Gill Stevenson Email & Phone Number

Nottingham, England, United Kingdom

Although initially a regional auction house operating from one site, John Pye & Sons saw an opportunity in what was a fragmented, niche market. It launched a development program in 2003 to establish itself as the UK’s leading brand name in auctions for the public to purchase everyday items at bargain prices. The company engaged with retail PLCs to offer more everyday offerings at auction, such as electronics and home and garden stock. These consumer focussed items now make up over 60% of our client portfolio.John Pye & Sons continued its expansion into new asset and market sectors to widen both client and buyer bases and avoid overexposure to one market type. Today, John Pye & Sons is primarily a B2B business for vendors of stock and assets and a B2B and B2C business for end users.The company’s first shift in 2007, from live traditional auctions to 24-hour timed online auctions has resulted in a significant increase in end users, all of which have access to our auctions from anywhere in the world.In 2023, this evolution led to a peak of over 2,900,000 monthly website visits and with more than 800,000 active bidding accounts accessing over 60 online and physical salerooms, we are committed to further enhancing and expanding upon these achievements. This increased vendor and customer base is supported by our network of premises with five UK sites and our first mainland Europe site in Zaragoza, Spain. We currently have over 1,000,000 square feet of secure, indoor sales space to support the needs of our vendors which means they can free up valuable storage space and in turn release revenue from their surplus items.

Rushcliffe

Nottingham, England, United Kingdom

Yü Energy was built with a mission to shake up the UK business energy market, offering businesses innovative energy solutions that help save time and money. Yü takes a forward-thinking approach, and strives to support businesses across the UK as they grow and develop. Alongside business gas, electricity and water plans, we offer sustainable energy solutions, EV charging, smart meter installation and more. We offer 100% Green Electricity and Carbon-Neutral Gas plans. First Head of Legal in the organisation meaning that I set up the legal function from scratch. This has involved building great relationships across the business and becoming a trusted go-to advisor. Educating the business about the contracting process. Co-ordination of regulatory compliance. Keeping the business up to date on changes in law and regulation. Ensuring Company Secretarial compliance for Yu Group plc, including organising the AGM. I’ve changed the Group structure in line with ongoing needs, produced accurate PSC registers and maintained Statutory Books• I have been involved in Company Secretarial compliance, including organisation of the PLC AGM, drafting the resolutions for the Notice of AGM, Board Minutes and ensuring compliance with AIM rules.• As sole in-house Counsel, I am responsible for drafting & review of all supplier and customer contracts. I advised Directors on the impact of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and other changes in legislation and case law. This includes drafting and training on appropriate policies. • I have advised on IP matters. • I’ve handled disputes and injunctions from customers and suppliers, using external lawyers where appropriate.• I’ve worked to improve GDPR compliance including giving advice as well as setting up a SAR process.• I’ve worked on bespoke energy products to help deliver growth of the business.• Put intra-group loans in place and worked on a transformational new hedging facility.

Derby, United Kingdom

Bionical Solutions provides clinical, commercial and digital services to life sciences companies in the UK and US. Bionical is committed to improving patient outcomes by delivering better access to medicines, improving patient adherence with prescribed treatments and providing healthcare professionals with unique tools to enhance patient communication.• Whilst I was at Bionical it went from having around 150 UK employees in April 2020 to over 700 in July 2020. This made it amongst the biggest providers of nursing in the home in the UK. • Many of the contracts that I was involved in related to anti-body and anti-gen Covid-19 testing. These required a fast-paced and pragmatic approach.• As sole in-house Counsel, I was responsible for drafting & review of all supplier and customer contracts and maintaining the contracts register. I placed the insurance and advised on IP matters. I advised Directors on the impact of new Legislation, Regulation and case law, including drafting appropriate policies such as Modern Slavery. I worked closely with the HR team and Quality team across Employment law issues and compliance, including supporting during a CQC inspection. I was involved in drafting policies and working to improve our Environmental, Social and Governance compliance.

Syston, Leicestershire, United Kingdom

Dunelm is the UK’s No. 1 Homewares retailer offering over 26,000 quality products across more than 28 different departments both online and in over 160 out of town superstores. • Working alongside the Company Secretary dealing with the integration of Kiddicare, Worldstores and Achica, following the acquisition in November 2016.• Supporting the business in drafting, negotiation and review of a wide range of commercial contracts; approval of marketing materials; management of disputes; Regulatory Compliance including GDPR, Bribery Act and Competition Law• Keeping the business up to date on changes in Legislation.

Hinckley, Leicestershire

I was responsible for the provision of Legal Advice to Brantano & Jones Bootmaker, ensuring the effective identification and management of contractual, regulatory and other legal risks, whether they are statutory or commercial.Responsibilities include:Legal and Commercial- Drafting and vetting of legal agreements- Maintaining the Contracts Register - General commercial advice, including disputes - Liaison with solicitors and other third parties Trade Marks & other IPR- Advising on the Company’s trademarks and liaising with group personnel and trademark agents as required.- General IP advice including concerning copyright, design rights, registered and unregistered trademarks and the handling of disputes- Liaison with solicitors and other third parties.Insurance administration - Insurance administration, including reviewing policy requirements & policy renewals - Claim administration in the UK – both as claimant & defendant. - Co-ordination of group policies- Liaison with brokers.General Compliance- Company secretarial compliance, including maintenance of statutory registers, Companies House forms and changes in corporate structure- Data protection notifications & GDPR compliance - Vetting advertising and marketing communications to ensure compliance with consumer protection and e:commerce laws.- Compliance with Bribery Act, including policies, training & due diligence.- Competition Law compliance & trainingEmployment - Advising on all aspects of employment law and impact on the Company both in general terms and in specific cases. - Assistance in drafting new and revised company policies and procedures to comply with law and meet company needs. - Handling of tribunal claims.Packaging Waste and other environmental law compliance.Co-ordination of Business Continuity Plan.Advising Directors on new legislation, case law updates and the impact on the business.Any ad hoc projects and other tasks as requested by the Directors.

Nottingham, United Kingdom

I managed the Legal Team, ensuring that it operated within budget. I grew the team from 1 Solicitor to 4 Solicitors and IP Assistant and raised the profile to a go-to team operating globally meeting all the business legal needs. I introduced a case management system. I was responsible for the Product Archive of 30 years of products. I gave training on Legal Professional Privilege, Intellectual Property, contract law and Dawn Raid preparation.I was involved in negotiation, drafting and ensuring compliance with Licences with Warner Bros and Tolkien Enterprises for the rights to use Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit novel and movie IP.I advised the business and created policies to ensure protection for trademarks, copyright, patents, domain names in various territories. I carried out trademark searches and advised on the use of ©, TM and ®. I was responsible for sending Cease and Desist Letters, removed auctions from Ebay and DMCA reports and recovered domain names from Cyber-Squatters. Using local lawyers pursued counterfeiters and copyright/trademark infringers globally through court action and local enforcement authorities with success in the UK, Argentina, Spain, China, and a number of cases in the US, including spending 2 weeks attending a trial of a case in Chicago in June 2013.Negotiated successful outcomes in a variety of commercial disputes in many territories, including negotiating with Trading Standards in the UK, to avoid product recalls. I worked with the Credit Control teams in the sales businesses to improve the success of debt collection and gave insolvency advice. Closely involved in the compliance and in particular reviewing and advising upon policies for handling dawn raids, subject access requests, data protection, disaster recovery, bribery & corruption, immigration, employment and product safety. Advised on sale of age-restricted and hazardous products, Distance Selling Regulations (and local equivalents), product safety and labeling.

Nottingham, United Kingdom

I handled my own varied caseload with a broad client base as well as supervising members of the debts and litigation teams. My contract and business disputes caseload had an agricultural bias together with personal and commercial insolvency advice. I was involved in presenting seminars and writing articles for newsletters.

Nottingham, United Kingdom

I taught Civil Litigation to Level 3 ILEX Students on the Part Time course.

Nottingham, United Kingdom

I handled my own varied caseload with a broad client base as well as assisting other members of the team. My caseload included: professional negligence claims against Solicitors, civil actions against the Police, contentious insolvency advice, Directors Disqualification Proceedings, contract and business disputes including actions against an insurance broker, a Trade union, Intellectual property matters, agency disputes, defamation claims. I acted for a Claimant in a successful £1.2m claim in the Commercial Court against a Credit Insurance Company and successfully pursued another insurance company through the Financial Ombudsman scheme.Reported Cases:Moore Large v Hermes Credit [2003] EWHC 26 (Comm Ct) Sarayiah v Suren & Others [2004] All ER (D) 62 (Sep)Joinder of parties after expiration of the limitation period - CPR r.19.5(2)(b) - wording of Part 19 inconsistent with s.32A Limitation Act 1980 - matter for the Rules Committee - cited in the White Book (CPR 23.10.2)

Manchester, United Kingdom

I worked with a Partner on a number of matters. These included:A claim against a Factoring Company for losses caused by the withdrawal of credit putting the client out of business, while disputing the claim for unpaid charges. I assisted in a trial involving compromise of a cohabitation/pre-nuptial agreement including making an Application for documents to be deemed inadmissible.

Derby, United Kingdom

The majority of my workload was dealing with cases for Pendragon plc and its subsidiaries. This included working from their offices dealing with litigation one day a week. Many involved Part 20 Claims against lease hire or warranty companies and manufacturers including: cases involving conversion; Actions involving the accidental sale of personal registration plates; Actions where stolen or ‘clocked’ vehicles were part-exchanged; Actions against customers for failing to return courtesy vehicles. I successfully represented Midland Main Line Limited in an action for an injunction and committal of a persistent and aggressive fare-dodger.

Peterborough, United Kingdom

I did 4 seats each of 6 months in Construction Litigation, Commercial & Residential Property, Personal Injury Housing Law/Commercial Litigation. I also supported a Partner in Criminal Prosecutions for the RSPCA.

Manchester, United Kingdom

I assisted the Partner and Associate preparing for and attending 6 trials in a 6 month period.

Manchester, United Kingdom

Assisted Partners in a wide variety of matters including Construction Litigation, Commercial Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation.

Horwich, Bolton

Supported the Company Solicitor in Litigation, Company Secretarial work, Employment Law and a large focus on Debt Recovery.

Llb (Hons), Law

4 A Levels: General Studies (A); Sociology (B); History (C); Psychology (E)

Activities and Societies: Active member of the College Council.

8 O Levels Including Maths And English