Steve Allen, Mills & Reeve

Steve Allen has been head of Mills & Reeve's 235-strong Birmingham office since 2012. In 2015, he was elected president of the British-American Business Council and also sits on the executive committee of the BABC's Midlands chapter. A former Midlands Business Person of the Year finalist, he is an international ambassador for the city of Birmingham, appointed by Marketing Birmingham. He is recognised in the profession as an expert in dispute resolution.

Andrew Beedham, Birmingham Law Society

Andrew Beedham is the president of Birmingham Law Society, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary. He is a corporate partner in the Birmingham office of Clarke Willmott and has 35 years of legal practice experience including ten years running his own firm. He specialises in complex large mergers, acquisitions and corporate finance transactions and also acts as a private business consultant.

David Fennell, Gowling WLG

David Fennell is chief executive of law firm Gowling WLG, formerly Wragge Lawrence Graham and Co, in Birmingham. He was named in the 2015 Hot 100 list compiled by The Lawyer magazine, recognising the UK's standout lawyers shaping the profession. He also serves as co-chair of Gowling WLG's international board. Mr Fennell was appointed to lead the business in 2014 with responsibility for strategy delivery and client services and also to ensure the firm's 2014 merger with Lawrence Graham and subsequent merger with Canadian law firm Gowling delivered maximum benefits. He was previously head of the infrastructure and projects practice.

David Fennell, chief executive of Gowling WLG
David Fennell, chief executive of Gowling WLG

Amardeep Gill, Trowers & Hamlins

Amardeep Gill is managing partner of the Colmore Row office of law firm Trowers & Hamlins. He works in the firm's commercial department and is actively involved in the Smart Cities programme, helping clients with the impact of devolution. Mr Gill specialises in large-scale complex projects in the local authority, outsourcing, PFI, education, regeneration and housing sectors and is a board member of the Colmore Business Improvement District.

Greg Lowson, Pinsent Masons

Greg Lowson is partner and head of office at the Birmingham office of law firm Pinsent Masons. As a senior figure in the litigation and compliance group, he handles some of the firm's largest and most complex litigation. He is a Solicitor Advocate and an accredited mediator and has worked on a wide range of complex cases. He has been a partner with Pinsent Masons since 1991 and its Birmingham office is based in Colmore Circus.

Greg Lowson, head of Pinsent Masons in Birmingham
Greg Lowson, head of Pinsent Masons in Birmingham

Tony McDaid, No5 Barristers' Chambers

Tony McDaid is the longest-serving member of the administration team at No5 Barristers' Chambers, having joined in 1980. He is now chief executive and director of clerking. He is a member of the Institute of Barristers Clerks and became practice director in 1994, with active involvement in the strategic direction of the set. He sits on the ethics committee of the Bar Council and is a council member of Birmingham Law Society and chairman of the society's international committee. Mr McDaid is an executive member of the West Midlands Irish Business Group.

Nigel Poole, Kings Chambers

Nigel Poole QC is a personal injury barrister and head of Kings Chambers. He sits as a Recorder and is chairman of the Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service. He has appeared in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. His blog Learned Friend is popular with the profession and he lectures on human rights and loss of earning capacity. His personal injury work is for claimants and defendants and he has represented many families at inquests and human rights claims.

Nigel Poole, head of Kings Chambers
Nigel Poole, head of Kings Chambers

Andy Raynor, Shakespeare Martineau

Andy Raynor is chief executive of the merged Shakespeare Martineau, the firm formed when Shakespeares and SGH Martineau came together in 2015. The Colmore Square-based firm has nine offices around the UK. It has 400 fee-earners and 300 support staff and turns over more than £70 million a year. Mr Raynor holds executive responsibility for the firm's management and strategy. Before joining the practice, Mr Raynor spent nine years as chief executive of accountancy firm RSM Tenon.

Tariq Sadiq, St Philips Chambers

Tariq Sadiq of St Philips Chambers is an award-winning barrister who specialises in employment law, particularly in commercial, sport and professional discipline disputes. He won Birmingham Law Society's Barrister of the Year award in 2015 and 2013 and was shortlisted in 2014. Mr Sadiq is recognised as a leading employment barrister by Chambers and Partners UK and by the Legal 500. He is chair of the FA's anti-discrimination panel and an arbitrator for Sport Resolutions UK.

Devon Small, Rowchester Chambers

Called to the Bar in 1990, Devon Small is a criminal barrister in Birmingham's Rowchester Chambers. His specialist areas are prison law and human rights. He started his legal career as a senior prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service but is now mainly instructed in defence work in the Crown Court and Court of Appeal covering the full range of criminal offences.

Michael Ward, Gateley

Gateley chief executive and partner Michael Ward made legal history in 2015 when his firm floated on the AIM market at the London Stock Exchange in an IPO which raised £30 million. With more than 25 years of experience as a corporate lawyer, he leads a firm with 11 offices in three countries and a headcount of more than 600 and has increased the firm's profits and turnover. He was the 2014 Law Society Gazette Legal Personality of the Year. Black Country born, he is a keen supporter of the arts in the region. He is a past president of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and a member of Edgbaston Golf Club.