ABOUT DG LEGAL

Patrick is a consultant whose expertise includes legal services reform and regulation. He has specialised in consultancy services on Alternative Business Structures (ABS). He provided assistance to the SRA’s Authorisation Department in drafting processes and guidance during and after the implementation of ABS licensing and is able to provide highly expert advice on the application process and practising requirements as well as on Compliance Officer (COLP & COFA) issues for both ABS and existing solicitor firms. Patrick is also the co-author of ‘Alternative Business Structures’ published by Managing Partner (click here for details).

Patrick was formerly Deputy Director responsible for Civil and Family Justice and Legal Aid Policy at the Ministry of Justice, where his responsibilities included the consultation on the Jackson reforms for civil justice and the reform of the personal injury market. In this role he met regularly with Ministers and key officials from across Government to advise on and discuss national civil and family justice policy. Previously he held a number of senior roles at the Legal Services Commission including Director of Strategy and Head of Civil Contracting. He played a key role in the implementation of contracting for legal aid, both for solicitors and the voluntary sector, and managed bid rounds for the award of contracts for services across the entire £900m civil legal aid budget. He also led on contract compliance and quality issues and on the implementation of fixed fees.

Patrick's experience includes project and programme management, and in a former role he was an Office for Government Commerce accredited Managing Successful Programmes Practitioner.

He began his career as a solicitor. After qualification he spent several years as a locum, gaining insight into a range of solicitors' firms and was a partner in a high street firm before leaving private practice.

Email Patrick

Gilles is an independent Costs Draftsman of some 20 years' experience. He has drafted bills of costs for proceedings in the Magistrates' Courts, Crown Courts, County Courts, High Court, Court of Appeal, the House of Lords, Tribunals and the London Court of International Arbitration - across a range of criminal, family, civil, commercial, legally aided and privately funded proceedings. He has acted for both large and small firms of solicitors and for public bodies such as local authorities and specialist prosecution agencies.

Gilles has been consulted by the Legal Services Commission and the Law Society. He frequently advises on issues ranging from the incidental and everyday to the very structuring of a practice. He prepared (and negotiated to a successful conclusion) what is understood to be the largest bill of costs ever presented in criminal proceedings.

Gilles has degrees in law and business administration and plays a great deal of tennis.

Email Gilles

Mark is an organisational development consultant and is acknowledged as one of the most experienced leading specialists in the country based on the variety of work he undertakes working with a number of national standards, frameworks and business models.

Mark is a fully registered and experienced assessor and adviser and works with a number of national standards including Lexcel, Investors in People, Matrix and Merlin. He has undertaken well over 1,000 assessments and/or post-recognition reviews as Lead or Managing Assessor ranging in scope from SMEs (4-50 employees) to large national and international organisations with over 100,000 employees.

Mark has advised and assessed many small, large, national and international organisations on corporate strategy and convergence strategies for organisations in both Public and Private Sectors. He has particular knowledge and expertise within the legal sector.

Mark holds a Diploma in Business Management and has achieved several regional and national awards for business achievement and leadership. Mark is currently a member the Institute of Consulting (MIC) holding a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) Award and an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Email Mark

Joe has worked with The Legal Services Board, The Law Society, The Solicitors Regulation Authority and The Solicitors Indemnity Fund. He was Head of Quality Risk & Compliance at a national law firm and a Risk & Compliance Manager at another law firm. He was a practice standards adviser at the Practice Standards Unit advising on compliance and professional standards in private practice. He was a member and national seminar presenter within the Risk Management Unit of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund as well as being a solicitor within their Claims-handling Department.

Joe has been a partner in private practice, latterly engaged in professional negligence claims and has also led teams of panel personal injury lawyers at a top 100 law firm for one of the largest RTA insurers in the country.

Joe holds an MBA with Distinction and has an LLM in advanced legal practice

Joe advises organisations on quality risk and compliance management. He is a Law Society accredited Lexcel Consultant and also regularly conducts quality audits on behalf the SQM Delivery Partnership for organisations seeking to maintain the Specialist Quality Mark.

Email Joe

Avtar Bhatoa is a highly experienced Solicitor Advocate. He is Managing Partner of Bullivant & Partners, a specialist Crime Practice in the City of London. Bullivant & Partners provide advice and services from Police Station Advice and Assistance to Crown Court Advocacy.

Avtar acts as leading advocate in complex Crown court trials and is a former Chairman of the Solicitors' Association of Higher Court Advocates and a founding member of Independent Defence Lawyers.






	Our strategy is to recruit and retain only leading consultants in their respective fields of expertise. We are a close knit team of consultants with complementing skills who work together to provide a seamless, cost effective service. Each member of the team has either worked for or provided services to the main stakeholders in the legal system in England & Wales. This blend of expertise clearly distinguishes us from our competitors and our size enables us to move more quickly than larger firms.

	David has been funded by a wide range of local and national organisations including The Law Society, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Ministry of Justice, the Legal Services Commission (now the Legal Aid Agency), Citizens Advice, Advice UK, the Home Office (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner), the Legal Aid Practitioners Group, Central Law Training, the Law Centres Network, Comic Relief, Unbound Philanthropy, the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and the Baring Foundation. He has also provided advice and assistance to hundreds of law firms and other legal organisations. He delivers specialist consultancy and training on a wide range of topics including business management & strategy, tendering, compliance and quality assurance. He has also undertaken feasibility studies and conducted surveys. He is an expert in relation to Legal aid contracting and auditing and is also a Law Society accredited Lexcel consultant. David is a writer for LexisNexis and a member of the Consulting Editorial Board for LexisPSL. David has been responsible for the writing of a solicitors' accreditation scheme assessment on behalf of the Law Society and leading the assessment marking team for over ten years. David also founded and regularly contributes to LegalVoice, a not-for-profit online magazine for legal professionals. Prior to establishing DG Legal, David worked for Abbey, Marks & Spencer and the Legal Services Commission in varying senior management roles. Email David

	After reading law at King’s College London, Melanie was recruited by Herbert Smith LLP as a trainee solicitor. After being admitted by the Law Society, she was retained by Herbert Smith LLP as a solicitor in their litigation department and reached the level of senior associate. She was located at their London office for seven years and advised and acted upon a wide range of commercial and real estate disputes. Over the last 7 years, as a Director of DG Legal, Melanie has provided advice and assistance to numerous solicitors’ firms and advice agencies primarily in relation to legal practice management, compliance, risk and quality assurance. She has also assisted a large number of firms and other agencies in setting up legal practices and successfully tendering for and obtaining legal aid contracts. As a non-practising solicitor, she also calls on her litigation experience to advise on practical issues arising from disputes and in particular those relating to Legal Aid Agency contracting, audit appeals, procurement and regulatory compliance. Melanie is also a Director of Legal Voice, the not-for-profit online magazine for legal professionals. Email Melanie

	Bhavni is a highly experienced consultant and trainer and specialises in assisting legal practices in relation to compliance, risk and quality assurance. Her expertise in this area has led her to contribute articles to a number of publications such as The Law Society’s Lexcel Link & Risk & Compliance Bulletin, Managing Partner and Legal Voice. She has assisted a wide range of legal practices (from sole practitioners in private practice through to not for profit organisations) in reviewing and improving their regulatory/quality compliance and delivered numerous successful training courses, including subjects such as Lexcel and Solicitors Code of Conduct 2011. In particular, she has unrivalled knowledge and experience of the Law Society’s Lexcel Standard, having been a Lexcel Executive with the Law Society between 2003 and 2008. During this time she was involved in the revisions to the Lexcel Standard, providing advice and guidance on the Standard to all stakeholders, monitoring the consistency of the scheme and devising and delivering training courses to practices, assessors and consultants. She remains the Law Society's principal external Lexcel trainer, delivering Lexcel training courses to practices (both private and in-house) as well as training Lexcel assessors & Lexcel consultants. In addition, she continues to be instructed on behalf of the Law Society to shadow Lexcel assessors as part of their on-going consistency programme. Previously, Bhavni worked at the Legal Services Commission for three years developing their Quality Standard and Scheme for Legal Aid suppliers (the Specialist Quality Mark). Bhavni is a Law Society accredited Lexcel Consultant and Risk & Compliance Service Associated Consultant. Email Bhavni

	Matthew is generally recognosed to be one of the Country’s leading experts on the legal aid scheme. Matt started his career as a legal aid lawyer before joining the Legal Aid Board and subsequently the Legal Services Commission as a Senior legal Adviser. Whilst at the LSC he was National Appeals Policy Co-ordinator, Secretary and Legal Adviser to the Customer Redress Committee, Costs Appeals Committee and Contract Review Body and finally Head of Continuous Improvement. As one of the Commission’s senior lawyers he took the lead on costs issues; the LSC’s implementation of the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts; contracting and audit processes; and on Commissioning Special Projects (including CLACs and CLANS, Specialist Support and CLS Grants). Since leaving the LSC in late 2008, Matt has been a highly regarded trainer and consultant. He was brought in by the Law Centres Federation to save Hackney Law Centre, which was close to collapse, and has also managed the Toynbee Hall Free Legal Advice Centre and the Citizens Advice CLA Telephone Centre. He is also a Law Society approved Lexcel consultant. He has worked with a with a number of firms and advice agencies (from small to large high street practices through CAB’s and Law Centres to significant national ABS’s), helping them to improve their business practices, their compliance with the Legal aid contracts and in improving their quality systems. He has also helped dozens of firms obtain legal aid contracts (including specialist CLAS and CLA contracts). In addition he has an exceptional track record of helping clients win appeals against Legal aid contract sanctions or terminations and in helping them achieve ex gratia compensatory payments from the Legal Aid Agency. Matt’s warnings to the LSC about the failings of the 2012 Family Contracting Process were specifically referred to by Moses LJ in his Divisional Court Judgment in the Law Society’s successful challenge to the LSC’s Family tendering process. He is currently a solicitor and the Legal Standards Principal at Co-Operative Legal Services. He provides non-legal advice on issues relating to legal practice management, compliance and quality assurance. Matt is on the Board of both the Legal Aid Practitioner’s Group and the Law Centres Network. Email Matt



	After starting her career with the Department of Work and Pensions, Jane obtained a First Class Honours degree at Reading University. She then worked in audit teams for Price Waterhouse Coopers before joining the Legal Services Commission in 1993. As a Relationship Manager in the South and South West regions, and as a member of the LSC's Southern Regional Senior Management team, she has extensive experience of LSC contracting and all LSC audits and performance measures. Since leaving the LSC, Jane has worked in a part time role as an auditor for the SQM Delivery Partnership and is therefore well placed to assist firms with their SQM audit planning. She is also a Law Society Accredited Lexcel Consultant and provides assistance to organisations preparing for Lexcel Accreditation. She also provides consultancy services covering all aspects of the Legal Aid Agency Contract. Email Jane

	After working in the I.T. industry and financial sector in various account management, quality assurance and training roles, Stuart spent 12 years working for the Legal Services Commission as a Contract Manager. He then spent three years as Head of the LSC's Mental Health Unit from 2006 to 2009. Stuart has also achieved a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA). Stuart provides consultancy services on all LSC contracting matters. He also works with the SQM Delivery Partnership as an auditor and trainer and is highly experienced in relation to the SQM audit process. He offers advice and assistance to providers in relation to SQM compliance and passing their SQM audit. Stuart is also a Law Society Accredited Lexcel Consultant and Assessor and is able to assist firms in preparing for Lexcel Accreditation. Stuart is an experienced speaker and has recently spoken at conferences organised by The Law Society, the Legal Aid Practitioners Group and the Mental Health Lawyers Association. Email Stuart

	Patrick is a consultant whose expertise includes legal services reform and regulation. He has specialised in consultancy services on Alternative Business Structures (ABS). He provided assistance to the SRA’s Authorisation Department in drafting processes and guidance during and after the implementation of ABS licensing and is able to provide highly expert advice on the application process and practising requirements as well as on Compliance Officer (COLP & COFA) issues for both ABS and existing solicitor firms. Patrick is also the co-author of ‘Alternative Business Structures’ published by Managing Partner (click here for details). Patrick was formerly Deputy Director responsible for Civil and Family Justice and Legal Aid Policy at the Ministry of Justice, where his responsibilities included the consultation on the Jackson reforms for civil justice and the reform of the personal injury market. In this role he met regularly with Ministers and key officials from across Government to advise on and discuss national civil and family justice policy. Previously he held a number of senior roles at the Legal Services Commission including Director of Strategy and Head of Civil Contracting. He played a key role in the implementation of contracting for legal aid, both for solicitors and the voluntary sector, and managed bid rounds for the award of contracts for services across the entire £900m civil legal aid budget. He also led on contract compliance and quality issues and on the implementation of fixed fees. Patrick's experience includes project and programme management, and in a former role he was an Office for Government Commerce accredited Managing Successful Programmes Practitioner. He began his career as a solicitor. After qualification he spent several years as a locum, gaining insight into a range of solicitors' firms and was a partner in a high street firm before leaving private practice. Email Patrick

	Chantal is a hghly experienced consultant having been a Lexcel Executive with the Law Society for over ten years. She managed a portfolio of approximately 700 practices in the Lexcel scheme and provided advice and guidance on the implemententation of the Lexcel Standard to practices, assessors and consultants. She also worked with the Solicitors Regulation Authority to identify how Lexcel and the Code of Conduct interlink and impact on practices. Chantal has significant experience of developing and delivering training courses to assist practices with understanding and implementing Lexcel and has also developed and trained Lexcel assessors and consultants. She was part of a team that advised and trained the Law Society of Singapore in preparation for the launch of PrimeLaw, the Singaporean practice management standard that has its origins in Lexcel. Chantal was responsible for project-managing revisions to the Lexcel Standard, significantly contributing to the drafting of the Standard and Guidance. She has a special interest in risk management and was an inaugural chairperson to the Institute of Risk Management Legal Special Interest Group. Email Chantal

	Gilles is an independent Costs Draftsman of some 20 years' experience. He has drafted bills of costs for proceedings in the Magistrates' Courts, Crown Courts, County Courts, High Court, Court of Appeal, the House of Lords, Tribunals and the London Court of International Arbitration - across a range of criminal, family, civil, commercial, legally aided and privately funded proceedings. He has acted for both large and small firms of solicitors and for public bodies such as local authorities and specialist prosecution agencies. Gilles has been consulted by the Legal Services Commission and the Law Society. He frequently advises on issues ranging from the incidental and everyday to the very structuring of a practice. He prepared (and negotiated to a successful conclusion) what is understood to be the largest bill of costs ever presented in criminal proceedings. Gilles has degrees in law and business administration and plays a great deal of tennis. Email Gilles

	Mark is an organisational development consultant and is acknowledged as one of the most experienced leading specialists in the country based on the variety of work he undertakes working with a number of national standards, frameworks and business models. Mark is a fully registered and experienced assessor and adviser and works with a number of national standards including Lexcel, Investors in People, Matrix and Merlin. He has undertaken well over 1,000 assessments and/or post-recognition reviews as Lead or Managing Assessor ranging in scope from SMEs (4-50 employees) to large national and international organisations with over 100,000 employees. Mark has advised and assessed many small, large, national and international organisations on corporate strategy and convergence strategies for organisations in both Public and Private Sectors. He has particular knowledge and expertise within the legal sector. Mark holds a Diploma in Business Management and has achieved several regional and national awards for business achievement and leadership. Mark is currently a member the Institute of Consulting (MIC) holding a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) Award and an Associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Email Mark

	After reading law at the University of London, Rina started her career at Lovells and then Allen & Overy before joining the world of legal aid. Rina is an experienced practising supervising solicitor with specialisms in immigration & asylum and family law. Rina has provided advice and assistance on the Joint Council of Welfare for Immigrants (JCWI) immigration and asylum helpline. Rina writes and marks a supervisor accreditation assessment for Central Law Training and the Law Society. Email Rina

	Rona spent six years with the Legal Services Commission, working in both the London and South East regional offices until 2007. In London she had specific responsibility for overseeing the Not-for-Profit contracts, delivering training to advice agencies and support to the contracting team on the specific requirements of these providers. Prior to joining the LSC, Rona enjoyed a diverse career involving roles in the public, private and voluntary sectors developing a breadth of experience that she now brings to her consultancy projects. Starting as a marketing specialist, she held positions at Emap Publishing, Thomson Holidays and the Royal National Institute for the Blind. Whilst at RNIB, Rona achieved a Post-Graduate Diploma in Organisational Behaviour and moved into quality assurance, training as an assessor for the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model. Moving to the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, (NCVO) she helped deliver a project encouraging the use of appropriate quality assurance systems in the Not-for-Profit sector. Since leaving the LSC, Rona has qualified as a Lexcel consultant and now assists firms to both achieve and maintain the quality standard. She works with the SQM Delivery Partnership as an auditor and trainer and delivers consultancy services to providers in relation to SQM compliance and passing their SQM audit. In addition to her consultancy practice, Rona is a qualified management coach and skilled trainer. She designs and delivers bespoke training for the legal and voluntary sectors on a range of topics including supervision, performance management, project management, and collaborative working. Email Rona

	Roger is a highly experienced organisational development consultant. He worked a number of years for the consulting and accountancy firm KPMG and has since built up twenty years’ experience of advising and assessing organisations against a number of quality assurance standards including the Work Life Balance Standard, The European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Excellence Model (also called the Business Excellence Model), the Lexcel Standard and the Specialist Quality Mark. Roger is a registered auditor with the SQM Delivery Partnership and conducts audits on their behalf. He is also a Law Society accredited Lexcel Consultant. Roger has worked with Investors in People almost since its inception and is able to provide advice and assistance to support organisations in achieving the IIP standard and in applying its principles to attain continuing benefits in the future. Email Roger

	Joe has worked with The Legal Services Board, The Law Society, The Solicitors Regulation Authority and The Solicitors Indemnity Fund. He was Head of Quality Risk & Compliance at a national law firm and a Risk & Compliance Manager at another law firm. He was a practice standards adviser at the Practice Standards Unit advising on compliance and professional standards in private practice. He was a member and national seminar presenter within the Risk Management Unit of the Solicitors Indemnity Fund as well as being a solicitor within their Claims-handling Department. Joe has been a partner in private practice, latterly engaged in professional negligence claims and has also led teams of panel personal injury lawyers at a top 100 law firm for one of the largest RTA insurers in the country. Joe holds an MBA with Distinction and has an LLM in advanced legal practice Joe advises organisations on quality risk and compliance management. He is a Law Society accredited Lexcel Consultant and also regularly conducts quality audits on behalf the SQM Delivery Partnership for organisations seeking to maintain the Specialist Quality Mark. Email Joe

	Vanessa was the Legal Services Commission’s senior manager in charge of crime lower procurement (Police Station & Magistrates Court) until April 2011. Vanessa studied extensively alternative models of tendering. Prior to this role, Vanessa worked on a number of remuneration and supplier management change programmes within the LSC. Having recently completed a Masters Degree in Innovation & Design at Cranfield University, she is now working as an Innovation Consultant, exploring new approaches to system, service & product design that solve real world problems and deliver value - both in the private & public sectors. She also has a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Warwick University. Email Vanessa



	We have a team based in Leicestershire which handles post and telephone calls. E-mails are usually replied to by our Consultants.

	We also work closely with a team of other professionals such as other consultants, specialist solicitors and barristers which enables us to provide a seamless service. These include:

	Vicky is an independent consultant who works with DG Legal on a regular basis. Vicky has worked in the voluntary sector, for local government and the Legal Aid Board. She was one of the first Liaison Managers appointed by the LAB to implement its Quality Assurance Standard, Franchising and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Quality Assurance. Vicky has been involved with Citizens Advice for over 20 years as a specialist caseworker, manager and currently as a Trustee Board Member. She has also advised over 150 firms of solicitors in England and Wales and many not-for-profit agencies providing legal advice. Vicky assisted with the development of the supervision element of the Immigration and Asylum Accreditation Scheme, including the examination model. She also worked with Andrew Otterburn on his report concerning the possible impact on firms of implementing Lord Carter's report on Legal Aid. She edited "The Carter Survival Handbook" published in the autumn of 2007. She is a founder member of the Civil Justice Council and is currently serving a second term. Vicky is also an active member of its Access to Justice Committee. Email Vicky

	Richard trained at Law Systems & Designs, a company providing specialist services to solicitors, under one of the co-founders of the Institute of Legal Cashiers, before starting his own practice in 1981. Since then he has assisted a large number of firms of solicitors with day to day accounting using his own specialist staff. Richard also assists many firms nationally with accounts problems caused by poor or inadequate booking keeping, lack of knowledge of the Solicitors Accounts Rules, computer breakdown and employee fraud. He has unrivalled experience in dealing with the application of the Solicitors Accounts Rules and in dealing with investigations from the Law Society/Solicitors Regulation Authority and HMRC. He also has extensive experience of solicitors accounts software and has trained for two of the major suppliers and has been recommended by other software providers to their clients needing long and short term support. Richard is a member of the ILCA and a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Account Managers.

	Nick was admitted as a solicitor in 1998, whereupon he joined Irwin Mitchell’s Public Law Unit. In 2001 he transferred to the Bar and joined Tooks Chambers specialising in public law with a particular emphasis on immigration and asylum. He regularly appears before the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and the higher courts as well as acting in damages actions arising in the immigration context. He is the editor or co-editor of a number of publications, including the UK Human Rights Reports. Nick is a member of Matrix Chambers.

	Greg Powell is a highly regarded Crime Solicitor in the London Region. He is Managing Partner of Powell Spencer & Partners. This highly regarded firm of solicitors is active in advising clients from the local Kilburn community, as well as increasingly representing clients from across the whole of the UK. Murder cases and youth work are strong areas of focus. The firm also acted for a Guantanamo Bay detainee in 2004. Greg was President of the London Criminal Courts Solicitors' Association in 2007 and is a past winner of the LAPG Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year (Crime Category).

	Avtar Bhatoa is a highly experienced Solicitor Advocate. He is Managing Partner of Bullivant & Partners, a specialist Crime Practice in the City of London. Bullivant & Partners provide advice and services from Police Station Advice and Assistance to Crown Court Advocacy. Avtar acts as leading advocate in complex Crown court trials and is a former Chairman of the Solicitors' Association of Higher Court Advocates and a founding member of Independent Defence Lawyers.