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Portrait of Nicole Finlayson

Profile

Nicole is a senior knowledge lawyer and is responsible for ensuring that her dispute resolution colleagues stay up to date with new developments in law and practice. This involves dealing with strategic issues such as systems, policies and processes with a view to improving efficiency, managing risk and saving on costs. It also involves drafting precedents and client guides, organising and delivering training, drafting and editing legal articles, legal research and facilitating the sharing of knowledge.

Nicole runs the firm’s dispute resolution training programme and regularly presents training and seminars both within the firm and externally. She has also authored articles for numerous publications including the New Law Journal, Commercial Litigation Journal (in which for three years she co-wrote a regular column), Solicitors Journal, Procurement and Outsourcing Journal and International Bar Association Litigation News. In addition, she drafts and edits many of the commercial dispute resolution team’s publications.

A member of the London Solicitors Litigation Association, the Association of Litigation PSLs and ASK (the association of arbitration PSLs), Nicole is also a certified Legal Project Practitioner. Prior to becoming a knowledge lawyer, Nicole practised as a solicitor for over a decade, managing commercial litigation and international arbitration. She dealt with a broad range of commercial disputes including shareholder, director and partnership disputes, breach of warranty claims, general contractual disputes, supply disputes and contentious insolvency.

Recent work highlights

  • Working with the firm’s risk, costs and document automation specialists to develop, pilot and roll out the firm’s automated contentious letter of engagement.
  • Presenting a two-day induction to the firm’s contentious seat trainees.
  • Co-writing the UK chapter of the 2019 and 2020 Lexology Getting The Deal Through International Guide to Mediation.
  • Drafting a suite of conditional fee agreement (CFA) precedent documents and factsheets, and designing and implementing a new process for the approval and reporting of CFA matters.
  • Drafting and maintaining a range of client guides and fee earner checklists, for example on Part 36, the Disclosure Pilot Scheme, mediation, funding civil litigation and remote hearings.

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC311575 and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP