After 22 years at the firm, including time as a corporate partner, I now specialise in corporate governance. In 2007-08 I am on sabbatical, working on a directors' duties project. This will address, among many other things, the ongoing Companies Act 2006 changes.

Tel: +44 (0)121 685 2720

Email: simon_graham@wragge.com

Best brains in…

London Stock Exchange and city code regulation. International and UK governance.

Highlight of your career so far?

Applying my legal and MBA skills to acting for the firm in relation to several merger and other strategic proposals. My client was the firm's management committee. These were transformational projects for the firm and I was proud to be involved in them.

Most challenging job you've ever done?

Probably dealing with a hostile bid for a client, which involved sustained effort over half a year. The company that was targeting our client subsequently became a client. Or completing over 20 acquisitions for the same insurance company client to meet ambitious growth targets.

What about outside the UK?

Taking instructions in London and Tel Aviv with a view to floating an Israeli company, XTL Biopharmaceuticals, on the London Stock Exchange. In a very difficult market we raised $50 million for XTL (including an over-allotment option) in a transaction valuing the company at $230 million.

What's your definition of going the extra mile ……. And when have you done it?

In 2004 we were approached by the corporate governance committee of the Commerce & Industry Group to assist its members in the new, harsher corporate governance environment. 'Reconciling the Irreconcilable?', the first ever such guidelines in the UK, was published in 2005. The Commerce & Industry Group is an unincorporated association formed by in-house solicitors for in-house solicitors, recognised by the law society.

Best example of a creative legal solution?

In the 1990's we were engaged by an association of independent retail pharmacists to advise on a significant restructuring. This resulted in its establishing an industrial and provident society. A decade later we took the same organisation, then facing a need for fresh capital, and converted it into a public company. It was later sold in a transaction subject to the city code.

When have you ever given a client a real competitive edge? Or how do you get under the skin of a client business?

In the mid 1990's I took the decision to attend Cranfield to obtain an MBA to better understand business, and to network with future - now current - business leaders.

What's your single greatest contribution to Wragge & Co's corporate responsibility?

In the same month I made my first parachute jump and glider flight for charity (neither activity has yet been repeated...)

What's been written or said about you that you're most proud of?

In the same month (July 2004): Digby Jones was quoted in the observer as saying that the guide to the combined code on corporate governance which I had co-produced with the CBI had proved extraordinarily popular. 'We have never had such a response', he said; and Tim Jennings of IT analyst firm, Butler Group, reported that 'compliance IQ', an online self-assessment compliance tool we co-produced with Cognos 'clearly demonstrates the need to view compliance from a business perspective'. He added, 'I fully expect this self-assessment tool to be readily embraced by a market eager to start work on rationalising the impact of looming compliance initiatives, without necessitating expensive consulting fees'.