Nick Hipwell

DLA Piper

Nick Hipwell is a Partner in DLA Piper, based in London. Prior to this, Nick was a Partner in Deloitte’s Reward practice and led the incentive plans legal team, which was made up of a team of lawyers in London and a wider national team. Before joining Deloitte as a Partner in 2011, Nick spent over ten years at Clifford Chance.

Nick has designed, drafted and implemented incentive plans for both listed and unlisted companies, including many which are private equity owned. Nick has implemented plans for both executives and the wider employee population and these plans have related not only to shares and cash but also to other securities, including debt instruments. Nick has particular experience in the implementation of employee share plans globally and has acts acted for some of the world’s largest companies, including members of the FTSE 30, the Euro Stoxx 50 and the Fortune 500, having advised on the implementation of plans in well over 100 countries. A frequent speaker at industry events, Nick has presented on a variety of incentive plan related topics at conferences across Europe and the US.

Contributed to

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Malus and clawback

Practice notes

This Practice Note introduces the concepts of malus and clawback provisions and details the practical considerations companies need to consider when using malus and clawback provisions in share option, share award and bonus documentation. The concept of withholding or recovering value from executives if a material adverse event occurs following the award of performance-related pay has become increasingly common in recent years. This Practice Note is written in conjunction with Nick Hipwell of DLA Piper UK LLP, Sarah Ferguson of Bird and Bird, and Rasmus Berglund and Sam Taylor of Macfarlanes LLP.

Share Incentives