Nigel Knowles, 52, is the co-chief executive of DLA Piper, a law firm with 3,750 lawyers in 27 countries and one of only a handful that can truly boast a sizeable practice in both the US and UK. That is some achievement for a firm that began in Leeds less than three decades ago. Knowles, an affable northerner who studied at Sheffield University, began his career as a corporate finance specialist at the Yorkshire firm Broomheads & Neals in 1978. Even then, colleagues say, he had his heart set on management. Knowles' rise through the firm coincided with a series of mergers: by the time he became managing partner in 1996, it had morphed into Dibb Lupton Allsop. Knowles built on that to create the DLA Piper behemoth in 2005 through a three-way tie-up with American firms Grey Cary and Piper Rudnick. Never afraid to wear his ambitions on his sleeve, Knowles' aim is to become no less than the world's "leading global business law firm". His critics have accused him of leading a "supermarket dash" and expanding too quickly, but few would bet against him achieving something close to it. Outside the firm, Knowles is chairman of the Managing Partners Forum and the Legal Sector Alliance and a member of Business in the Community's environment leadership team. A keen golfer, he is married with two children.

Back to the full Law 100 2008

Did we get it right? Tell us your picks

Law 100: women | Law 100: corporate and business | Law 100: public, criminal and human rights | Law 100: judges

Explore Law

• Columnists

• Law Panel

• Law Reports

• Student Law

Times Recommends

• Linklaters trounces rivals as UK's biggest firm
• Clifford Chance profits plunge 37 per cent
• Casual drinkers hit by spread of 'dry' zones