Business & Company Law

Gary Copeland

Gary qualified with Simpson Curtis in Leeds which later became part of the national commercial law practice of Pinsent Masons. Having worked in private practice for a period of time, Gary was appointed as the group lawyer for a stock exchange listed multinational group which included Fine Performance and Oilfield Chemical businesses.

In addition to being involved as a legal adviser in numerous transactions of varying size and complexity in the UK, Gary spent three years living and working in the United States and a shorter period in Milan. Throughout these periods abroad he not only had a hands on legal responsibility but also gained significant experience of running a number of businesses in both the manufacturing and consultancy sectors and has been involved in a wide variety of transactions involving both public and privately owned businesses.

Upon return to the UK Gary went back into private practice. During this period he was approached by Whessoe Plc, a stock exchange listed engineering group, and was offered the position of company secretary. Gary was subsequently appointed as a director on the Board and remained the only UK main board director after the company was taken over and de-listed following an offer from Endress + Hauser (a private Swiss multinational group of companies). When Whessoe was finally taken over, Gary developed his own legal practice, and after initially becoming a consultant to BHP, Gary became a partner in the practice.