Strengths: ‘The lawyers' knowledge is excellent and you can always trust their advice.’
‘Penningtons are diligent, thoughtful and thorough when advising on real estate disputes.’
‘Their service levels were very good and they provided quick response times throughout.’
‘Penningtons has an incredible level of expertise. They work closely together to ensure all work is completed to the top quality.’
‘The team is always responsive and provides actionable and practical advice.’
Notable practitioners
Donald Lambert: ‘Donald has extremely extensive knowledge and is very intelligent and creative. He has a great ability to see the angles on things and can find points that turn out to be worth exploring.’
John Morrison: ‘John has helped navigate us through a tricky and complex set of negotiations and has provided commercially astute advice.'
Amy Evans: ‘Amy provides an excellent level of detail and commercial awareness in every instruction. She is very personable and keen to ensure that any uncertainty is addressed in a timely fashion.’
Chambers UK - 2023 edition
‘Knowledgeable advice given with an understanding and appreciation of commercial relevance and viability.’
‘Penningtons have real strength in depth. They are incredibly well set up, in terms of people, resources and technology, to handle even the largest and most complex of cases.’
‘Highly commercially aware and technically excellent. The team also has a warm and friendly approach that inspires confidence in individual and corporate clients alike.’
‘Kerra Jelbert – handles matters for blue chip clients with a perfect balance of pragmatism and business sense.’
‘Donald Lambert is intelligent, measured and thoughtful. He has the ability to see interesting, viable legal angles that can support his clients’ positions. He is very commercially minded and highly aware of the drivers of his clients.’
‘David Masters – very experienced. Thoughtful, good judgement.’
‘Sam Mullender is detailed and determined, and delivers as promised.’
‘Diligence, communication, accuracy of advice, Andrea Nicholls has been particularly helpful in providing timely advice on recent matters.’
‘Ben Robinson is a stand-out individual; his calm, collected unflappable exterior belies exceptional client care skills combined with tactical nouse in litigation. He has particular strength in leasehold matters including cladding/ fire safety issues.’
‘An outstanding group of lawyers including Peter Stockill and Chris Bates. They are extremely thorough, diligent, hard-working and experts in their field.’
‘Peter Stockill and Jamil Sanaullah have good communication skills and excellent knowledge in their area.’
The Legal 500 - 2023 edition
Respected and versatile team managing property portfolios for national retailers, regularly handling lease renewals and dilapidation claims as well as advising residential clients on service charges disputes. Also acts for several institutional investors on contested lease renewals and redevelopment. Further clients include educational institutions and start-ups.
Strengths: Clients appreciate that the firm is ‘good at spotting issues we didn't anticipate’.
Sources note that the lawyers are ‘flexible and commercial in their approach’.
Interviewees praise the firm for ‘listening and then giving us advice based on our personal position’.
Notable practitioners
Donald Lambert: ‘He is very experienced and very commercially smart.’
John Morrison has extensive experience in a range of real estate litigation. His work includes dilapidation claims, lease renewals, boundary disputes, and landlord and tenant issues.
Andrea Nicholls: ‘Andrea provides clear, confident advice. She is very personable and a good communicator, particularly with clients.’
Chambers UK - 2022 edition
The team at Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP is led by Donald Lambert, who is experienced in portfolio management but has in recent years focused on development-related work. These two elements form the cornerstones of the practice and include tenant insolvency and telecoms sector matters as well as disputes at the intersection with construction (most notably in the fire safety space). Clients include investors, developers, institutional landlords and tenants. The firm is committed to reducing its carbon footprint through its accreditation with Planet Mark.
Practice head [in Oxford] John Morrison handles the full range of commercial and residential disputes, most notably for educational institutes and life sciences companies in and around Oxford. Amy Evans is noted for her niche agricultural focus, and often works with the firm’s social housing team, advising various housing associations on statutory lease extensions, enfranchisements and rights of first refusal. Roberta Bombaci is recommended for her experience in easement disputes and TOLATA cases.
Senior associate Andrea Nicholls in Cambridge plays a central role in the firm's work in contentious agricultural and property matters and disputes concerning freehold property, rights of way, restrictive covenants, overage agreements and land options. Nicholls 'gets straight to the point and is fluent in her law and steady under fire'.
‘Amy Evans is able to provide valuable information in the context needed for the client…Time-critical matters are always dealt with impeccably.’
‘Donald Lambert is impressively clever and a lateral thinker, with a remarkable ability to find new angles in law to apply to a case’s facts.‘
‘John Morrison is incredibly knowledgeable and personable. It is a pleasure to work alongside him. He deals with matters swiftly and is able to add valuable insights based on his extensive experience.’
‘Andrea Nicholls is an experienced litigator who is focused on getting the right result for the client. She stands out in cutting through to the main issue and setting aside distractions which often slow down litigation in the hands of others.’
‘Ben Robinson is outstanding – he appears very relaxed on the surface, but has a real eye for detail. He is extremely thorough and very good at seeing the end game – he always keeps everything on track.‘
‘Laura West is a standout associate. She is tenacious, organised and committed to achieving results at every stage of litigation. She is very able with technical detail.‘
The Legal 500 - 2022 edition
Strengths: Clients say: 'They are a great service provider.'
Others note: 'They go the extra mile, they deal with complex matters clearly and positively, and their work ethic is exceptional.'
Notable practitioners
Donald Lambert offers clients expertise across a range of property disputes. He handles service charge and dilapidations claims, among other disputes. 'He has an innate ability to understand exactly what the client needs and where the case is going.'
John Morrison has extensive experience in a range of real estate litigation. His work includes dilapidation claims, lease renewals, boundary disputes and landlord and tenant issues. 'He is extremely astute, reliable, thinks with great clarity and makes it easy to follow complex information. He is very impressive.'
Andrea Nicholls acts on rent arrears, service charges and forfeiture matters concerning commercial premises, while also advising private clients on rescission of purchase contracts and proprietary estoppel claims.
Chambers UK - 2021 edition
Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP is strong in handling development disputes, including telecoms sector matters, and disputes at the intersection with construction (most notably in the fire safety space), as well as landlord and tenant work. Clients include investors, developers and landlords, including social housing providers. Portfolio management expert Donald Lambert is the head of the practice.
Partners Donald Lambert and David Masters are approachable, commercially astute and very good lawyers.
David Masters – an old hand who inspires confidence in both the professional and lay client alike. Very calm and collected in the heat of trial.
Laura West – largely responsible for the branching out into telecommunications work; an important facet to any team advising developers these days. She has a cool head and provides clear and concise advice.
Oxford-based practice head John Morrison's work includes lease renewals, dilapidation claims, service charge disputes, forfeiture issues, possession proceedings and boundary disputes. Amy Evans has particular experience in dealing with lease extensions and enfranchisement claims.
John Morrison is exceptionally clear thinking and astute. He provides very efficient and timely responses, having analysed quickly and effectively. He distils complex issues into more easily understood concepts. He instils confidence into what can be a worrying area of law. Outstanding!
Amy Evans gave clear concise advice on the eviction of a residential tenant with long-running debt issues. She deftly guided us through the process and successfully obtained vacant possession of the property.
The office in Cambridge is central to the firm's national property litigation practice. Senior associate and practice head Andrea Nicholls, who works closely with real estate partner Sarah Coates, handles an extensive range of disputes, including those relating to agricultural and rural property, freehold matters, rights of way, restrictive covenants, overage agreements and options. She also has experience in commercial leasehold disputes, forfeiture and rent arrears cases.
The Legal 500 - 2021 edition
Acting for landlords and tenants alike, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP's client portfolio includes investment managers, office occupiers, retailers and charities alongside residential landlords and tenants. In the commercial property space, the team led by Donald Lambert is particularly active in contested lease renewals and tenant insolvency matters, while, in the residential property sphere, the group is adept at assisting with the recovery of service charges and lease matters. Handling development-related work, including various neighbourly issues and restrictive covenants, as well as social housing litigation are other key areas of expertise. Housing association specialist Ben Robinson made partner in April 2018.
The main focus of the 'really experienced and very good' Andrea Nicholls is real estate litigation, and she works closely with commercial property partner Sarah Coates [in Cambridge] to advise on agricultural and rural property disputes; freehold property disputes; rights of way; restrictive covenants; overage agreements and disputes regarding options; commercial leasehold disputes; forfeiture; rent arrears recovery; lease renewal proceedings; and break notices.
Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP's real estate litigation group [in Oxford] is 'approachable, clear and always willing to help'; it shows 'persistence in the face of difficult and rare problems'. Team head John Morrison advises on both commercial and residential property disputes, and has a notable specialism in contentious matters involving the education sector.
The Legal 500 - 2020 edition
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