Salman Kotwal is a corporate/commercial lawyer who trained and qualified in-house with a UK-headquartered global petrol forecourt operator, which has operations spanning across the UK and Ireland, Europe, Australia and the US.
Salman started life as a paralegal on completion of his Legal Practice Course, and shortly after, secured a training contract as a trainee solicitor, which included a secondment to the corporate department of a Magic Circle law firm in London. He has since qualified as legal counsel.
Following qualification, Salman’s practice continued in-house and covered aspects of buy-side M&A in the retail sector, including domestic and cross-border acquisitions and corporate restructurings, and providing general business support and advice. Among other acquisitions, both during his training contract and thereafter, Salman was directly involved with investments into petrol filling stations and food-to-go and retail concessions across Europe, Australia and the US.
Salman also advised on franchise and supplier agreements for various well-known brands and service providers.
During his capacity as an in-house lawyer, Salman advised on all things legal-related, including employment law, litigation and disputes. Through doing corporate deals for four and a half years with the group general counsel and in close proximity to executive and senior management teams, including, among others, the Co-CEOs, COO and group commercial and operations directors, Salman has gained invaluable business experience.
Salman saw a move to the firm as an obvious strategic shift, and an opportunity to add his value and client knowledge to a wider corporate client base.