Appointment sees partners meet up again at Clarion

A newly appointed partner at a law firm is hoping the rekindling of his partnership with the head of commercial and IT law division will help achieve growth.
David Cunningham, in the foreground, has been appointed partner at Clarion.David Cunningham, in the foreground, has been appointed partner at Clarion.
David Cunningham, in the foreground, has been appointed partner at Clarion.

David Cunningham has been appointed as a partner to the commercial and IT law team at Leeds-based Clarion. He will be reunited with partner Matthew Hattersley who leads Clarion’s commercial law team.

Mr Cunningham, who has 15 years’ experience in commercial law, said one of the things that made the move attractive was his previous working relationship with Mr Hattersley.

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He said: “I know Matthew very well. We used to work together at Eversheds. We were part of the commercial team at Eversheds a number of years ago. He moved to Clarion, I moved to Bond Dickinson. I think it’s building on that.

“Getting the traction that we had at Eversheds and the traction that Matthew’s got here, helping him deliver an even better client experience.”

But its not just his understanding with Mr Hattersley that swayed Mr Cunningham. He said that the work that the team at Clarion does was also a factor.

He added: “We’ve got some fantastic clients. Clients that I would be very happy working with anywhere and I think there is the ability to develop business. It’s very entrepreneurial in its approach and it’s a very positive working environment.”

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Looking ahead to changes in the sector, Mr Cunningham said that cloud computing is a factor that is likely to come to the fore in IT law, as the likes of Microsoft and Apple develop their offering.

He added that once the big players sort out the privacy concerns, every business will be using cloud computing.

“That means for IT lawyers we’ll have to be aware, have a bit more technical knowledge when dealing with clients,” he said.

Mr Cunningham’s 15-year career has seen him travel to India to negotiate with one of the biggest employers in the country. An experience which Mr Cunningham describes as enormous.

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“Certainly culturally getting to grips with negotiations, with an Indian business, is very different to what I’ve been used to over the years in England,” he said.

Mr Hattersley said:“With his extensive experience in commercial law as well as his specialism in IT, David’s skills perfectly complement Clarion’s expertise and he will be a fantastic asset to the team.”

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