Partner
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John.Gould@russell-cooke.co.uk
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John is Senior Partner of Russell-Cooke.
John's area of particular expertise is regulation and public law. He specialises in the analysis and solution of complex regulatory problems, advising regulators, government departments, law enforcement agencies and statutory and professional bodies. Chambers (2008-2011) has described him as "an important figure", "highly intelligent and innovative" with "unsurpassed knowledge of regulatory powers", "particularly apt at handling complex and sensitive matters", "very bright indeed; very thoughtful".
He has elicited praise for his client care skills, with Legal 500 (2012) commenting that he is 'good with clients'. Chambers 2012 state that he is singled out as being "pragmatic, easy to deal with and responsive to urgent issues". He "always takes a very broad look, takes all surrounding issues into account. He's very knowledgeable on regulatory and professional body issues. He can bring all this background knowledge into use when giving advice". (Chambers 2013).
John has acted in over 30 reported cases, some of which established particularly important legal precedents. He has acted in several hundred matters for the solicitors' profession's own regulator since 1987. Many of these cases have had a high profile.
Other cases in the higher courts have included such varied issues as the meaning of discrepancy in letters of credit; the margin of non-negligent error in commercial property valuations; the relationship between private and public law; the status of employment contracts upon the dissolution of a partnership, the principles for distribution of a deficient investment fund; the limits to the entitlements of wrongdoers to assets and the application of policies to decisions by public bodies. Recently he has acted in the British Bankers Association v the FSA and the FOS which related to principle based regulation and was listed by "The Lawyer Magazine" as one of the ten most important cases to be heard in 2011.
One of John's particular areas of interest is complex financial schemes. He has played a leading part in investigations relating to investment, tax and pension schemes, international financial frauds, money laundering, organised criminality and the corruption of public officials. He has been appointed as an "expert person" under FSMA, a court appointed partnership receiver and a court appointed supervisor of search and freezing orders. He has advised and served as an expert witness for, among others, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the Magistrates Association (MA) and the Financial Ombudsman Service in a variety of courts and tribunals including the Old Bailey. He is authorised by the FSA to wind up unauthorised collective investment schemes. He holds rights of audience in the higher civil courts.
John provides advice on and drafts legal structures, statutory powers, royal charters and professional rules, and advises on the implementation of European directives in the UK. He is Board Solicitor to the Architects Registration Board. He prepares independent reports on governance and related issues for public sector organizations. He has advised more than 40 sets of barristers' chambers on structures, mergers and disputes, and has advised in relation to political donations and expenses at the highest level. Many of his cases have attracted significant media interest.
John has long-standing experience of issues relating to legal practice, including financial systems and mergers and acquisitions. He has led the Senior Management Team at Russell-Cooke for more than twenty years.
John studied law at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge where he was awarded an Evan Lewis Thomas Law Studentship. He trained at Russell-Cooke and has been a Partner since 1982. He is a former Governor and Vice Chair of the University of Greenwich and served as Chair of both the Strategy and Audit Committees.
John is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
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