About Paul Griffin

For some 35 years, Paul worked as an international lawyer in the City of London specialising in the deals and disputes of the international energy industry.  Having first become a partner in Denton Hall in 1988, Paul’s first career took him to partnership in Ashurst, Cadwalader and Herbert Smith before ending his front-line legal career with retirement as a partner at Allen & Overy in 2016. During this time, Paul lived in London and Asia and worked on deals all around the world.

Having long had a commitment to writing and speaking about the issues of the international energy business as well as nurturing and mentoring younger lawyers, it was unsurprising that Paul should move towards an educational, academic role on his retirement from Allen & Overy. This took the form of an appointment in 2016 to the renowned Centre for Energy Law at the University of Dundee, and a part-time role as Professor.

In parallel, a life-long interest in historic cars and their racing developed into the chance of ownership in mid-life and then historic car racing during Paul’s time in Asia. From beginnings with Ferrari Challenge racing, Paul moved to the Motor Racing Legends series and the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association. These led to many years of racing at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, the Goodwood Revival and circuits throughout England, Europe, Asia and Australia.

In addition to that academic and legal role, Paul’s retirement from front-line lawyering gave more time for the extension of his work in relation to historic cars. Recent years have seen roles in historic car mediation and expert determination as well as the preparation of opinions and reports concerning the provenance and authenticity of historic cars.

Most recently Paul has written and publishedThe Past And The Spurious – The Case of Legitimacy in Historic Cars. This work has been acclaimed as ‘a watershed moment in historic car literature’ and  ‘a standard point of departure in the genre for years to come’. Paul also writes for magazines such as Octane and Classic & Sports Car.  In addition, he speaks and lectures widely, including at The Royal Automobile Club, Brooklands, Coutts Bank and the National Motor Museum.