Russel Shear joined Edwin Coe in 1994, back when the Lincoln’s Inn firm was known primarily for disputes work. Three decades later, he’s stepping down as head of the corporate department he built—and handing the practice to Daniel Bellau, the partner who’s driven much of its recent expansion.
The transition, announced Tuesday, comes ahead of Shear’s planned retirement. Edwin Coe brought the handover forward to ensure continuity for clients and a structured transfer of responsibilities across a team that now numbers close to 20 lawyers.
Bellau arrived in January 2021.
Since then, the corporate practice has grown substantially, adding financial services, digital and banking capabilities to its mid-market M&A and equity capital markets work. The team has advised on Main Market placings—including the Predator Oil & Gas transaction—alongside AIM listings, fundraisings and private acquisitions spanning real estate, TMT, leisure and hospitality.
That momentum has earned consistent recognition in The Legal 500 rankings, where both Shear and Bellau appear for their work on smaller deal transactions. The guide highlights their commercial approach and expertise across public and private M&A, private equity, venture capital and equity capital markets mandates.
“It has been a privilege to lead the corporate team and to see it develop into the strong, well-regarded practice it is today,” Shear acknowledged. “Daniel has been instrumental in that journey, particularly in expanding our capabilities and strengthening our position in the market. This transition reflects the direction the team is already moving in, and I am confident it will continue to go from strength to strength under his leadership.”
Bellau’s client base includes entrepreneurs, funds and listed SMEs. His experience covers public and private M&A, private equity and venture capital investments, and equity capital markets transactions on both AIM and the Main Market. Before Edwin Coe, he built a track record advising growth companies and mid-market participants across multiple sectors.
The corporate team’s expansion over the past 18 months reflects a broader strategic shift at Edwin Coe. The firm, which dates to 1913, has built its reputation on contentious work but is now strengthening its transactional offering and driving tighter collaboration between practice areas.
Corporate sits at the centre of that effort. The department connects regularly with Edwin Coe’s real estate, tax, intellectual property, employment and restructuring teams, supporting the firm’s wider private capital and private wealth clients.
“This is a natural next step for the team,” Bellau observed. “We have built real momentum over the past 18 months, broadening our capabilities and deepening our client relationships, particularly across financial services and digital. There is a clear opportunity to continue that growth. Corporate sits at the centre of how we deliver for clients, bringing together expertise from across the firm to support increasingly complex transactions. My focus will be on scaling the team, developing our transactional and equity capital markets capabilities, and ensuring we are well positioned to support clients as their needs evolve.”
The timing allows Shear to remain involved during the handover period, ensuring clients experience minimal disruption. For a practice built on long-term relationships—many spanning multiple transactions and years—continuity matters.
Edwin Coe competes in a crowded mid-market space where independent London firms vie with regional players and Big Law spin-outs for entrepreneur and SME mandates. Legal 500 recognition provides a benchmark, but growth depends on sector expertise, transaction execution and the ability to marshal resources across disciplines.
Bellau inherits a team that has broadened its reach significantly since he joined. The addition of financial services and digital capabilities positions the practice for clients whose needs increasingly cross traditional practice boundaries—companies raising capital, acquiring competitors, navigating regulatory shifts and managing complex ownership structures simultaneously.
The firm’s partners advise private clients, entrepreneurs, family offices and international businesses from its Lincoln’s Inn base. Many clients have worked with Edwin Coe across generations, a continuity that mirrors Shear’s own three-decade tenure.
Shear will remain with the firm until his retirement, though no specific date has been announced. His departure marks the end of an era for a practice he shaped from its early days, advising entrepreneurs, SMEs and investors through shifting market conditions, regulatory changes and economic cycles.
For Bellau, the challenge lies in maintaining that legacy whilst accelerating growth. The corporate team’s expansion to nearly 20 lawyers signals ambition, but scaling in the mid-market requires balancing personal service with organisational capacity—a tension every growing practice faces.
What’s clear is the trajectory. The past 18 months demonstrated the team’s ability to add capabilities, attract clients and deliver on increasingly complex mandates. Whether that momentum continues under new leadership will become apparent as Bellau stamps his approach on a practice Shear spent 30 years building.
