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Home Key PeoplePhil Riman
Phil Riman
Partner, Venture Capital Team
T: +44 (0) 845 201 3142
M: +44 (0) 7824 505194
Click here to listen to Phil's views on venture capital termsheets, click here to watch Phil discuss the key lessons for a management buy-out team and click here for Phil's thoughts on confidentiality agreements.
What drives your passion for corporate and technology law?
I’ve always been interested in the world of business and commerce. Even as a child, I would organise annual fund-raising events for charity and each year’s event would have to be bigger and better than the previous one. By the time I was twelve the event had become a sort of village fete with competitions, stalls and refreshments and I’d co-opted half the village to work for me. I think this ignited my interest in helping to build growing businesses. I’ve set up a number of businesses of my own since then.
I’d often been told that I should consider a career in the law but it was only when I saw at first hand how lawyers can help businesses to grow that I realised it was something I wanted to do professionally. That led me to use the profits from my first venture to finance my law studies. Today, I try to combine my love of the business world with my fascination with the law. I’m intrigued by the interaction between the law and the corporate world and in particular by the development of English law to adapt to the world of high-technology. I also have the immense privilege to run our firm and I consider myself very fortunate to love my work.
What are your specialist areas?
I specialise in corporate, technology and venture capital law. I’m told that I have built a national reputation, particularly in the field of venture capital, where I’m delighted to be ranked by Chambers as one of the top lawyers in the UK in the ‘private equity: venture capital investment’ category.
I’m passionate about my work and enjoy advising a wide range of clients. I find that my interest stems from the circumstances of my clients (and sometimes helping them to navigate out of these circumstances!) rather than their size or importance. As a result I advise clients of all shapes and sizes from start-up companies to multi-national corporations, charities, banks and other investors, notably a number of venture capital and private equity funds.
How has your law career developed?
I began my legal career in the early 1990s, working on mid-market mergers and acquisitions, and advised on deals such as the MBOs of Autosigns, Watling JCB and Turners of Soham and the merger of Worldfresh with Redbridge Holdings plc. I joined Edge Ellison (now Squire Sanders and previously Hammonds) in 1996 and advised companies such as Leslie Wise plc, Focus Group, Ideal Loisirs, Weetabix, Interflora and Mettler-Toledo on mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance.
In the late 90’s, I joined 3i Group, one of the world's leading venture capital and private equity funds, as in-house legal counsel, working in the US and also in the UK. During my time at 3i, I advised on fund-formations, flotations, UK and US start-ups and over 100 deals across the whole range of corporate transactions. In 2000, I was a lead adviser on the £200m + merger of German-listed Telesens AG and Kingston SCL. In May of the same year, I advised on the London Stock Exchange listings of Weston Medical, Pharmagene and Actinic and then went on to act for the major institutional investor on the sale of Bradford Particle Design plc for more than $200m to Inhale Therapeutic Systems Inc.
In 2003, I became head of corporate, technology and finance at an Oxford based regional law firm, advising a number of venture capital and private equity-backed companies particularly those in the IT and web-based industries.
As Managing Partner at White & Black, my work has included advising an investor on the buy-out of the Musto Clothing Group in 2007 (led by Phoenix Equity Partners), the £15m refinancing of a London-based procurement business, the acquisition of the assets of Zarlink Semiconductor for a French semi-conductor group, numerous start-ups, spin-outs and early stage technology company financings. I’ve advised a number of international clients including the Norwegian bottled water company, Isklar AS, the French internet phenomenons Sarenza SA and Groupe Photoways. Today, much of my work is for high-tech clients and combines the application of corporate and technology law.
Tell us about your business knowledge and experience
As I said earlier, I’ve had an interest in the world of business since I was a child when I ran small events for charity. At school, I was MD of our Young Enterprise company where I learnt how not to manage people! I’ve set up a number of businesses, including White & Black in 2007, and was a winner of a Livewire business award after leaving University. As a lawyer, I spent five years as in-house counsel at 3i, where I gained invaluable experience and firsthand knowledge of the legal and commercial issues facing both entrepreneurs and investors. I worked in both the UK and the US and I know that the experience of working in Silicon Valley had an enormous impact on my outlook on business. I am currently a non-executive director of a group of technology companies and Managing Partner of White & Black.
What does client service mean to you?
Rather surprisingly for a client orientated profession, very few lawyers seem to appreciate that everything we do should be focussed on our clients and the service we provide them. I expect to be judged by my clients for the quality of my advice and for the service I offer them. For me, client service is about providing my clients with the best possible advice, translated into a language they can readily understand and differentiated by its relevance to their own business. If I can’t do that, I think I should hang up my boots.
What is your most significant achievement?
In business, I’d have to say that founding White & Black and building it into a successful, nationally recognised leader in technology law has been the most rewarding experience for me. Funnily enough, the most enjoyable aspect of this has been watching the team grow and mature in confidence and ability and in becoming a job and wealth creator. To have done this in spite of the deep economic recession has been particularly rewarding.
International experience
At 3i, I worked in the USA in both Boston and Silicon Valley. At White & Black, around 30% of my work is for international clients based throughout Europe and North America.
What are your hobbies and interests?
I love sport, particularly cricket, rugby and football. I’m a long standing fan of Liverpool FC and am pleased that my two sons are following in their father’s footsteps in this regard. My wife continues to try to inspire me to ever greater achievements in the field of DIY and I also enjoy running, swimming, cycling and listening to blues music.
