Freeths continues to expand commercial offering with strategic hire 

National leading law firm Freeths has bolstered support for business clients with the appointment of leading Commercial and Technology Consultant Mark Lumley. He joins from Knights plc. 

Mark has more than 25 years’ legal experience supporting a wide range of businesses nationally and, in particular, the Leeds and Yorkshire market. His breadth of knowledge and capability is widely recognised and in prior roles Mark was a Legal 500 recommended Lawyer across the three related areas of IT, Commercial and Regulatory work. 

Mark has extensive expertise in negotiating complex commercial contracts, business risk management and strategy, implementation of technology projects, data protection, digital competition issues and in assisting businesses undergoing business process and digital transformation across numerous sectors including distribution, transport, travel management, insurance and financial services, software and technology.  

Having acted as a leading lawyer in some of the largest commercial procurement and technology matters in the travel sector, Mark regularly helps clients secure long term lucrative relationships. He has also acted in high profile engagements in regulated insurance and financial services matters supporting clients in their successful delivery of complex software services to organisations such as the Lloyds Insurance Market, HM Government and major clearing banks. 

At Freeths, Mark will supplement the 40 strong national Commercial team providing in-depth knowledge and understanding of business risk management, business regulatory obligations and business process management.

Freeths continues its impressive growth nationally and has bolstered its offering across all practices with the recent Partner hires of Roger Gough joining the Commercial team in Sheffield from DLA Piper, Private Funds Partner George Metcalfe, Dispute Resolution Partner Nick Sutton, Family Law Partner Gavin Scott and Intellectual Property Partner Martin Noble.

Iain Bowler, National Head of Commercial at Freeths, said: “I am delighted to welcome Mark to the Freeths’ Commercial team.  Mark is a highly rated commercial and tech lawyer with huge experience advising on commercial and IT agreements of all types.  He is well known and very well respected in the Leeds and Yorkshire market and beyond.  I am very happy that Mark has joined our fast-growing Northern Commercial practice.  Along with Roger Gough who also joined the Commercial team in Sheffield this month, Mark and Roger’s appointments underpin our intention to become a regional heavyweight in Commercial law in Yorkshire over the next two to three years.”   

Mark Lumley added: “I am thrilled to take up this new role at Freeths at such an exciting time in the expansion of the excellent nationally recognised Freeths Commercial team. I look forward to working with John May, Freeths Managing Partner for the North, and with Iain Bowler, Roger Gough and the Commercial team regionally and nationally. I also look forward to contributing to the development of services to support business clients manage their businesses and meet legal requirements effectively in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world.”