Lester Aldridge LLP

lesteraldridge.com

Member of MSI Global Alliance

Tom Alder

Tom Alder is the Managing Partner at Lester Aldridge. Tom is an experienced planning lawyer who deals with a wide range of planning issues, both contentious and non-contentious, on behalf of developer clients, acting on a national basis for a number. Tom’s key focus is the housebuilding sector (both market and retirement sector), advising in respect of residential or residential led mixed use schemes. He also has considerable experience in contentious planning work, representing clients in planning appeals and High Court legal challenges. Additionally, Tom is responsible for a niche practice advising ports and marinas in respect of operational agreements and statutory consents.

Izabela Arnold

Izabela advises national developers, contractors, consultants, schools, colleges and lending institutions on a variety of construction projects through all stages of the development, from procurement to dispute avoidance. Izabela regularly drafts and negotiates building contracts, consultants’ appointments, collateral warranties, third party rights, performance bonds and company guarantees on large development projects in a timely and efficient manner. Izabela is thorough and responsive.

Matthew Barrow

Matthew is a Partner in the Real Estate Group at Lester Aldridge. He advises on a wide variety of commercial property matters including: \tDistressed property realisations \tSecured lending \tAll aspects of non-contentious landlord and tenant work \tMarina based property matters \tPortfolio management \tInvestment acquisitions and disposals

Bethan Dodd

Bethan Dodd is a Partner in the Real Estate team. Bethan is an experienced real estate solicitor and advises clients on transactional commercial property matters. Bethan has particular expertise in the healthcare sector, including care homes, primary care surgery development, funding and occupation requirements. As well as advising on landlord and tenant matters, bank finance, acquisitions and disposals, Bethan has extensive experience in advising on NHS capital funding schemes for new surgery developments and advising on the Premise Costs Directions 2013. Bethan’s clients praise her ability to clearly explain complex areas of law and to work collaboratively with multiple stakeholders to find pragmatic ways to achieve her client’s objectives.

Jamie Earley

Jamie Earley is a Partner in our Corporate & Commercial team. Jamie Earley advises businesses on corporate matters, with a particular specialism in the tech sector and is adept at dealing with multi-jurisdictional transactions. He has been involved in some of the largest tech transactions in the region over the past two to three years. With extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions valued between £10 million and £40 million, Jamie provides strategic guidance to clients navigating high-value deals. He also advises on group reorganisations, shareholder agreements, LLP agreements and partnership agreements, ensuring businesses have the right structures in place to support growth and succession planning. Jamie acts as an external general counsel for several businesses, serving as a trusted advisor and sounding board on a wide range of legal issues. Clients appreciate Jamie’s responsiveness, tenacity, and pragmatic approach, valuing his ability to deliver commercially focused advice that supports their business objectives.

David Fanchi

David Fanchi is a Partner in the Real Estate team. David acts for property owners and lenders acquiring, disposing and re/financing numerous commercial real estate interests, both individually and on a portfolio basis. He advises national and international commercial real estate owners and occupiers in the acquisition, management and/or disposal of their commercial real estate interests. David is well-regarded for both his personable approach and commercial outlook to ensure matters are pursued as diligently as possible.

Oliver Fitzpatrick

Oliver Fitzpatrick is a Partner in the Restructuring & Insolvency team at Lester Aldridge. Oliver is a recognised specialist in insolvency law, handling both corporate and personal insolvency matters. He primarily works with insolvency practitioners but also represents directors, creditors, lenders, stakeholders, and private individuals. Oliver’s unique offering stems from his ability to manage both contentious and non-contentious insolvency cases. His expertise includes technical court applications, complex antecedent transactions, obtaining injunctive relief, asset realisation, and advising on officeholder appointments. He is known for providing sound, pragmatic advice in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Matt Gilks

Matt Gilks is a Partner in the Planning team. Matt is a highly experienced planning and environment solicitor advising on applications, appeals, judicial reviews and transactional work. Matt advises across a plethora of planning and environment matters; ranging from application strategy, planning conditions, enforcement investigations, development consent orders, the Community Infrastructure Levy, compulsory purchase and related public law issues. Non-contentious work includes planning obligations, habitats, nitrates, phosphates and biodiversity net gain. Matt advises on planning and environmental matters in both spheres of town and country, with a particular focus in recent years on bespoke business and residential development, minerals, heritage development and waste. He advised the Secretary of State on decision-making, judicial review, policy and legislative drafting as a barrister in the Government Legal Service. He has dealt with complex infrastructure and development in London while a solicitor at international law firms and in local government.

David Healy

David Healy is a Partner and head of the Personal Injury & Medical Negligence team. David undertakes work for those seriously injured and has settled cases totalling well over £100 million. He has acted in a number of high profile cases. Typically these cases involve spinal cord damage, brain injury, amputations and/or serious burns. David has also practised in clinical negligence. David is very experienced in winning cases where his clients have been injured in road traffic accidents and accidents at work. He has a special interest in acting for members of the Armed Forces and for people with injuries caused by animals.

Rebecca Humm

Rebecca Humm is a Partner in the Real Estate team at Lester Aldridge. Rebecca is an experienced development lawyer whose focus is the residential sector, where she advises a range of national and regionally based house-builder clients on the acquisition of land for development. She has particular expertise in negotiating conditional contracts, options and overage arrangements. She has particular expertise in drafting and negotiating planning and infrastructure agreements, undertaking planning and environmental due diligence as part of site acquisition and advising on breaches of planning legislation. Rebecca also has considerable experience in contentious planning work, representing clients in respect of both planning appeals and High Court legal challenges. Rebecca also has experience in advising developers and landowners generally on land development, strategic issues, and structuring transactions. She has acted for a broad range of clients, including commercial and residential developers, charities, retirement and care home operators, and port authorities.

Linda Jacques

Linda Jacques is a Partner in the Marine, Shipping & Logistics team. Linda acts for clients all over the world and has an excellent understanding of trade issues which arise out of the carriage of goods by ship, air and land. It is common to find lawyers specialised in one of these fields but rarer to find a lawyer who fully appreciates the entire trade chain. She offers a pragmatic and incisive view to try and get issues and disputes resolved as cost effectively as possible.

Philippa Langton

Philippa has a strong background in commercial shipping, with a focus on charterparty and other contractual disputes, and has advised many international, high-profile companies on a wide range of issues. Philippa also now works closely with the leisure marine and superyacht sectors, providing advice on contentious, non-contentious and regulatory matters. Philippa’s P&I Club background and experience of working closely with shipowners and operators enables her to provide quick, commercial and practical advice that is focused on the business needs of her clients. She also has a particular interest in East Asia, having a BA in Mandarin, spent several years living and working in Shanghai and the last few years working with the Japanese market.

Nicky Nelson

Nicky has over 35 years of experience in the marine, charity, and commercial sectors, having worked in private practice in London at leading shipping firms and, more recently, as General Counsel of a large maritime charity. She has lived and worked in Singapore and Greece advising shipbuilders, ship owners and operators and has advised a wide range of clients, including insurers, P&I Clubs, riparian owners, and high-profile companies. Her principal areas of expertise are commercial shipping, contentious and non-contentious regulatory matters, and the leisure marine sector. Having worked in-house instructing external counsel, Nicky has a good understanding of clients’ needs and the support needed by in-house legal teams.

Liz Oaten

Liz Oaten is a Partner in the Personal Injury & Medical Negligence team. Liz has extensive practical experience in managing, including to trial, a varied high value and high profile clinical negligence claims portfolio. She has secured multi-million-pound settlements for claimants across a broad spectrum of specialities including obstetrics, gynaecology, neurosurgery, urology, orthopaedic and plastic surgery. Liz also has experience in pursuing professional negligence claims against solicitors arising out of their poor management of clinical negligence claims. Liz has specialised in handling clinical negligence cases since qualification in 1987. She has considerable experience in the courts and has been involved in a number of reported cases that have set legal precedents. Liz has a postgraduate degree (LLM) in the legal aspects of medical practice and is accredited as a mediator. Liz is a member of all three specialist clinical negligence schemes; the APIL accredited clinical negligence specialist scheme, the AvMA clinical negligence panel and The Law Society’s clinical negligence accreditation scheme. Liz is also an assessor for the APIL Clinical Negligence Panel and an APIL senior litigator. Liz is personally recommended to clients on a regular basis and undertakes work across the country. She has been acclaimed by clients for: “A brilliant and professional service throughout”, “Great result in a complex case” ‘Very honest, reliable and very professional”, “I was treated as a person, I was shown empathy and I felt like a friend” “We were treated fairly and with sensitivity at all times”. Liz has developed a close network of trusted medical advisors who assist in the screening process of new claims and she undertakes work funded by a variety of organisations and regularly acts for clients on a conditional fee basis (no win no fee).

James Realff

James is a Partner in the Southampton Real Estate Team and advises on all aspects of commercial property transactions including: \tfreehold acquisitions and disposals; \tcommercial land development; \tlandlord and tenant matters; \tthe sale and purchase of agricultural land; and \tecumenical property matters. James is well known for his down-to-earth and engaging manner as well as his informed and commercial advice. He has been involved in a number of significant transactions including the purchase of multi-let retail and industrial estates, a shopping centre in Chatham and numerous brownfield sites for development as regional distribution centres for retailers. In addition, James has experience in the acquisition, disposal and financing of rural land as well as property portfolio management for large religious institutions.

Sian Rogers

Sian is a Partner solicitor in the Southampton Real Estate team. She advises on a wide range of commercial property matters including: \tPortfolio management, acquisition and investment \tSecured lending \tAll aspects of non-contentious landlord and tenant work \tDistressed property realisations \tAcquisitions and disposals (including portfolios and pension funds)

Sabah Siddiq

Sabah Siddiq is a Senior Associate in our Planning & Environment team. Sabah is an experienced planning and environment solicitor advising on all aspects of planning and environmental law. Sabah advises on contentious and non-contentious matters, including advising and negotiating on complex s106 agreements, nitrates mitigates agreements, highway agreements, and biodiversity net gain. Community Infrastructure Levy, advising and negotiating on judicial review and planning statutory appeals, listed building, and planning enforcement. Sabah is an experienced planning solicitor, having worked for both local planning authorities and private practice.

Lucy Stevens

Lucy Stevens is a Partner in the Real Estate team. Lucy advises on site purchasing through to developing the site. Her clients include residential developers, retirement and care homes and port authorities. As a planning and development specialist, Lucy deals with a broad range of matters including site acquisition, landlord and tenant work, and drafting and negotiating planning and infrastructure agreements. She has worked on a number of substantial projects for the firm’s retail and development clients.

Rebecca Walker

Rebecca Walker is a Partner in the Restructuring & Insolvency team. Rebecca has worked at various top City and regional practices. She has also completed a 6-month secondment to a hedge fund and a short secondment to a German law firm. Rebecca handles complex restructuring and insolvencies, often involving an international or regulatory element. She is experienced in insolvency transactions (including pre-packaged administration sales), providing strategic advice to companies and their directors in financial difficulty and advising secured lenders on the enforcement of their security. She also regularly advises on how to structure corporate transactions and commercial arrangements to protect against counterparty insolvency risk. In addition to the above, Rebecca is well known for her expertise in solvent restructurings, including section 110 demergers and members’ voluntary liquidations.

Lisa Watson-Cook

Whether you work for a charity, social enterprise, voluntary organisation or association, Lisa can advise you on all aspects of charity law. Lisa’s background is as in-house counsel for a ‘top ten’ charity. In addition to providing a broad range of legal, regulatory and constitutional advice to the national umbrella body, she was responsible for the charity’s constituent parts, namely 150 separately registered branches, affiliated trusts, grant-making charities and non-charitable subsidiaries. This role has given her unique insight, versatility and knowledge of the charity sector. Understanding your organisation’s operating model as well as the wider regulatory environment means she can provide simple, pragmatic and tailored advice. Lisa’s aim is to support trustees and charity professionals to advance their strategic objectives with minimal risk. Lisa’s particular experience lies with federated or branch structures, membership bodies, animal charities, trading subsidiaries, governance reform and supporting charities with a range of compliance issues, including fundraising and data protection.

Roger Woolley

Roger is a Partner in the Real Estate team. Roger specialises in major development projects, including site acquisitions, financing, development agreements and construction documentation and disposals. He regularly advises on joint ventures and collaborations. Whilst dealing with a broad range of development projects, Roger has a particular interest in waterside developments, acting for several ports and marina operators, and the Healthcare sector. He deals with substantial and complex property transactions and property-related projects on behalf of a range of clients across the UK. Roger has a broad range of clients, including developers, banks, port and marina operators, housebuilders, and care home operators.

Sam Wylie

Sam is a Partner in the firm’s Real Estate Development team and has worked in the industry since 2007. Sam provides advice on a wide range of real estate matters, including option agreements, contracts conditional upon planning permission and promotion agreements. He also works for landlords in investment portfolio asset management. Sam has a loyal following of local and regional housebuilders, commercial property developers and investors in and around the Dorset and Hampshire area. Sam works closely with his clients to help them achieve their business objectives by providing strategic, practical and commercial legal advice.