JP is a corporate and commercial lawyer with a wealth of knowledge gained from his time in private practice and general counsel roles. Advising on a range of legal issues faced by businesses including cyber security, fraud investigations and regulation, he is recognised as one of Northern Irelands leading lawyers and was requested by the Irish Prime Minister to participate in his Civic Forum of industry specialists discussing the impact of Brexit.
During his career JP has acted for many household names including General Electric, Coca Cola, Helical Bar, Translink Group, Hammerson PLC, the NI Utility Regulator, and Pfizer.
JP also serves as a non-executive director for a small number of organisations where he has piloted and enhanced modern corporate governance and risk management practices.
- Commercial contracts
- Procurement
- Event management and sponsorship
- Franchise agreements
- Service and supply agreements
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Corporate restructures
- Asset disposals and business divestments
- Capital raising through equity and debt including bonds and loan notes
- Shareholder disputes
- Special purpose vehicles (SPVs)
- Ring-fencing
- Data transfer
- CCTV and subject access requests
- Cyber protection (including phishing and hacking testing)
- Privacy impacts assessments, freedom of information handling, and information governance toolkits
- GDPR data breach/disaster recovery assistance
- White-collar crime
- Bank mandate frauds
- Bribery Act implementation plans
- Whistleblowing investigations and fraud investigations using forensic tools and data analytics
- Cloud-hosting legal issues
- Telecoms service agreements
- Firmware-hardware-software licensing
- Intellectual property issues and proprietary usage rights
- Interface hotspots and systems integration issues
- Social media platforms and resulting disputes
- Online terms and conditions of business and e-commerce
Commercial
- Designed transport-services, sponsorship, and supply agreements for the 2012 London Olympic Games, the 2013 G8 Summit in Fermanagh, the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and successive Irish Open golf tournaments in 2016 and 2017
- Chief legal advisor on all legal, contractual, and funding arrangements for a new £200 million Belfast Transport Hub and the pioneering hybrid-electric Belfast Rapid Transit project worth £90 million+ (2016 and 2017)
- Jointly designed the commercial agreements underpinning the Single Electricity Market for Northern Ireland and Ireland, and then successfully defended the new market and the Regulator from attack by a US power generator in a case worth £260 million (one of the highest-valued contract disputes ever in a Northern Ireland court)
- Conducted a six-month Brexit review of commercial contracts, international/cross-border trade agreements, Brexit-related force-majeure and currency-exposure clauses for a client with daily cross-border operations impacted by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU
- Advised on over 400 procurement processes and tenders, mainly for the awarding authority but also for the bidder. Also assisted two client corporations in gaining accreditation and re-accreditation as two of only seven Centres of Procurement Excellence throughout Northern Ireland.
Corporate
- Undertook a corporate restructure of the Northern Ireland Railways group (redesigning its infrastructure business and rail operations business in 2015). Also advised NIR on its £105 million joint venture with Spanish rolling stock company CAF (2016/17)
- Advised the energy regulator on Arcapita’s demerger and securitisation transactions involving Viridian plc and its (then) networks business Northern Ireland Electricity. Also advised the regulator on the 2009/10 purchase of the Northern Irish System Operator (SONI) by Irish state-company Eirgrid
- Created several corporate governance handbooks, redesigned company constitutions and articles of association, and advised the Institute of Directors Northern Ireland risk group on best practice in risk management, audit, and assurance frameworks as part of packaged in-house/company secretariat services
- Transacted over £50 million of ISDA hedged deals by negotiating and closing deals with several investment banks and brokers since 2012
- Project-managed deal rooms in corporate transactions, negotiated share purchase agreements and security documents, executed restricted stock conversions and disposals, drafted warranties and guarantees, and controlled e-discovery systems and due diligence for large corporates (such as Dynegy, Investec Bank, Mutual Energy, and UTV Media plc)
Data Protection
- Held the most senior data-protection position as Chief Information Officer (SIRO) for eight companies in Translink’s Group
- Advised on data/privacy implications for a £20 million+ project to roll out 9,500 new CCTV cameras/recorders in 2017, including privacy impact assessment and right to be forgotten
- Co-hosted and provided General Data Protection Regulation training for client staff alongside the regional Information Commissioner for Northern Ireland
- Designed data security breach protocols and “dawn-raid / dawn-breach” scenario models for public sector and utility clients to use in the event of data-leaks / perimeter breaches
- Advised on over 300 data subject access requests, social media postings, freedom of information requests, environmental information requests, and privacy impact assessments
Fraud and Financial Crime
- Conducted over 12 forensic investigations into potential frauds, suspicious contract management and potential corrupt payments involving third-party suppliers (tracking IP addresses and other detection techniques)
- Led a two-year programme and a team of more than 120 employees in designing and implementing a Bribery Act 2010 strategy from 2011 to 2013. Successfully installed several anti-corruption checks and safety nets to benefit managers of a large multi-disciplinary group with geographically remote and cross-border outposts
- Chaired Translink’s Fraud Oversight Board for three years and prior to that installed and tested the Northern Ireland Utility Regulator’s Anti-fraud response plan.
- Advised on a range of potential frauds and malfeasance cases, from computer misuses, expenses and hospitality breaches, to accounting irregularities, and doctored invoices and payment disaggregation
Technology
- Negotiated technology contracts on behalf of clients with Microsoft, Ingenico, Parkeon and BT in relation to security-key disputes for use of proprietary software and access codes
- Advised several local start-ups and new businesses on corporate structure, online terms and conditions, e-commerce and funding injections
- Led the legal strategy for client undertaking a £50 million smart ticketing system including programming and coding rights, new contracts with suppliers and new terms for customers
- Advised a utility client on improvements to its cyber maturity assessment, which includes its technology agreements, business continuity plans and support-desk services
- Sat on a PCI (payment card industry) steering group between 2015 and 2017 and advised the client on its legal agreements with its acquirer bank, its online payment platform, and obligations toward mobile customers
- For Northern Ireland Railways and Ulsterbus, guided the secure implementation of a new £10 million+ Wi-Fi service agreement with a communications provider, including insertion of back-to-back controls and restrictions on users via a bespoke user agreement.
Invited by the Irish Prime Minister to join his Civic Forum on Brexit – and has been engaged as a public speaker at a growing number of events to provide commercial legal analysis on the business impacts of Brexit (by the Institute of Directors, senior Whitehall officials, Civil Litigation Association, Northern Ireland Water, Accordia Business Network, and the Government Legal Service) – 2016 and 2017
Awarded Merit in the CIPFA Certificate in Corporate Governance (2011)
Affiliate member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators
Appointed as Non-Executive by the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister and other senior officials to the Boards/Committees of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Northern Ireland Public Service Ombudsman, and the Commissioner for Children and Young People
| 2017 | Keystone Law (NI) | Director |
| 2014 | Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Northern Ireland Public Service Ombudsman, NI Children and Young People's Commissioner | Non-Executive Member |
| 2010 - 2017 | Translink Group | General Counsel & Company Secretary |
| 2006 - 2010 | NI Utility Regulator/Energy Regulator | Legal Director |
| 2004 | Qualified as a solicitor in Northern Ireland |
| 2004 - 2006 | Arthur Cox/Pinsent Masons (collaboration on PFI/PPP Projects) | Corporate Lawyer |
| 2003 | Qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales |
| 2001 - 2004 | Clifford Chance LLP | Corporate Lawyer |