Jonathan Smith - Managing Partner

Jonathan joined Poppleston Allen at the start of 1997 and has been a partner in the firm since April 2002. He is described in the 2008 Chambers Guide as entering the rankings for his "top drawer advocacy skills" and for "ticking all the right boxes" as a licensing lawyer.

Prior to becoming a licensing specialist, Jonathan practised almost exclusively in commercial law but he is now firmly established as a national licensing advocate, developing a recognised expertise in the field of late-night licensing and reviews of Premise Licences.

He has developed a considerable level of experience in dealing with reviews of Premise Licences and closure orders. Jonathan has dealt with around 40-50 licensing reviews in the last 12 months and, to date, has only had one licence revoked which he then won back on appeal. In one memorable case he took part in a three-day review and ultimately retained the licence despite police application for revocation!

Jonathan regularly speaks at trade conferences for organisations such as the British Consortium of Shopping Centre and provides training on the Licensing Act 2003 and other related legislation to council officers, elected members and police forces. He has an excellent relationship with the local authorities.

Jonathan became Managing Partner of the business at the start of 2006 and is one of the key new business drivers for the firm having attracted County Estate Management, Bourne Leisure, Jarvis Hotels, Little Chef and the House of Fraser as clients.

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Clare Eames, Partner

Clare is the newest member of the team, having joined in January 2007 to head up the London office in Holborn.

Clare has worked with many big pub operators and aims to develop a fresh approach to licensing in the capital.

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