Bristol-headquartered national law firm TLT has signalled its ambitions to further expand overseas with the appointment of its first head of international.
The move, part of the firm’s growth strategy to 2020, aims to further develop the informal ‘best friends network’ of firms it collaborates with on cross border work, particularly in Europe, the US and India. 
TLT said priority areas would be driven by client need and it was looking to partner with firms that had a similar approach in terms of technical legal expertise, sector experience and cultural fit.
While the US is a priority market, TLT played down a report in the legal press that it had identified four partner firms there, saying it was still “at the initial stages of this initiative”.
The role of head of international will be taken by Bristol-based commercial disputes head Chris Owen, pictured below, supported by the firm’s sector and group leaders.
The appointment follows five years of rapid UK growth at TLT focused around its sector expertise in areas such as financial services, energy & renewables and retail & consumer goods.
The firm has project managed cross-border deals for a number of significant clients in recent years, including acting for one of the UK’s leading fashion retailers to set up its logistics arrangements to support its franchise operations in more than 60 countries, and managing a portfolio of 900 marks in 150 countries for Accolade Wines, including Hardys, Stowells, Babycham, Blackthorn and Gaymers.
But managing partner David Pester said it now planned to grow internationally by developing its best friends network “to align with [its] sector experience and the international needs of clients”. 
“TLT has been one of the fastest-growing firms in the UK over the last five years. As part of our strategy to 2020, we will now look to develop further how and where we can provide support for our clients internationally to ensure that we can deliver the services they need in Europe and further afield,” he said.
TLT has supported clients internationally through membership of the European Law Firm network and a wider informal network of relationships with specialist firms chosen based on client requirements.
It is now reviewing all these relationships as part the new international strategy.
Chris Owen will continue to lead the firm’s commercial disputes team, a position he has held since joining the firm in 2003.
He is a member of the Solicitors European Group and is independently recognised as an expert in dispute resolution by legal directory Chambers UK and has also played an integral leadership role in the development of TLT ReSource, the firm’s shared service offering that was recognised as a standout innovation by the Financial Times.
He said: “This is about ensuring our international network delivers the right mix of legal expertise, sector experience and client service to match our own, enabling us to deliver more effectively for clients.
“It is about deepening those relationships we already have, particularly those with whom we already collaborate as part of our various panel appointments and developing new ones to broaden our support for clients.”
His high-profile cases include representing an international automotive distributor and retailer in defending claims by customers in the widely publicised VW group litigation relating to emissions testing and the inclusion of defeat devices.
He also acted for WHSmith in the Court of Appeal in successfully defending an appeal by 20th Century Fox over a contractual dispute relating to the supply of entertainment media sold on a sale-or-return basis.
