Lawyer
I was for 50 years at the magic circle City of London international law firm Allen & Overy (now A&O Shearman) from 1967 to 2018, most of it as a partner and for about ten years head of the banking department, specializing in international finance. My work mainly involved high value transactions, such as international syndicated credits and international bond issues for sovereign states and corporations, project finance, ship and aircraft finance, rescheduling agreements for sovereign states and bankrupt corporations, and a settlement system for the wholesale foreign exchange market. I was part of a team acting for bondholders on the bankruptcy of Greece in 2012 with outstanding debt of approximately €530 billion.
In 2009 I founded and headed the firm’s Global Law Intelligence Unit which was a think-tank.
Survival Codes
World Law and the Future of Humanity
My latest book is entitled “Survival Codes: World Law and the Future of Humanity,” published in 2025. I believe that this is my most important book by far.
Survival Codes explains that the world's laws are the largest and most comprehensive codes of conduct for survival that humanity has - and what is at stake as that system comes under strain. Written for readers in every discipline, it offers a rare, accessible overview of global law and asks whether our legal structures are strong enough to prevent catastrophe.
The book is obtainable from Amazon and all good bookshops, priced at £35.
Available from Blackwells, Amazon, Browns, Foyles, Hatchards, Hive, TG Jones, Waterstones, leading law bookshop Wildys, and others. ISBN 9781919318837