To be or not to be an expert witness

Anne Wright of Lawrence Stephens and barrister James Davison of 3PB provide practical guidance on selecting an expert witness, and advise witnesses how to behave once appointed. ‘The expert witness’s primary duty is to help Read more…

July Employment Bulletin – Unfair dismissal

If an employee wins their unfair dismissal claim, a tribunal can order compensation. They also have the power to order reinstatement (to the old job) or reengagement (to a comparable job). A tribunal might not Read more…

July Employment Bulletin – Holiday pay

The holiday season is upon us and the next installment of the Flowers v East of England Ambulance Trust (EAT) saga has arrived from the Court of Appeal. The case involves voluntary overtime and whether Read more…

July Employment Bulletin – Age discrimination

Indirect age discrimination occurs when a policy that is applied to all employees negatively affects people of a certain age group. An indirectly discriminatory policy can be justified if it is a proportionate means of Read more…

Lawrence Stephens at Prideview Cricket Cup 2019

Last weekend, Lawrence Stephens attended a 6-a-side charity cricket day organised by Prideview Group. The event saw 12 teams go head to head for a chance to win one of three trophies on offer. With Read more…

Lawrence Stephens takes part in City Race 2019

Yesterday Lawrence Stevens took part in the Standard Chartered Great City Race, a 5k corporate running race through the City of London. They competed against other companies in the legal, accountancy, insurance and banking sectors in a challenge offering the opportunity to run Read more…

UK-India Week 2019 Reflections

Last month, Lawrence Stephens attended series of events during UK-India Week, from 24th-28th June. The week is dedicated to British-Indian trade and business relations. The 2019 UK-India Awards concluded the week by celebrating the biggest Read more…

Lawrence Stephens act for Alpha Property Lending on £25,000,000 Care Home Refinance

Lawrence Stephens Partners Steven Bernstein (Banking) and Avi Barr (Property) have led a team, including Craig Mullen and Milana Katz, which acted on a £25,000,000 refinance on behalf of the Lender, Alpha Property Lending. The Borrower, Abbey Healthcare Group Read more…

Lawrence Stephens at the Houses of Parliament for India Week

Last week our Associate Rima Sengupta attended ‘India Day’ at the Houses of Parliament for the launch of UK-India Week 2019 hosted by Manoj Ladwa of India Inc. The day included speeches in the House Read more…

Lawrence Stephens at JTrade Expo 2019: Meet the team

We’re excited to be returning to JTrade Expo this year with an even bigger team and we hope the event again marks the beginning of many successful relationships. You’ll be able to find the Lawrence Read more…

Lawrence Stephens at J-Trade 2019

After the groundbreaking success of the first ever J-Trade last summer, Britain’s only Jewish property and construction expo returns this July and Lawrence Stephens are delighted to be once again exhibiting. J-Trade connects the construction Read more…

June Employment Bulletin – New holiday pay guidance

Are you au fait with holiday pay? The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published new holiday pay guidance. The guidance was issued after a survey revealed an ‘alarming lack of awareness’ about Read more…

June Employment Bulletin – Disciplinaries and criminal proceedings

In professional misconduct cases, a criminal investigation often sits alongside a disciplinary investigation. Employers do not want to wait for the outcome of the criminal case before concluding disciplinary proceedings, especially when the employee is Read more…

June Employment Bulletin – Constructive dismissal

In order to suspend an employee fairly, an employer must have reasonable and proper cause for doing so. If not, suspension could breach the implied term of mutual trust and confidence and create a constructive Read more…

Contracting out the 1954 Act – what can you get away with?

This week the High Court had a rare opportunity to consider some practical issues that arise when commercial leases are excluded from the Security of Tenure Provisions in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, which Read more…

NACFB Commercial Finance Expo

The Lawrence Stephens team are delighted to announce we will be attending the NACFB Commercial Finance Expo again this year. The team heading to Birmingham on Wednesday 19 June will include: Gregory Palos, Avi Barr, Steven Read more…

London Legal Walk 2019

You may have seen the tube posters but London’s mammoth legal fundraiser is back – The London Legal Walk! This annual fundraiser sees thousands of legal professionals walk 10k across the city to raise money Read more…

May Employment Bulletin – Final written warnings

An employee can be fairly dismissed for misconduct (rather than gross misconduct) if they already have a final written warning in place. In Beattie v Condorrat, the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered whether a final written Read more…

May Employment Bulletin – Maternity discrimination

An employer discriminates against a woman if they treat her unfavourably because she is taking maternity leave. In SW Yorkshire NHS Trust v Jackson, the employee was on maternity leave when redundancies were announced. She Read more…

May Employment Bulletin – Disability discrimination

Discrimination arising from disability is where an employer treats an employee less favourably because of ‘something’ which results from their disability and which can’t be justified. The Employment Appeal Tribunal has recently looked at whether Read more…

Lawrence Stephens helps Alpha Property Lending complete £4m development loan

Lawrence Stephens Solicitors has helped Alpha Property Lending complete a £4m development loan, within three working days of formal instruction. Avi Barr, Craig Mullen, Steven Bernstein and Milana Katz from the Secured Lending and Banking Read more…

Lawrence Stephens helps client OakNorth complete loan worth £10m

Lawrence Stephens has helped valued client OakNorth to complete a 5 year term loan worth £10m. The multi-million pound loan saw Lawrence Stephens secure first ranking legal charges across all the sites. Partner Gregory Palos Read more…

Lawrence Stephens take on Tough Mudder 2019

Ten Lawrence Stephens team members are taking on Tough Mudder this Saturday in order to raise money for our charity of the year. The team members taking part in the infamous endurance challenge are Christina Read more…

April Employment Bulletin – Sensitive Employee Data

Is an employer responsible for the actions of an employee who has ‘gone rogue’ and deliberately posted sensitive employee data online? Yes, the Court of Appeal had said in Morrisons v Various Claimants, but this month Read more…

April Employment Bulletin – Holiday Pay

Do workers lose the right to a payment in lieu of holiday at the end of their employment if they did not try to take it? No, said the Court of Justice of the European Read more…

April Employment Bulletin – Unfair Dismissal

Is it fair to dismiss an employee in the transport industry who fails a drugs test? Not always, said the employment tribunal recently. Ball v First Essex Buses looked at the range of reasonable responses Read more…

Upcoming Changes to Tenant Fees – Letting Agents and Landlords to Take Note

From 1 June 2019 the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (“the Act”) will impose restrictions on fees that can be demanded from tenants of newly granted Tenancies (such as ASTS, student lettings and licences to occupy Read more…

Lawrence Stephens Support Tigers Global Logistics with New Thurrock Facility

Lawrence Stephens Real Estate Partner, Avi Barr and Senior Associate Craig Mullen recently supported multi-national logistics firm Tigers Global Logistics with its move to a major new logistics facility in Thurrock. The opening of this Read more…

Lawrence Stephens Helps Got Capital Secure Multi-Million Pound Facility with Shawbrook Bank

Central London law firm Lawrence Stephens has helped SME finance provider Got Capital secure a multi-million pound revolving credit facility from Shawbrook Bank. Jeff Rubenstein, Company & Commercial Partner at Lawrence Stephens, acted for Got Capital to complete Read more…

Lawrence Stephens client Lendhub secures new funding line

Lawrence Stephens client Lendhub, a specialist bridging and development lender, has secured a loan-on-loan facility from specialist bank OakNorth. The new funding line will sit alongside clients’ proprietary funds, with the deal enabling Lendhub to Read more…

March Employment Bulletin – Part-Time Workers’ Pay

Is it unfair to pay an employee 50% of full-time pay for being on duty for 53.5% of the time? Yes, the Court of Appeal said in British Airways v Pinaud, in a case which Read more…

March Employment Bulletin – Dismissal for Long-Term Sickness

Can an employer dismiss an employee for capability reasons when they are contractually entitled to long-term disability benefits? No, not fairly, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has said in Awan v ICTS. Mr Awan went on Read more…

March Employment Bulletin – Whistleblowing

Can co-workers be liable for whistleblowing dismissals along with the employer? Yes, the Court of Appeal has said in Timis v Osipov. Mr Osipov was the employer’s CEO. Two directors decided to dismiss him after Read more…

Lawrence Stephens helps Whitehall Capital loan for £1.4m scheme in just 5 days

25th March, London – Lawrence Stephens assisted Whitehall Capital with the completion of a crucial bridging loan, seeing the deal through in 5 days. Lawrence Stephens acted for the privately funded specialist loan provider on Read more…

Lawrence Stephens at MIPIM 2019: Gregory Palos

Gregory Palos, Partner, Head of Secured Lending, will be the third member of the Lawrence Stephens team in Cannes. We talked to Gregory about the prestigious event, the current property landscape and Lawrence Stephen’s partnership Read more…

Lawrence Stephens at MIPIM 2019: Steven Bernstein

Corporate and Banking Partner Steven Bernstein will also be in Cannes for MIPIM as part of the Lawrence Stephens team. We spoke to Steven about his aims for the prestigious event and what makes the Read more…

Lawrence Stephens at MIPIM 2019: Avi Barr

Real estate Partner Avi Barr will be part of the team representing Lawrence Stephens’ presence at MIPIM this year. We caught up with Avi to gain his property insight and find out what he’s looking Read more…

February Employment Bulletin – Veganism and the Equality Act

It looks like it might be a happy new year for vegans. The employment tribunal will decide in March 2019 whether ethical veganism is protected by the Equality Act 2010 as a ‘philosophical belief’, akin Read more…

February Employment Bulletin – Tribunal Fees

The Ministry of Justice has suggested that employment tribunal fees may be reintroduced. The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Justice said that a balance could be reached between increasing tribunal funding (via fees) and Read more…

February Employment Bulletin – Redundancy Trial Periods

Is it unfair not to offer a trial period for a more junior role even if the employee did not complain at the time? Yes, if it is a contractual right, said the employment appeal Read more…