The Punter Southall team

Jonathan Armstrong is an experienced lawyer concentrating on compliance and technology. His practice includes advising multinational companies on matters involving risk, compliance, and technology. He has handled legal matters in more than 60 countries involving data breach, bribery and corruption, corporate governance, ethics code implementation, reputation, internal investigations, marketing, branding and global privacy policies. He frequently works as specialist compliance co-counsel with firms in the US and Europe.

Jonathan is a frequent broadcaster, blogger and is a sought-after speaker worldwide.

In addition to being a lawyer, Jonathan is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Marketing. He has spoken at conferences in the US, Canada, China, Brazil, Singapore, Vietnam, Dubai and across Europe.

He is a visiting lecturer at Fordham University.

Email: jonathan.armstrong@puntersouthall.law

Neil Aronson is the Head of Talent Acquisition at Punter Southall Law. Neil has 25 years’ experience of the legal market, both in terms of legal practice and recruitment. He started life as a corporate lawyer at Herbert Smith and then with Mcgrigors (formerly KLegal), before moving into legal recruitment. For the last 18 years Neil has specialised in placing partners and teams at many of the world’s leading international law firms. Neil joined Punter Southall Law in 2024 from a leading recruitment firm where he spent 10 successful years.

Neil was admitted as a Solicitor in England and Wales in 2000. 

Peter is a Partner at Punter Southall Law. He is a highly-rated and experienced corporate lawyer and formerly a partner of +15 years with Stephenson Harwood and subsequently with Howse Williams Bowers in Hong Kong. Peter also has acted as in-house counsel with a large family office in Geneva and then with a European VC firm in London. His versatility as a lawyer is demonstrated by his history of helping businesses to achieve their objectives across many sectors and globally.

Peter has advised on raising finance (publicly and privately), sales and acquisitions, joint ventures and co-operation agreements. Most recently, Peter was chief adviser to a crypto-currency and blockchain-based FinTech company. His advice included advising on all aspects of regulatory compliance.

Email: peter.bradley@puntersouthall.law
Mobile: +44 (0)7495 285979

Steve is Managing Director, Retirement Solutions. He has been part of Punter Southall since 2008 where he had led various businesses including DB Investment Consulting, DC Pension Consulting and Investment Research & Analytics.

He is a regular writer and speaker on intergenerational working, retirement and older worker business management issues and is passionate about helping people maximise their retirement. 

Read Steve's latest blogs here.

Lindsay has been with the Punter Southall Group for over 15 years. In her current role she focuses on supporting the development and implementation of the corporate strategy and client relationship management for Pension Potential.

Prior to this role Lindsay worked in Punter Southall Aspire and CAMRADATA, which were both businesses within the Punter Southall Group, specialising in corporate strategy and client relationship management.

Verena is an experienced and highly regarded regulatory lawyer with particular expertise advising both regulated and unregulated UK and international funds. Verena has extensive and direct experience of working in the banking and funds industry as well as for regulators and in private practice.  This experience combined with her Masters in Business Administration ensures that she provides to her clients expert advice that never loses sight of their commercial objectives.   

Verena advises on the re-structuring of funds, overseas funds in the UK, global funds registrations as well as on the managing and chairing fund boards, AGMs and EGMs.    

In recent times, she has taken a keen interest in and developed specialist knowledge of ESG and is a well-known speaker on this issue at national and international conferences.

Email: verena.charvet@puntersouthall.law

Matthew Claisse is a qualified actuary with more than 20 years of industry experience. Throughout his two decade-long career he has thrived on embracing new challenges, both at a technical and big picture level, using clear and persuasive logic to help clients from a range of backgrounds find practicable solutions to their problems. 

Outside of work, when not embarking on the latest building or garden project, Matthew is a keen cook and oenophile.

Simon is the Managing Director of Punter Southall Law and has 40 years’ experience of dispute resolution in the UK, USA and numerous offshore financial centres (including Jersey, Guernsey, the Caymans, BVI and Hong Kong) from his time as a Partner in Fladgate LLP and laterly Kobre & Kim LLP. Simon has focused on litigation, arbitration and mediation in the fields of financial products and services, trusts and private wealth, joint ventures, shareholder and partnership disputes, matrimonial property and finance, commercial property investment, aviation finance and litigation funding.

Admitted as Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales 1981
Admitted as a Solicitor of The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (BVI) 2016

Email: Simon.cullingworth@puntersouthall.law

Mobile: 07879 974435

Jonathan Dawe is a partner at Punter Southall Law.  Jonathan has specialised in advising on corporate transactions and company law for nearly 30 years.  He primarily advises private companies on acquisitions, disposals, equity and debt fundraising (including acting for borrowers on bank finance transactions), investment and shareholder agreements and general corporate advisory work.

Prior to joining Punter Southall Law in 2023, Jonathan was previously a founding partner with Tony Grant of specialist London-based corporate law firm Grant Dawe LLP.  Prior to founding Grant Dawe LLP in 2006, Jonathan was a corporate partner at Denton Wilde Sapte (now Dentons), where he trained and qualified in the corporate department of Denton Hall in 1993, became a partner in 2000 and headed the corporate team at Dentons’ office in Dubai, UAE between 2001-2004.

Jonathan’s clients are both UK-based and international and include corporate groups, growth and start-up companies, business owners high-net worth individuals and legal and finance professionals.  Jonathan works across a wide range of industries and business sectors, including sport, TV production, music publishing, entertainment, real estate investment and management, online retail and digital services.

Email: Jonathan.Dawe@puntersouthall.law
Mobile: +44 (0)7738 293840

With board experience in both complex organisations and early stage environments, Mandy brings a background of strategic planning and operational management to the Group. A chartered accountant by training, she spent 18 years with Ernst and Young before steering her focus towards the growth of new companies, serving on the boards of a diverse range of start-up businesses. Mandy is a Trustee of The Institute of Cancer Research, where she is also Chair of the Audit Committee. Mandy holds a Financial Times Non-Executive Diploma with a focus in corporate governance.

Martin Finnegan is Chief Commercial Officer of Punter Southall Law. Martin has spent his entire career advising corporate clients – both publicly listed and private owner-managed, from start-up to FTSE 250 – and was formerly a partner with Nabarro LLP (now part of international law firm CMS) where he co-chaired the Equity Capital Markets Group and prior to that was Head of Capital Markets at McGrigors (now part of international law firm Pinsent Masons). Martin founded and ran a corporate boutique which he successfully led for 9 years.

Martin joined Punter Southall Law in 2020 in its first wave of recruitment of partners from leading City firms to its uniquely positioned platform, the only platform law firm to have the backing of a large financial service group, driving opportunities for its lawyers and clients.

Martin is also a non-executive director of Tower Trading Group (TTG), a City based proprietary trading group supporting over 200 professional traders across the globe, trading multiple derivatives markets. Martin has overseen TTG's legal function -in an outsourced general counsel capacity- since 2012 managing a range of complex legal issues and instructing law firms domestically and internationally in seeking to deliver the best legal outcomes for TTG.

Email: Martin.Finnegan@puntersouthall.law

Mobile: 07974 726875

Patti is the Finance Officer at Punter Southall Law and works with the wider Group’s finance team to ensure efficient and compliant operations.

Patti’s skills in this role have been well-served by her professional background and qualifications. Patti began her working life in marketing before obtaining a degree in Psychology from MMU and then moving to the education sector. However since 2009, Patti has worked in the legal sector.

Outside of her formal degree, Patti has obtained qualifications from the Charted Institute of Marketing, Counselling and British Sign Language.

Adam Fortune is an experienced, widely respected and highly effective commercial litigator.    His background as a barrister combined with his experience in top-tier solicitor litigation teams mean that his clients benefit from a depth and breadth of experience and an unrelenting focus on client-care and outcomes.     

Adam has specialist knowledge and experience in financial disputes – including those involving private equity, leveraged finance and derivatives, asset management and insolvency disputes.

Email: adam.fortune@puntersouthall.law 

Josh is Head of Financial Planning for Pension Potential. He is a Chartered Financial Planner and Fellow of the Personal Financial Society, with specialist qualifications in Retirement Planning and Long-Term Care.

Before joining Pension Potential, Josh worked within the Punter Southall Aspire Financial Planning business and prior to that he spent 7 years working for Mercer and Jardine Lloyd Thompson looking after a portfolio of private clients in addition to work involving business governance. Previously, he worked in Private Banking and has over 20 years’ experience in Financial Services with more than 19 as a Financial Planner.

Josh lives in Dorset with his family. His interests outside work include coaching rugby, running, cooking and eating out, with Italian and Asian cuisine being particular favourites.

Tony Grant is a partner at Punter Southall Law. Tony has specialised in advising on corporate transactions and company law for a number of years.  He primarily advises private companies on acquisitions, disposals, equity and debt fundraising (including acting for borrowers on bank finance transactions), investment and shareholder agreements and general corporate and commercial advisory work.

Prior to joining Punter Southall Law in 2023, Tony was previously a founding partner with Jonathan Dawe of specialist London-based corporate law firm Grant Dawe LLP. Prior to founding Grant Dawe LLP in 2006, Tony was a corporate partner at Denton Wilde Sapte (now Dentons). He joined Dentons having trained and qualified at Allen & Overy. He worked for Dentons from 1980 as a partner in Hong Kong becoming the senior partner of the firm’s Asian practice (with offices in addition to Hong Kong in Singapore, Beijing ,Bangkok and Tokyo and an affiliated office in Jakarta). On his return to Dentons London in 1992 he became successively the head of the corporate department and the technology, media and telecom departments.

Tony’s practice has a strong international emphasis. He acts for corporate groups, growth and start-up companies, business owners, high-net worth individuals and legal and finance professionals.  Tony works across a wide range of industries and business sectors, including sport, media, telecommunications, technology and retail services.

Email: Tony.Grant@puntersouthall.law
Mobile: +44 (0)7771 842844

Sarah Hawkins is the CEO of Punter Southall SIPP, which operates as a bespoke (non-platform) SIPP and SSAS administration business. 

Sarah has worked within the Life and Pensions industry since 1996 and has solely worked within the SIPP and SSAS industry since 2002.   

She is the Chair of the Technical Sub Committee for the Association of Member Directed Pension Schemes (AMPS) and as part of this role regularly liaises with HMRC, DWP and the FCA.

Sophie is a senior corporate paralegal highly experienced in assisting senior lawyers in commercial and corporate matters.

Sophie is close to completing her Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) Level 6 Diploma in Law and Practice.  She will then qualify as a Chartered Legal Executive.     

Email: sophie.highton-dodge@puntersouthall.law 

Nick Holt is Director of Development at Punter Southall Law. Nick has more than 35 years' experience of the international legal services market. A corporate lawyer by background, Nick was a founding partner of the London office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a leading US law firm, and was then the Managing Partner of KLegal, the law firm associated with KPMG. Nick then built a second career as a highly respected headhunter specialising in lateral partner recruitment for some of the world's major law firms, before joining Punter Southall Law. Nick is also a Meyler Campbell trained business coach. Admitted as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales (1982) and in Hong Kong (1984) (both non-practising).

Email: Nick.Holt@puntersouthall.law

Mobile: 07802 885363

Martin is our Chief Technology Officer.

He has over 30 years' software development and technology management experience within the financial sector, and has been part of Punter Southall since 2008.

Richard Jones is the Managing Director of PSPS. He is a qualified actuary with almost 25 years industry experience, including over a decade heading up Punter Southall’s specialist employer consulting division, prior to the sale of all the pension consulting businesses in 2018. His particular specialism is the interaction of employer covenant with funding and investment, helping schemes to understand and navigate to the best long-term outcome for their specific circumstances. He have led over 300 complex pension projects during his career.

Michelle is a Partner at Punter Southall Law. She is a highly skilled and well-regarded employment lawyer and has an outstanding reputation with peers and clients alike and is ranked in Legal 500 for employment. Her expert views are regularly sought by the press and legal journals including The Times, Financial Times, Employment Law Journal, CIPD and The Lawyer. She has also featured on BBC Radio to speak on employment law issues including termination of employment, employment implications of COVID-19 and employer liability.

Michelle’s practice covers all aspects of employment law but she has developed a particular focus on advising on exits, employment status, recruitment regulations, whistle-blowing, discrimination, restrictive covenants and confidentiality provisions. Michelle works closely with clients to deliver practical solutions in both contentious and non-contentious matters.

Email: Michelle.Last@puntersouthall.law

Alba Lleshi is a Marketing Project Administrator at Punter Southall Pension Solutions. She is an administrative support staff member that helps in the creation of marketing materials. She is in charge of the website and the social media. Alba spends much of her leisure time playing sports, learning new skills, travelling and visiting new places. She likes art and photography.

Katherine is a senior consultant at Punter Southall Pension Solutions. Katherine re-joined the Punter Southall Group in January 2022 to support business development and investment implementation of the Pension Safeguard Solution.

Her background is in institutional investments where she has had a range of senior roles from Head of Manager Research through Consultant Relations to Head of Marketing. She joined from SEI Investment Ltd, where she ultimately served as Head of Marketing for the EMEA institutional business focusing on fiduciary management for DB schemes and the SEI DC Master Trust. She initially joined SEI to manage their relationships with investment consultants and professional trustees and prior to SEI, Katherine worked at XPS and the pre-merger Punter Southall Investment Consulting business as Head of Operations and Head of Manager Research, respectively.

Kenneth joined Punter Southall in 1993 with a focus on widening the range of our activities. He remains responsible for the strategic development of Punter Southall Group and is a Director of its principal operating subsidiaries. Previously, he worked in a large UK pensions consultancy firm before taking an MBA at INSEAD Business School. He then worked in financial management and corporate strategy consultancy in Geneva, London and Paris. Kenneth graduated from City University with a degree in Actuarial Science and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.

After graduating with first-class honours in law from University College Dublin, Blake O’Donnell joined A&L Goodbody, a prestigious Irish firm. Over the course of 15 years, Blake’s career path led him through esteemed institutions and the establishment of his own legal practice, all focused on the intersection of law and finance.

Blake’s expertise lies in banking and blockchain, with a particular emphasis on real estate transactions and digital assets. With transactions exceeding £1.6 billion in value across various jurisdictions, including the UK, USA, France, Sweden, and Ireland, Blake has garnered a reputation as a leading authority in his field.

Blake brings a comprehensive understanding of both the legal and financial aspects of his practice areas. He approaches his work not only as a lawyer but also as a strategic advisor, providing invaluable insights into the financial implications of legal decisions. Blake’s involvement spans structuring complex financings, advising on regulatory compliance in the rapidly evolving crypto landscape, and providing strategic counsel to clients ranging from investment funds to high-net-worth individuals.

Blake is also the author of “Legal Aspects of Cryptocurrency in the UK” (Bloomsbury 2024). This authoritative work explores the legal complexities surrounding cryptocurrency, offering in-depth analysis of regulatory frameworks, compliance requirements, and taxation implications.

Blake O’Donnell’s expertise in banking and digital assets positions him as a trusted advisor and thought leader in these rapidly evolving fields.

Email: blake.odonnell@puntersouthall.law
Mobile: +44 (0)7703 594404

Chris is a qualified actuary and a senior consultant in the Pension Solutions business at Punter Southall. With more than 20 years’ experience advising employers and trustees, he brings a wealth of problem solving expertise to his role. At the weekend, Chris likes to get outside for a run. He also spends every other Saturday (or Sunday) afternoon, cheering on his team, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Alice qualified as an Associate Solicitor at Punter Southall Law in October 2023. She completed her SQE and Qualifying Work Experience with the firm and to date, she has specialised in corporate work working alongside our corporate Partners on a full range of matters that have included mergers and acquisitions, IPOs and general corporate advice to a range of corporate clients. Alice hopes to incorporate environmental law into her future legal practice.

Prior to forming Punter Southall with Stuart Southall in 1988, Jonathan began his career with Duncan C Fraser and Co in 1978, where he became a Partner within seven years. He has 40 years’ experience in the actuarial profession and particular expertise in UK pensions, investment strategy, pensions in mergers, buy-outs and due diligence deals. A director of several investment companies in London and Dublin, he is also a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Read Jonathan's latest blogs here.

David is the Managing Director of Punter Southall Analytics, co-founding the business in 2016 after several decades of consulting experience in and around the world of financial services. David leads a team of data scientists and investigative researchers focused on identifying corporate malfeasance and quantifying the losses suffered by companies, pension schemes and groups of private individuals. Alongside his specific responsibilities at Analytics, David chairs the Heads of Business forum and is a keen promoter of interdivisional initiatives at Punter Southall.

Outside of work, David can be found at his local rugby club (rarely on the actual pitch), on his bike (which never seems to have enough gears for the hills around Warwickshire) or playing bass guitar in an old fashioned (live alternative to a juke box) ‘wedding band’.

Read David's latest blogs here.

Angus has over 30 years experience in the investment industry, in both the UK and South Africa. Starting his working life as a Stockbroker in Johannesburg, he emigrated to the UK in 1986 and has held a number of senior roles including Chief Executive posts at Sanwa Asset Management, Credit Suisse Asset Management and Sanlam Investment Management.

He also serves as a non-executive director of Sanlam UK and Sanlam Life and Pensions and is Chairman of Nucleus Financial Group.

Lilian specialises in Contentious Regulatory and Investigations for clients across the financial services sector. Her practice covers a broad range of contentious regulatory and advisory issues including internal and regulatory investigations, financial crime, competition, governance, conduct risk issues and supervisory processes including skilled person reviews, remediation programmes, regulatory notifications and perimeter advice.

Email: lilian.small@puntersouthall.law
Mobile: +44 7967 756 402

Stuart Southall co-founded Punter Southall with Jonathan Punter in 1988. Stuart established Punter Southall with Jonathan Punter in 1988; one of the most successful start-ups in the actuarial consultancy market for over 30 years. Punter Southall Governance Services went on to merge with 20-20 Trustees in 2023, to become Vidett.

Having practiced as an Actuary for almost 40 years, Stuart is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries and served as chairman of the Association of Consulting Actuaries 2010-12.

Claire Thorogood is Chief Operating Officer. Since late 2020, Claire has been responsible for the firm’s strategic and operational management of risk and compliance. As such, she ensures that the cornerstones of the firm’s practice – integrity and expertise – are reflected in its systems and processes.    

The firm delivers outstanding outcomes for clients by ensuring that the practice and everyone in it meet the highest standards of professional conduct. Claire designs, implements and monitors processes and business change projects to deliver for clients and meet in full, our obligations to prevent money laundering and financial crime.  

Claire combines her extensive risk management knowledge and expertise with more than 20 years' of contentious and non-contentious experience of advising organisations and individuals on all aspects of the employment relationship (grievance, disciplinary, performance) and in particular, on discrimination and whistleblowing.  

Email: Claire.Thorogood@puntersouthall.law
Mobile: +44 7855 850 777

Charlotte is a Project Manager at Punter Southall Analytics who joined the company in 2022 after completing her degree in English Literature at the University of Bristol. Alongside project planning, she supports the Analytics team with investigative research, collecting information and data to help identify and quantify losses that arise as a result of corporate misconduct.

In her free time Charlotte can be found reading (old classics or detective novels more often than not), watching the F1 with her family or on long country walks when she can get out of London! She loves to travel and hopes one day to have been able to visit all seven continents.

A CIM qualified marketer, Sarah has worked in professional services for nearly 20 years.

As Head of Marketing her role encompasses brand awareness, lead generation and customer retention strategies, working to make the complex world of pensions, retirement, legal and financial services understandable and accessible.

Lukas is a qualified accountant with a background in corporate finance and more than 15 years Wealth Management experience. He was part of the Sanlam team that bought Merchant Investors, becoming CEO of Sanlam Investments and Pensions in 2004. He became CEO of Sanlam UK in July 2008 comprising businesses in financial planning, private clients and investments and pensions. He also served on the boards of Intrinsic Financial Services Limited and Nucleus Financial Group Limited as non-executive director during his tenure at Sanlam until February 2016.

Current interests include private equity investments and Fintech developments.

Adam specialises in corporate matters.  Adam trained and worked in London at two major law firms for over thirty years, where his practice covered corporate work including M&A, private equity, private capital fundraisings and AIM market related matters.

Adam also spent some time working within industry as legal director at a number of private companies, most recently in the renewables sector, where was one of the founder shareholders that acquired and managed a large portfolio of wind turbines, where he oversaw the acquisition and financing activities, including managing external advisers.  He believes his time in industry has given him a better understanding of a clients’ perspective of transactions.

In private practice Adam combined his work as a solicitor with that of law firm management.

Adam advises companies that range from start-ups through to corporate groups; as well as corporate and individual investors on structuring investment.

Adam has held a number of non-executive director roles.

Email: adam.walker@puntersouthall.law
DDI: +44 (0)20 3327 5259

Jacqui is Covenant Lead at Punter Southall Pension Solutions She is a qualified actuary and has specialised in employer covenant related projects since 2006 following a brief spell advising on international pensions issues for a global consultancy in New York. Jacqui has provided employer covenant support to trustees and sponsors in a wide range of circumstances including distressed situations and corporate restructurings. Jacqui is a champion for flexible working having been based in Cornwall for over 15 years. Away from her home office she can usually be found on, or in, the water.