Our Team
People are at the heart of everything we do. Our team is built on the values of excellence, integrity, collaboration and creativity.
James Allen
James is the founder and director of Counsel. He has wide ranging experience and has worked in a range of senior advisory roles in governance, communications and external affairs. He has worked in sport, in the voluntary sector, as an adviser to corporates in financial services and in a variety of non profit organisations. He has led a number of significant projects across the UK and internationally. His international experience includes working
with pan European NGO groups in areas including sport and health, in co-leading a joint UK-Japanese knowledge exchange programme and in delivering political and policy elements of a civil
society building programme in the former Eastern bloc, sponsored by the US Government.
He worked as a Policy Adviser for a senior Cabinet Minister in the UK Government and has extensive Board experience, including as a Non Executive Director at Sport Resolutions UK, where he led the development of a new strategy and as a Trustee of the award winning Disability Sports Coach (where he is Board lead on governance). James is an Ambassador for the Bristol Sport Foundation and is a pro bono adviser to the Community Foundation of Crystal Palace Football Club and a range of other community organisations. He worked previously in senior roles at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) - leading work both in policy and on public services reform and as a Director at the Sport and Recreation Alliance.
He holds a Masters degree in Public Policy, is ICSA governance qualified and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Dr Verity Postlethwaite
Verity has contributed to national and international policy and governance research for a decade, including studies around diplomacy, workforce, clubs, youth policy and equality. A recent research project focused on the legacy potential post-Tokyo 2020 for the Paralympics and para-sport funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
Since 2012, Verity has developed extensive experience and qualifications in qualitative and quantitative research and project management. She holds a BA in Politics (University of Nottingham), MA in International Law, Ethics and Politics (University of Birmingham) and a PhD (University of Worcester). The PhD focused on the intersections of legacy and policy during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games.
Today, she is developing research around the Commonwealth and sports diplomacy in conjunction with UK and Australia based academics. Alongside academic research, she has ongoing consultancy based projects, including a current project connected to equality and sport in Scotland.
Rhys D.W. Jones
Rhys has a range of skills developed from working across many sectors both at the coal face and at board level.
He holds a MSci in Chemistry, publishing papers whilst studying at the University of Nottingham, UK and University of Queensland, Australia.
Between 2014-17, he managed the turnaround of a Tennis Centre from the brink of closure to industry leader, winning UK national centre of the year at an awards ceremony at Wimbledon. Recently he has advised national sporting organisations on governance issues including drafting the Sport Wales Governance and Leadership Framework for Wales.
Away from sport, he has worked as a creative consultant for local businesses in the South Wales area including award winning brewery Tiny Rebel. He is a key member of local pro democracy charity Newport Rising, helping organising a historic torchlit march through Newport with 500 participants for the first time in 180 years.
He is a fluent Welsh speaker and in his spare time focuses on creative pursuits, writing and publishing graphic novels.
Gavin Price
Gavin recently operated as a UK Government International Trade Lead in MENA, the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe, and has previously worked at the British Council, European Central Bank, University of Melbourne, Australian National University and Australian Government.
Today, he is a PhD candidate at Bond University, Australia, writing on Sports Diplomacy: small nations with large sporting footprints, and an Associate Tutor on the Master of Global Diplomacy programme at SOAS, University of London where he completed his Masters with distinction, including a dissertation on Sports Diplomacy in Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
He is currently engaged to deliver a research consultancy examining the role sports diplomacy can play in Wales’ international engagement for the British Council Wales and the Welsh Government.
This is our current core team. We are always looking to expand - please get in touch if you’d like to discuss opportunities with us. We also have a wider network of associates and colleagues that we draw on to deliver key projects.