Our Values

Nicole Slayton Hogan
CEO

Nicole is a “California Girl”, a dual U.S./U.K. citizen and is fluent in French and Spanish. Nicole moved to London in 2013 to be closer to family and because London is one of the great cities of the world. Prior to that, Nicole received her undergraduate degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and worked in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, and with Jack Valenti at the Motion Picture Association. Nicole received her law degree from Loyola Marymount University in 2001, became licensed by the California State Bar Association, and continued her career at Warner Brothers Studios, Carsey-Werner Entertainment and 21st Century Fox.

On moving to London, Nicole served as General Counsel and Head of Human Resources for Miroma Ventures, where Nicole had the opportunity to implement original legal and operational structure, processes and international risk management strategies across the group. It was at Miroma that Nicole discovered her passion for helping entrepreneurial companies grow and scale strategically rather than opportunistically. She believes this can be done without sacrificing flexibility.

Nicole is a season ticket holder at Arsenal and extremely competitive in Fantasy Premier League football.

Katherine Birkinshaw
COO

At Motion Paradox, Katherine advises early-stage start-ups to scaling international businesses on all aspects of corporate and commercial matters, working closely with founders and leadership teams as a trusted strategic partner.

Her work ranges from drafting and negotiating complex contracts, supporting corporate transactions and fundraising rounds, managing corporate governance, and advising on employment, IP and cross-border expansion across EMEA, APAC and the US.

A born Londoner, Katherine gained her Bachelor of Science at University College London, studying History and Philosophy of Science, and went on to study law at BPP Law School. A qualified solicitor in England and Wales, she has a background working in in-house legal teams for SMEs and large multi-national companies in the media and technology sectors. There she developed her legal grounding and gained experience in, and a passion for, the commercial side of business, such as creating value, maximising growth, improving business performance and strategic management.

Alongside the client legal work, as Chief Operating Officer, Katherine oversees the day-to-day operations of Motion Paradox itself. This experience has sharpened her commercial instincts and reinforced how closely legal and business decisions are intertwined at every stage of growth.

Outside of work, Katherine is a long-suffering Crystal Palace fan, with a love for live music, skiing and running – the latter of which largely involves chasing after her young daughter.

Eamonn Hogan
Chief Compliance Officer

Eamonn worked as a solicitor in private practice for over 20 years and was Department Head of a team at Shoosmiths. Eamonn is still on the Roll of Solicitors but wants to use his experience of dispute resolution away from large legal providers, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Eamonn has been responsible for managing the cases of thousands of clients down the years. Eamonn has advised clients on a broad range of legal disputes where Eamonn’s clients have included individuals, companies, and large insurance providers. With Motion Paradox, Eamonn is able to be much more nimble than with the larger providers and is able to work more closely with his clients. This is with the intention of analysing our client’s risk areas and allowing them to cut legal costs by avoiding high cost areas such as court proceedings.

Eamonn is a season ticket holder at Arsenal, and enjoys travel and theatre.

Alexander Merrison
Director, Legal and Business Affairs

At Motion Paradox, Alexander advises clients on all aspects of corporate and commercial law. He has considerable domestic and cross-border experience having represented clients from a variety of industries across Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia.
 
After graduating from the University of Exeter with a degree in history and politics, Alexander moved to London to study law. He began his career in private practice, training at Latham & Watkins before qualifying into the corporate department of their London office. There he assisted on a broad range of transactional and general corporate matters, focussing primarily on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and reorganisations. 
 
Prior to joining Motion Paradox, Alexander was General Counsel for an international media investment group. There he oversaw all of the group’s legal affairs and helped guide its corporate strategy and decision-making. His main responsibilities included advising the senior management team on legal risk, drafting and negotiating commercial contracts and developing policies and procedures that set the standards across the business. His experience as an in-house lawyer has given him a good understanding of the challenges businesses face and enables him to approach legal matters from a commercial perspective.
 
An Arsenal fan, Alexander enjoys running, tennis and skiing but spends most of his spare time supporting his son from the touchline at various sporting events.

Thiara de la Morandière
Associate Manager, Legal and Business Affairs

Thiara de la Morandière is a French‑Japanese solicitor qualified in England and Wales, raised in Paris and Brussels and now based in London. She earned an LLB in Law and French Law from the University of Westminster and graduated with distinction from Queen Mary University of London with an MSc in Law and Finance.

Curious by nature and known for a can‑do attitude, Thiara has developed a commercially minded skill set through exposure to a range of industries and jurisdictions, building strong foundations in commercial and corporate law. In her previous role, she managed the legal function for an SME, shaping a pragmatic, business‑first approach.

At Motion Paradox, Thiara supports the team and primarily US and UK clients across a broad range of business law matters, including commercial, corporate, employment, real estate and intellectual property. She delivers practical, commercially focused advice and reviews a wide range of commercial agreements.

With a strong interest in learning and research, Thiara is also the author of publications on responsible investing practices. In her spare time, she enjoys figure skating, trying new restaurants, and scouting the city’s best record shops.

Emily Neads
EA and Office Manager

At Motion Paradox, Emily guides and supports the team with administrative duties, project management, and organisational requirements.

Crumpet Hogan
Barketing Manager

Crumpet makes friends and influences people everywhere she goes. She spreads cheer and joy to all those she encounters. Her naturally outgoing and playful nature serves her well in developing connections and relationships with both her office peers and with clients. Crumpet enjoys travel, belly rubs, playing with friends in the park, beautiful sunsets, bacon, and her favourite monkey toy.