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FEE EARNER FOCUS: Q&A – Claire Morris (Property)
Claire Morris (pictured below), joined Bermans in September 2006 as a trainee solicitor and is now a Partner in the property team. We spoke to her to learn more about her and her work.
Claire Morris
New arrivals in Bermans Corporate team
Barney Leaf
Bermans has made two appointments to its Corporate team. The team, led by Jon Davage, welcomed Barney Leaf as a partner and Simon Nolan as a Solicitor from Laytons LLP.
Barney has over 20 years of corporate law experience and acts for international and domestic businesses in many sectors ranging from retail, online, law firms, insurance, finance and investment funds.
Joining Barney from Laytons will be his assistant solicitor, Simon Nolan. Simon will undertake the variety of corporate instructions that are generated by the varied portfolio of clients that Bermans acts for.
Continue ReadingBermans bolsters its restructuring team with key lateral hires
L-R Martin March, Phil Farrelly and James Whittaker
North West commercial law firm Bermans, which is celebrating its 50th year in business, has made two key appointments to its busy restructuring team. The team, led by Phil Farrelly, welcomed Martin March as a partner and James Whittaker as a Senior Associate.
Martin has more than 20 years’ experience working in the insolvency and restructuring arena and joins the firm from Knights Plc. A well know face across the North West, Martin focuses on transactional and advisory work, acting for business owners, insolvency practitioners and other professionals in relation to business restructuring. He has been involved in a number of high-profile property related insolvencies involving distressed “investor funded developments”. His focus at Bermans will be on corporate transactions particularly property related insolvencies.
Continue ReadingGP Practice: New to Partnership Payment
I have been asked by a GP Practice client to advise on the New to Partnership Payment which is a £20,000 payment to new Doctors (and others) who join a GP practice as a partner and is referred to in the Update issued 6th February 2020 (sections 2.14 – 2.16). NHS England Update to the GP contract agreement 2020/21 – 2023/24
Although the details are not yet fully decided by NHS England, and detailed guidance is yet to be provided, based on the Update, the payment is payable where:
Get ready for employment law changes coming in April 2020
Adrian Fryer
All employees must be issued with a statement setting out specific terms of their employment within two months of them starting work (known as a Section 1 Statement). Often this information will be part of a lengthier employment contract. From the 6 April 2020 the requirement to issue a Section 1 Statement will extend to workers as well as employees. It must also be issued on day one of the employment and the information it must include is expanding.
If you employ staff or if you have contractors who are deemed to be ‘workers’, it is essential that you review your employment documentation to ensure it is compliant.
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Martin March
Partner
Martin is a Partner in Bermans insolvency and restructuring team and joined in 2020.
He has a law degree and qualified as a solicitor in 1998.
Martin has over 20 years experience as an insolvency and restructuring lawyer, focusing mainly on transactional and advisory work. He is a very familiar face in the North West restructuring market and has extensive experience acting for insolvency practitioners, corporates, ABL and other lenders advising on restructuring and new lending matters.
Clients find Martin “commercial, practical and approachable.”
T: 0161 393 7119
Continue ReadingBermans turns 50!
Bermans marked 50 years in business on 4 February 2020 and partner Fergal O’Cleirigh explains how the firm has gone from strength to strength and how it has adapted to the changing legal landscape.
The firm, which has offices in Manchester and Liverpool, was set up in 1970 by Liverpool based litigation lawyer Keith Berman. In 1980 Keith left the UK for New York where he established a New York office for the firm. The New York and Liverpool offices split in the early 1980s to create two independent firms both bearing Keith’s name but continued to work closely together.
Continue ReadingGoodbye to Finance House Base Rate
The New Year saw the demise of the FLA’s well-established Finance House Base Rate (“FHBR”) essentially to avoid the regulatory consequences of some complex EU Benchmark Regulations.
However, in practice the FLA will continue to publish a figure which will effectively replace FHBR. In the words of the FLA statement explaining the change:
Continue ReadingHire Purchase Customer sues Supplier
The title of this article does not quite rise to the level of “Man Bites Dog”, but it refers to a rather unusual case which was reported recently and which provides a welcome albeit relatively unusual example of a dissatisfied customer accepting its liability under Hire Purchase Agreements and seeking its remedy against the supplier of the defective equipment.
New York Laser Clinic Limited v Naturastudios Limited [2019] EWHC 2892 (QB) involved the supply of a large quantity of laser equipment to the claimant for use in its laser hair removal business, following oral representations made by the supplier as to the performance of the equipment upon which the claimant made detailed profit projections which formed the basis of its business case put to 3 financiers.
Continue ReadingFCA to require improved Commission Disclosure
One of the more nebulous provisions of CONC which has led to widely different interpretations in practice has been the rule relating to the disclosure of commission found at 4.5.3 which currently provides as follows:
“A credit broker must disclose to a customer in good time before a credit agreement or a consumer hire agreement is entered into, the existence of any commission or fee or other remuneration payable to the credit broker by the lender or owner or a third party in relation to a credit agreement or a consumer hire agreement, where knowledge of the existence or amount of the commission could actually or potentially:
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