is also Managing Director of DWF in Australia.

Background and experience
Damien leads DWF's Australian insurance group, with over 20 years' experience in all facets of insurance law. 

Damien has acted for a wide range of insurance clients during his career. With a Masters of Law specialising in insurance litigation and alternative dispute resolution, Damien is recognised within the insurance industry as a leading Australian lawyer, known to be a skilled litigator and negotiator in catastrophic and sensitive high value claims.  

As Group Director of Risk, Deborah advises DWF on Governance, Risk Management and Compliance including leading the Business Excellence Strategy.

Background and experience
Deborah works with the Executive Board and Risk Committee to ensure known and emerging risks are assessed, controlled, all relevant legal and regulatory demands are complied with and processes/procedures are developed to support all aspects of delivering an excellent client service. 

Deborah is an International Risk Management Certificate Member of the Institute of Risk Management, and works closely with our key regulators, having been a member of numerous focus groups and regulatory panels.

As Head of Clients & Markets, Hilary is responsible for implementing DWF's Integrated Legal Management approach across our client base. Hilary has been a partner at DWF since 2011 and prior to the Group's IPO was a member of its Strategic Board.

Background and experience
Hilary was previously Head of the Consumer sector at DWF and the Managing Partner of its London office. She is the lead client partner for a number of the Group's largest Consumer clients and for over 20 years has worked with PLCs to develop compliance procedures to ensure safety of their products, employees and third parties.

Hilary is a partner in DWF's Regulatory team, specialising in regulatory compliance and litigation, with an unrivalled reputation in respect of health & safety and product liability, for a wide range of highly regulated products.

Kirsty is responsible for developing and implementing a global ESG strategy for the Group. She has been a partner with DWF since 2007 and has previously held management roles, including as a member of the Strategic Board prior to the Group's IPO.

Background and experience
Kirsty is also Executive Head of the Group's Manchester office, the largest office with more than 800 people. 

Kirsty is also an employment lawyer and is particularly known for her expertise in employment litigation, including discrimination and whistle blowing cases and has undertaken extensive High Court injunction work. Kirsty has been recognised by the legal directories for over ten years. 

She is a Governor of a local academy, a trustee of a children's charity, Vision4children, based at Alder Hey and a board member of Girls Out Loud, an organisation supporting teenage girls.