Alexander was previously in-house lawyer for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, where he was a recognised across Government for his technical expertise in State Aid, Procurement and grant funding. Prior to MHCLG, Alexander was a Senior Solicitor at the One North East Regional Development Agency.
Alexander has an international reputation for his expertise in EU law, having presented on Financial Instruments at the European Parliament, written national guidance on Public Procurement and co-authored part of a legal textbook on State Aid law. In 2014 he was appointed as one of the UK Government's seconded 'national experts' to the European Commission where he worked on State Aid matters, including the drafting of the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), whilst at DG Competition and European Structural Funds at DG Regio.
At MHCLG Alexander advised upon compliance issues in 7 national grant programmes, including ERDF, becoming the lead lawyer for State Aid, Public Procurement, audit and Financial Instruments. He was also lawyer to the Cities and Local Growth Unit, advising on legal issues relating to LEPs, Combined Authorities, City Mayors, Development Corporations and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Highlights include successfully defending ERDF projects from recovery in front of the European Court of Auditors in Luxembourg, acting as the lead lawyer in setting up the £120m North East Fund financial instrument and advising upon Northern Powerhouse initiatives.
At DWF, Alexander will enhance the practice's existing presence in the commercial market across the UK as well as bringing strong Brussels connections that will complement DWF's international practice.
Jonathan Branton, Head of EU & Competition at DWF, said
"With Brexit on the horizon, this is the perfect time to appoint someone with high level Government expertise such as Alexander, who has built an exceptional reputation in the field. He's been at the heart of public funding decision making in Central Government, Local Government and the European Commission, so brings additional expertise and experience to our already very strong practice. We are confident that he will add value immediately, as well as being a great fit for the culture of DWF."
Alexander Rose added: "I'm excited to be joining DWF, a firm with an exceptional reputation that is shaking up the legal market. The Public Sector is going through a period of change and there's going to be some very interesting opportunities coming out of Brexit, so I'm looking forward to getting involved and putting my own stamp on the practice."
Led by Jonathan Branton, DWF's multi-disciplinary public sector team specialises in central, regional and local government, healthcare and education.
