Brandon Leigh Gillard-Bunting
Blandford Forum,Dorset
Summary
Corporate focused trainee solicitor with experience across M&A (SPAs, APAs, ancillary documents), corporate finance (facility agreements, debentures, charges), commercial contracts, and contentious
IP matters. Strong drafting ability, proactive file ownership and a track record of adding measurable
value including identifying a £500,000+ tax efficient restructuring opportunity on a major
transaction.
Overview
8
8
years of professional experience
Work history
Trainee Solicitor
Preston Redman Solicitors
Bournemouth , Dorset
2024.09 - Current
- Led my own live matter to remove a director and shareholder, managing the full negotiation strategy on a settlement agreement. This included drafting proposed terms, advising on commercial leverage points, communicating directly with the other side, and preparing clear updates and options for partner review.
- Drafted and issued Letters Before Action in trademark disputes, including assessing infringement risks, outlining legal basis, and setting out commercially pragmatic settlement positions. This strengthened my ability to balance legal rights with brand protection and commercial outcomes.
- Identified a potential tax-efficient restructuring route capable of saving a client over £500,000 during a major transaction. I carried out a full document review in my own time, prepared a written technical note, and presented it to the partners for evaluation. This is now being explored as part of the ongoing transaction.
- Drafted and reviewed a range of commercial agreements, including service agreements, shareholder agreements, partnership documents, and terms of business. I ensure documents are clear, enforceable, and aligned with client objectives.
- Built strong client-facing skills, handling correspondence, preparing succinct written advice, and translating complex legal issues into commercially useful guidance for partners and clients.
- Consistently take initiative outside of formal tasks, undertaking additional research, creating internal checklists/templates, and ensuring matters progress efficiently across departments.
Legal Secretary
Preston Redman Solicitors
Bournemouth , Dorset
2023.05 - 2024.08
- Legal secretary working within the commercial and property team namely commercial leases:
- Commercial Lease Drafting: Proficient in drafting various types of commercial lease agreements, ensuring accuracy and compliance with legal standards. Detail-oriented approach to crafting contracts tailored to clients' needs and industry specifics.
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance: Maintained and upheld high AML standards within commercial lease transactions, conducting thorough due diligence to mitigate risks and comply with regulatory requirements.
- Administrative Support in Property Transactions: Provided crucial administrative support throughout commercial property transactions, including organising documents, liaising with involved parties, and coordinating logistics to streamline processes.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Commercial Awareness Officer
University of Roehampton
Roehampton, Greater London
2022.07 - 2023.09
- Enhanced university's strategic initiatives as ADR and Commercial Awareness Officer. Strengthened Law Society partnerships, boosting legal awareness. Broadened society's outreach through effective external stakeholder collaboration.
- Formulated detailed strategy plan, focusing on workshops and resources to cultivate commercial awareness among students, thus supporting successful applications for vacation schemes and training contracts.
- Achieved three case settlements through spearheading student education on alternative dispute resolution within the law clinic framework. Promoted hands-on legal practice among students by championing free legal advisory services at university. Culminated in settlements of landlord-tenant cases and a consumer rights dispute by mentoring current law clinic students in mediation and negotiation techniques.
- Cultivated an environment for individual development through weekly one-to-one drop-in sessions. Empowered aspiring solicitors by refining their commercial awareness skills. Resolved application queries through strategic advisory support.
Customer Assistant
288 Group
Poole, Dorset
2018.09 - 2023.05
- Assisted in maintaining relationships with customers in gold and silver coin and medal industry. Supported administration tasks to facilitate customer interactions effectively. Engaged with clients to ensure satisfaction and retention.
- Assisted in increasing correspondence answer rates by over 35% within past year. Contributed to amending standard responses to enhance user-friendliness. Supported team efforts to resolve customer queries in a single response.
- Assisted in developing productivity system to enable monitoring of employee activities. Supported creation of tracking system for evaluating work rates across team sectors. Contributed to implementation of widely adopted system in various departments.
Education
LPC/LLM - Law
BPP University
London 2 2024 - 2 2026
LLB - Law
University of Roehampton
London 1 2021 - 1 2024
NON-PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Student Representative - University of Roehampton
- Sep 2021 – Current date
- Responsible for listening to, gathering, and communicating any difficulties or concerns that any students may be having.
- Increased law program knowledge by >70%; created a clear program of course information and what to expect from each unit. I struggled through my first year as I didn’t know what to expect and there wasn’t anyone/thing to turn to.
- Helped change the structure of a unit which had a negative feedback rate of >90%; one course on our unit had a fail rate of >60% and students brought this to my attention. This courses’ structure was changed and the current feedback from students is currently >60% more positive.
EARLIER ACHIEVEMENTS
- National Champion titles
- Ballroom and Latin American dancing
- I have won multiple titles such as U.K champion, Welsh Champion and Scottish Champion, alongside 100s of other smaller competitions; through determination and hard work I developed my dance skills to be the best they could be. I believed at the time that I could foster a career in professional dance and this achievement was a positive milestone in my career ambitions.
Timeline
Trainee Solicitor
Preston Redman Solicitors
2024.09 - Current
Legal Secretary
Preston Redman Solicitors
2023.05 - 2024.08
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and Commercial Awareness Officer
University of Roehampton
2022.07 - 2023.09
Customer Assistant
288 Group
2018.09 - 2023.05
LPC/LLM - Law
BPP University
2 2024 - 2 2026
LLB - Law
University of Roehampton
1 2021 - 1 2024