Search and find what you need faster.

Lawrence Stephens appoints Head of Financial Institutions and Head of Real Estate Finance

Posted on: April 4th, 2025 by Natasha Cox

Lawrence Stephens is delighted to announce the appointment of Senior Director Greg Palos as Head of the firm’s Financial Institutions sector.

Greg has been at Lawrence Stephens for over 20 years, since merging his own firm in 2004. During this time, he has been responsible for establishing and building the Real Estate Finance and Banking teams at the firm which now includes 12 Directors and 46 professional staff in total.

With this appointment, Greg’s wider role will include ensuring Lawrence Stephens continues to meet the needs of its existing Financial Institution sector clients, build and widen these relationships, and explore new sector opportunities for the firm, both in the UK and internationally.  

This important appointment reflects Lawrence Stephens’ twin-engine strategy of focusing on the Financial Institutions and Owner Managed Business sectors which have driven the firm’s strong growth over the last five years.

Lawrence Stephens is also pleased to announce the appointment of Ann Ebberson as Head of the Real Estate Finance department.

Ann is currently a Director in the team, having joined from City firm Rosling King in 2024. She is a well-known industry practitioner, recognised in the legal directories and brings to the role a wealth of sector knowledge and experience.

Acting for a range of banks, lending institutions and fixed charge receivers, her experience spans development finance, property acquisitions and sales, residential landlord and tenant issues, title rectifications and working with litigation colleagues on complex disputes which involve real estate and finance. 

Managing Director Steven Bernstein commented: “Greg’s appointment to this wider sector-focused role confirms our commitment to our strategy of sticking to what we are good at and what we are well known for. Greg’s deep knowledge of the sector and the firm’s capabilities presents us with an opportunity to build on already strong foundations and take us to the next level of growth for the firm.”

 “I’m delighted that Ann has taken on the role of Head of the Real Estate Finance department. She has already proven to be a strong and capable leader and I look forward to seeing her consolidate our position as a real force in the Real Estate Finance market.”

Lawrence Stephens announces four Director promotions

Posted on: April 1st, 2025 by Natasha Cox

Leading full-service law firm, Lawrence Stephens, is pleased to announce the promotion of Asim Arshad, Anna Christou, Sarah Gallagher and Ausra Triantafyllidou to Director,  effective from 1 April 2025.

These promotions follow a year of continuing growth for Lawrence Stephens in response to increasing client demand. Director numbers have increased from 28 to 45 and this 60% increase also includes lateral hires in key areas of growth as well as a team of eight Directors recently recruited from Memery Crystal.

  • Asim Arshad becomes a Director in the Disputes Resolution team, specialising in commercial litigation. In particular, Asim has extensive experience handling disputes involving crypto assets, including acting for individuals seeking to recover lost or stolen crypto assets. In addition to contentious matters, Asim’s work has included advising on cryptoasset regulation and compliance, token issuance, NFT projects, and acting for one of the industry’s leading mining platforms and token issuing entities
  • Anna Christou becomes a Director in the Real Estate Finance team. She joined Lawrence Stephens as a trainee solicitor in 2011. She currently acts for leading UK buy-to-let lenders, bridging lenders, challenger banks and building societies, dealing with both regulated and unregulated loans on commercial and residential property portfolios.
  • Sarah Gallagher becomes a Director in the Residential Real Estate team. She heads up Lawrence Stephens’ team of specialists in the new build sector. Her primary client base is formed of purchasers of both leasehold and freehold new build properties, inside and outside of the Greater London area and developers selling plots at a variety of developments. Whilst Sarah’s specialism is largely new build work, she also acts for those selling and purchasing residential properties of all varieties, including shared ownership, HNW and UHNW.
  • Ausra Triantafyllidou also becomes a Director in the Real Estate Finance team. She acts for a number of long-standing investors with large commercial, residential and mixed-use portfolios. Her primary focus is on secured lending transactions including investment and development finance matters.  She advises clients on landlord and tenant matters including acquisitions, disposals, lettings, transfers of portfolios to corporate structures and finance transactions. 

Steven Bernstein, Managing Director at Lawrence Stephens, commented: “With these four Director promotions, we are proud to be recognising growth from within our own people. We continue to demonstrate Lawrence Stephens’ growth in traditional sectors and expansion into emerging ones. Asim, Anna, Sarah and Ausra’s specialist expertise reflect the full-service approach we take at Lawrence Stephens, and how we are able to deliver the best outcomes for our clients.”

 

Lawrence Stephens Directors named in Spears’ Property Indices 2025

Posted on: March 20th, 2025 by Natasha Cox

Whether handling commercial properties, mixed-use developments or the most exclusive super-prime residences, the very best property lawyers are trusted by HNW clients to provide expert guidance throughout the often lengthy, intricate, and high-stakes process of buying, building, and selling real estate.

We are delighted to announce that Stephen Messias, Director in our Commercial Real Estate team, and Goli-Michelle Banan, Head of Residential Real Estate, have been named top property lawyers in Spears’ Property Indices 2025.

“The advisers selected for the Spear’s Property Lawyers Index 2025 demonstrate not only an extraordinary depth of knowledge but also an ability to navigate the evolving landscape of property law with skill and precision.”

To read the full list, click here

 

Lawrence Stephens launches tax offering with key Director hire

Posted on: March 19th, 2025 by Natasha Cox

Lawrence Stephens is delighted to announce the appointment of Director Leigh Sayliss, who will be heading up a brand-new Tax practice for the firm. Leigh joins from Memery Crystal where he was a Partner in their highly-respected Tax department.

Leigh is a Chartered Tax Advisor with particular expertise in property, corporate and employment taxes. He advises on the tax aspects of a wide range of property and corporate transactions, including incentive arrangements for key employees.

At Lawrence Stephens, Leigh will primarily be working alongside the well-established Corporate & Commercial team, as well as other related departments such as Real Estate and Private Wealth to provide integrated Tax advice.

Leigh is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), Chair of the CIOT Property Taxes Committee and a member of HMRC working groups in relation to Stamp Duty Land Tax and construction matters.  He is also a Chartered Engineer and uses his previous experience in industry to ensure that his advice is not only technically accurate but also is of practical help to his clients.

Speaking on his appointment, Leigh commented: “It is a pleasure to be joining an excellent and dynamic team at Lawrence Stephens, particularly during such an exciting period of growth for the firm.

“I look forward to working alongside friends old and new, heading up this new practice for the firm to providing cross-departmental expertise to Lawrence Stephens’ valued and loyal clients.”

Managing Partner Steve. Bernstein commented: “Leigh’s experience and expertise perfectly compliment that of our growing team and we are delighted to welcome him to the firm. 

“With Leigh’s appointment, we are also excited to launch our brand-new Tax offering which will allow us to provide our clients with truly integrated legal advice, while building upon our existing suite of services.”

Leigh’s appointment follows that of Directors Steve Clinning, John Aynsley, Chris Cagney, Matthew Hind, Nickhil Mandora and Sam Silverman, who all recently joined the firm from Memery Crystal.