It would be remiss of me not to mention that this will be Peter’s last briefing as Editor before he sets off for his well deserved retirement. Peter is a legend of the invoice and asset finance industries and has been associated with Bermans for most of his working life – initially as a barrister in Oriel Chambers in Liverpool when Bermans used his services as an advocate and advisor on so many occasions that he was invited to join us in 1989 as a Solicitor Advocate and Partner. He remained as such until 2013 when he became a Consultant since when he has continued to be an invaluable member of our ABL team.
Around 83% of the UK population are active social media users. It comes as no surprise then that social media continues to have an influence in the workplace. As a result, employers must consider how to handle employee use of social media, both whilst they are at work and away from the workplace.
Jonathan Berkson, (pictured) joined Bermans in June 2013 and is a Senior Partner in our Asset Based Lending and Litigation teams. We spoke to him to learn more about him and his work.
Zaafir joined Bermans in March 2024 and is a Post-Completions Paralegal in our Property team based in Liverpool.
He assists Bermans property team with a wide range of property matters, including residential and commercial property acquisitions and sales, residential and commercial developments and acquisitions and redevelopment of buy-to-let properties. Zaafir also liaises with HM Land Registry and other law firms to achieve our clients’ objectives.
Zaafirs qualifications include:
Professional Skills Course for Legal Practice – School of Law, University of Central Lancashire, Preston (2023)
Master of Laws, Legal Practice Course – Liverpool John Moores University (2022)
Master of Laws, Qualifying Law Degree – Liverpool John Moores University (2021)
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Human Resource Management – University of Liverpool (2007)
Outside of work, Zaafir enjoys reading, sightseeing, news/current affairs and beach and countryside dog walks. He also has a Golden Retriever who is his constant companion and best friend!
Invoice financiers grappling with the threats and opportunities posed by AI may be interested to learn of the impact AI, and in particular the recent developments in generative AI, are likely to have on their interactions with their lawyers and with the court system.
One of the most complex and uncertain areas of law which invoice discounters and their lawyers regularly have to deal with is transaction set off, namely the extent to which the customer’s claim arising from defective or late performance of the contract on which the relevant invoice is based can be set off against the value of the invoice.
Readers will be aware that it is very rare for a reported case in the higher courts dealing with invoice finance to emerge, so we were interested to see a report of a recent case in another area of financial services which raised squarely 2 legal concepts which are fundamental to invoice financiers:
Charlotte qualified as a solicitor in 2006, and joined Bermans in March 2024 as a Partner in our Corporate team based in Manchester.
Her main areas of work focus on:
Corporate Transactions including the sale and purchase of businesses.
Drafting and negotiating contracts between business owners and between businesses and their investors such as Shareholders Agreements, Partnership Agreements and Joint Venture Agreements.
Corporate Restructures, for example share reclassifications, implementing holding company structures, buy-backs and capital reductions.
Charlotte quotes:
Quality client care is at the core of how I deliver my services. I aim to support clients by delivering a truly bespoke service. I get to know clients and their business and work with them to deliver an agreed plan. Legal knowledge and expertise isn’t the core of what I do, it’s the means by which I deliver the client’s goal.
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Jonathan Berkson,
