Madeleine joined Bermans in October 2021 and is a solicitor in the Commercial department.
Before joining Bermans, Madeleine graduated from the University of Liverpool with a first class Law degree and then completed the LPC MSc at the University of Law in Chester. She completed her training contract at an international law firm.
Madeleine can assist with reviewing and drafting commercial contracts, agreements and policies.
Outside of work, Madeleine enjoys travelling and worked in-house as a legal intern in Singapore during a university summer break. She also enjoys running and has recently started photography as a new hobby.
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.”
James Whittaker is a Partner in the insolvency team, having joined Bermans in 2019 after practicing law at large international law firms since qualifying as a solicitor in 2012.
Prior to qualification, James studied Psychology at the University of Liverpool and then converting to law at the University of Law at Chrisleton.
James has experience acting for and advising companies, individuals, directors, creditors and office-holders within insolvency proceedings in respect of both contentious and non-contentious assignments.
Currently, James has a focus on contentious insolvency proceedings and is regularly instructed to issue and defend applications under the Insolvency Act 1986 and the Insolvency Rules 2016 including:
Applications for injunctions to restrain presentation of or advertisement of winding up petitions,
All stages of the creditors’ winding up petition process, including opposing a petition which is disputed in good faith on substantial grounds;
All stages of the bankruptcy petition process, including applications to set aside statutory demands and disputed bankruptcy petition hearings;
Full range of office-holder applications arising from the administration of insolvent estates against directors, companies and individuals (including misfeasance/preference/undervalue/void dispositions),
Acting for Trustees in Bankruptcy against individuals and companies, applications for possession and sale and annulment applications;
Administration applications include applications to challenge validity of appointment, and administration extension applications;
Applications for block transfers of office holder appointments.
Outside of work, James likes to spend as much time as possible outside either cycling (having recently completed Haute Route Alps) or walking/camping in the hills of North Wales and the Lake District. James is also an avid follower of professional cycling, and Liverpool Football Club.
James has been named as ranked as a ‘Next Generation Partner’ by the Legal 500 2025 (having been a ‘Rising Star in 2024) and has been described by his clients as “a superb litigator who is responsive knowledgeable and a pleasure to deal with’ .
On Tuesday 3 September, Bermans sponsored the latest Blockchain Manchester Meetup, hosted by our friends at BlockRocket.
Our Head of Corporate, Jon Davage, was there to give the audience a brief introduction to the services Bermans offers to entrepreneurs in the tech sector. Also present was our Commercial and IP team, who has been a regular attendee at these blockchain meetups.
Rob is an Associate in the Commercial team, having joined Bermans in July 2019.
Rob advises on all types of commercial contracts, with particular expertise in agreements for the creative and tech sectors. He has assisted a range of clients, including software developers, platform providers, music publishers and online retailers, and can advise on various matters, such as the importance of robust terms and conditions, the protection and licensing of intellectual property rights, and data protection matters.
Before deciding to train in law, Rob gained an MA in Music Industry Studies from the University of Liverpool. This included a dissertation based on his own original research, studying levels of understanding of relevant intellectual property issues amongst musicians in Liverpool.
Since then, Rob has had a number of commercially-focused roles, including creative industries business adviser, project manager, and owner of a record label. Rob’s frequent dealings with commercial contracts inspired him to train as a commercial lawyer.
| 
Solicitor
