Shekhar is the CEO of rising law firm, Philip Jones Legal, which specialises in Corporate and Commercial law. “In this area of the legal field,” he shared, “lawyers play a key role in business transactions – whether it is an acquisition wherein one company is buying another or providing services to the public, or supplying goods, the processes are governed by Acts of Parliament such as the Companies Act 2006 and the agreements in place between the parties.”
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Shekhar attended Said Business School of Oxford University and holds a degree in Classical Studies from the University of Manchester which he told us: “taught him the significance of the rule of the law as well as rhetoric, public speaking and political philosophy as the original context.” Interestingly, his enterprise helps explicitly enable wider business while defending the rights of small and medium-sized businesses: “in this sense we facilitate entrepreneurship,” he continued. “A lot of the time bigger companies or multinationals are in an advantageous position when entering into an agreement with a sole trader or smaller business owner. We try to protect the commercial interests of the latter by advising on complex legal contracts and pushing for favourable terms.” A current case involves negotiating on behalf of a tech company who is providing product to one of the biggest investment banks in the US.
Shekhar was born in Camden Town and grew up in North London, East Finchley, aiming to pursue law from a young age: “My family actually wanted me to be a doctor and bought me a medical dictionary when I was growing up, but I was especially good at English literature where I knew I wanted to enter the legal profession early on.” Indeed, the sparky solicitor has come a long way without reneging on his roots. Having opened a successful South-Asian firm of his own, he champions the idea that law is a vast area that can enforce a certain degree of social progress: “The legal system affects every aspect of society whether it is a proprietorial, constitutional, commercial or criminal – obviously with the latter you are making sure that society stays civilised and so on. There is multiplicity where one may choose where to specialise and follow a certain career path to make a civic impact. This is what’s attractive about the profession.”
However, the industry also poses unique challenges: especially the intensely high-pressure world of entrepreneurial law. Philip Jones Legal, for example, deals predominantly with corporate law but has a department specialising in arbitration and mediation which involves representation during difficult business disputes. This means the work is potentially contentious and high-risk which can additionally push the prices of insurance up. Indeed, Shekhar’s other associated departments include Digital Assets which involves propelling the controversial phenomenon of cryptocurrency by fighting for avant-garde emerging business within that sector, and a growing team in Immigration & Asylum for which he has recently been awarded a Legal Aid contract by the UK Government. Shekhar shared: “Ultimately, we are dealing in corporate rather than adversarial law and not necessarily fighting one another in the typical sense: we are Officers of the Court pushing for greater decorum while pushing our clients’ objectives. We are often protecting smaller businesses from being exploited and supporting healthy business. However, even in disputes, it is advisable to attempt negotiation before entering the courtroom.”
This is valuable advice, especially regarding respecting the strict regulation to which commercial law is generally subject. Shekhar’s ethos then foremost is to be a foothold for commercial equality. Indeed, this includes the internal management of finances which is conducted evenly for the steady advancement of the just business: “In terms of dealing with costs, I advise that one keeps substantial excess funds in the office account as there will always be unexpected overheads and fees to take care of.” Philip Jones Legal is further based in Hatch-End and thrives as a regional law firm: “We chose to physically re-locate out here. The biggest perk of having your base in the City is that you have international clients, but we can organically access this through our networks. My family is originally from Uganda and there is a big community of East-African Indians who live locally whom we are proud to represent. Wherever you are in the world, South-Asian business savvy is second to none!” Shekhar went on to comment on the wider issue of cultural representation:
“Most of the judiciary, from senior lawyers or the King’s Council to the judges, have also been incredibly welcoming – it is an established idea that there are many top BAME lawyers and firms. However in terms of diversity at the very top, there is perhaps a way to go: none of the top twelve judges in the country are of South-Asian or minority descent and there are only two women. Inclusivity in that sense could be better. ”Shekhar has prior worked for large law firms but created Philip Jones Legal so that the enterprise could be bespoke, providing quality of service with a highly skilled team who could allocate more time to respective cases: “During my time working at bigger names I noticed that lawyers were dealing with hundreds of cases and inevitably the attention given to individual clients suffered. My workforce comprises of top legal experts who can work intently on strategies.” Finally, not only does Shekhar demonstrate the philosophy of fairness that law is meant to represent but also that of accessibility to the legal system which ultimately preserves that paradigm. He aptly concluded on an aspect of law that may seem obvious but is often overlooked: “From the running of a business to individual rights and discrimination and social working at large, it is important to understand that the rules of law often still apply even if the parties involved have not formally acknowledged them.” Even in the inherently profitable world of commercial law, navigating this effectively is a pivotal step.