Nigel Knowles

Sir Nigel is Group CEO (having previously served as Chairman of the Group from September 2017 to May 2020).

He spent over 38 years at DLA Piper, a global law firm, where he was Global Co-Chairman and Senior Partner, and, previously, Global Co-CEO and Managing Partner from 1996 to 2015. During his tenure as leader of DLA Piper and its legacy firms, revenues of DLA Piper grew from £52 million to in excess of £1.5 billion.

Sir Nigel received a knighthood in 2009 in recognition of his services to the legal industry. In 2015, he was awarded the Legal Business “Outstanding Individual Achievement Award” and in 2016 the Financial News “Editor’s Choice” award.

Sir Nigel holds an LLB degree from the University of Sheffield and a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law, Chester. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Sheffield and is a Fellow of Harris Manchester College Oxford.

Sir Nigel was admitted as a solicitor by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 1980 and is a registered foreign lawyer with the Law Society of Scotland.