Happy Retirement Peter Sinnett!

Alex Chapman

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.

From my own chats with clients and intermediaries within the industry, I know how well received his bi-annual Asset and Invoice Finance Briefings are.

He is of course also the author of our Invoice and Asset Finance Guides which he regularly updates and for many years have been a standard easy reference point for new entrants into the industry and for those of us who are longer in the tooth! I have spotted the Guides on the edge of many clients’ desks when I visit them.

My colleague and former partner Ian Munford, who has worked with Peter for around 40 years providing advice to the Asset Finance industry says:

“Peter is one of the most intelligent and able lawyers I have come across in all my many years of practice. Whilst not one to “blow his own trumpet” he was often acknowledged by his peers, opponents and many top Judges as a lawyer at the very top of his game and someone to be highly respected by all. From a personal viewpoint, perhaps even more important than his undoubted skills and attributes as a lawyer, Peter has and continues to be a sincere, humble, supportive and loyal friend whose respected opinion on a range of topics I have often sought over the years and much appreciated .”

His skills as a fearsome advocate have left many a defendant trembling at the knees in the witness box and his consummate easy use of language about complex legal issues in the Briefings and the Guides regularly leaves me in awe of his erudition and ability to articulate those issues with no excess verbiage and hitting just the right note. He will be sorely missed by his colleagues in the ABL Team and we wish him, Dalbinder and Dara a very happy retirement!

Peter Sinnett