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…

Frustrated by Brexit? Not if you are a Landlord!

A significant decision was reached today in the High Court which will allow Landlords up and down the country to breathe a huge sigh of relief. The High Court considered a claim by the European Read more…

Tenant Fees Bill receives Royal Assent

On 12 February 2019, the Tenant Fees Bill 2017-19 received Royal Assent and became the Tenant Fees Act 2019. The Act will come into force on 1 June 2019 for new and renewal leases and Read more…

Pressure to use airspace builds up

A potential way of dealing with the lack of development land space in urban areas is not to build on land but its airspace. Anne Wright and Avi Barr discuss the construction and legal implications developers should Read more…

Property Law In-House Training

No area of law is static and businesses and individuals need to completely understand the latest legal developments and their implications in order to make the most of every opportunity. This week Lawrence Stephens brought Read more…

Lawrence Stephens in the Press

Lawrence Stephens team members have been featured in the press, demonstrating their decades of experience and expertise and their entrepreneurial, commercially aware approach. This month Partner Gregory Palos’ work was featured in Bridging & Commercial Read more…

January Employement Bulletin – National Minimum Wage and ‘Sleeping In’

Are care workers who ‘sleep in’ at work entitled to the national minimum wage for the whole of their shift? In Mencap v Tomlinson-Blake, care workers had to spend the night at or near their Read more…

January Employment Bulletin – Should emailing whilst commuting count as work?

A study by the University of the West of England argues that the working day is extended during commutes by advancements in technology. The study looked at 5,000 passengers commuting into London. Many employees were Read more…

January Employment Bulletin – Holiday Pay

The holiday season might have ended, but holiday pay remains a hot topic. In Flowers v East of England Ambulance Trust, the Employment Appeal Tribunal looked at whether voluntary overtime should be included in holiday Read more…

Lawrence Stephens helps start-up break crowdfunding record

A Lawrence Stephens Partner has helped break a crowdfunding record in acting for UK savings app Chip. Partner Bradley Lee helped the UK start-up complete a record-breaking funding round on Crowdcube in December 2018, raising Read more…

Lawrence Stephens at MIPIM 2019

We are happy to announce that a team from Lawrence Stephens will be at MIPIM from Tuesday 12 March to Thursday 14 March.

Another problem with the government’s ‘death tax’?

The Ministry of Justice’s controversial proposal to radically increase fees for administering probate has hit another snag, as it has emerged that the government has not assessed the costs attached and the practical application of Read more…

Lawrence Stephens helps Whitehall Capital complete bridging loan worth £750,000

21st January, London – Lawrence Stephens has helped Whitehall Capital complete a bridging loan worth three quarters of a million pounds for a portfolio of Birmingham flats, announced today. Lawrence Stephens helped the privately funded Read more…

Non-resident Investors – The Three-Month Property Supermarket Trolley Dash

The chimes at midnight this week meant more for UK non-resident investors than simply a new year – it marked the countdown to new rules coming into force on the payment of Capital Gains Tax Read more…

December Employment Bulletin – Ambiguous notice

When is notice not notice? When it is ambiguous, said the Employment Appeal Tribunal in East Kent Hospitals v Levy. The employee worked in the records department and she had a poor sickness absence record. Read more…