Simon Schmidt

Simon Schmidt has 20 years’ experience in corporate/commercial law, financial services regulation and corporate governance and compliance.

Simon qualified at Cains, a leading Isle of Man commercial firm, before moving to the Middle East where he acted for sovereign wealth funds on a wide range of international investment activity and assisted with the representation of foreign governments in Washington, DC. He was a founder in an investment fund advisory based in Dubai which structured a number of innovative fund products for prominent family groups and a leading investment bank. Returning to legal practice, he was a partner in the Gulf offices of Squire Patton Boggs before establishing his own legal practice focused on start-ups and SMEs in multiple sectors, including fintech, e-commerce, food and prop-tech, and traditional sectors such as power and energy, food and beverage, healthcare and education. While running his own firm, he has also acted as general counsel for a European payments business with government partnerships in South-East Asia.

Permanently back in the UK since mid-2020, Simon has been advising SMEs at various stages of their life-cycle, with all aspects of their business from business set-up and founder arrangements to multiple funding rounds and exit-planning. His clients are generally founder led-start-ups and fast-growing SMEs.

In Simon's words:

“After many years representing large corporates and sovereign institutions, it has been a joy to engage with the real life-blood of any economy – the entrepreneurs and small businesses. These businesses are dynamic and fragile but also driven by passionate and clever people, who in turn act as a magnet for talent. It is incredibly satisfying to engage with such people and businesses and for my advice to be valued and acted upon in a meaningful way.”