People
It’s not the firm, it’s the people.
Daniel Freedman
Partner
020 7871 8601
- Founded Freedmans Law in 2008
- Qualified in Scotland (1995), New York State (1996) and England & Wales (2003)
- Previous experience with Burness Paull and Dundas & Wilson CS (London, now merged with CMS)
- Legal 500 Commercial Property Legal Expert, Thomson Reuters “Super Lawyers”
- Global Directory of Who’s Who
- Legal Week’s IT Achiever of the Year 2002
- Speaks a little French, German and Hebrew
Merter Hilmi
Partner
020 7659 0345
- Founded Hilmi + Partners in 2007
- Specialises in investment and development work
- Qualified in England & Wales 1999
- Previously with Jeffrey Green Russell (London, West End) from 1999 to 2007
- Quoted in the Legal 500 as being ‘totally unstuffy and technically brilliant’ and ‘bright, very hardworking, and streetwise’
- Speaks Turkish (Cypriot)
Julian Johnstone
Partner
020 7659 0343
- Qualified in England & Wales 1996
- Joined Freedman + Hilmi in January 2020 having worked with Freedman + Hilmi and its clients for a number of years beforehand
- Specialises in property related litigation, dispute resolution and property law advisory work
- Previous experience with S J Berwin, Ashurst, Dundas & Wilson (London, now merged with CMS) and Druces
Lisa Mantle
Partner
020 7871 8604
- Qualified in England & Wales 2001
- Trained and spent first 8 years PQE with Nabarro (now merged with CMS)
- Previous experience as a Partner in West End property boutique and regional firms
- Specialises in investment and development work
- Speaks German and a little French
Habib Ullah
Partner
020 7871 8603
- Qualified in England & Wales 2000
- Real estate finance, acquisition finance and Islamic finance
- Previously a Partner at Nabarro (London, now merged with CMS), Taylor Wessing and Addleshaw Goddard
- Previously worked in-house as General Counsel in the investment banking industry and managed the 2018 London Stock Exchange listing of Aston Martin Lagonda to the Premium Segment of the Main Market, with a valuation of £4.33 billion
- Previous roles included head of banking Middle East and head of Islamic Finance
Ben Jones
Partner
020 7290 3605
- Qualified in England & Wales 2007
- Previously joint head of corporate and commercial with a regional firm
- Transactional experience includes acquisitions, disposals, asset sales/purchases, joint ventures and company restructuring
- Advises clients on a range of corporate and commercial matters, including company/partnership formation and partnership/shareholders agreements
- Advises on employment issues
Robert Wilford
Partner
020 7290 3606
- Qualified in England & Wales 2015
- Previously a partner at a regional firm
- Experience in a wide range of real estate transactions with a particular emphasis on acquisitions and disposals and landlord and tenant matters
- Speaks a little French and Spanish
Dr Robert Davy
Legal Director
020 7659 0342
- Qualified in England & Wales 2004
- Specialist in conventional and Shari’ah compliant banking, debt capital markets, real estate finance, commodity finance and asset backed finance in Europe, the Gulf and Africa
- Previous experience with Clyde & Co, Herbert Smith Freehills, Shearman & Sterling and Clifford Chance
- Previous in-house experience with Standard Chartered Bank, Lloyds Bank and Bank of London and The Middle East
Geraldine Gallagher
Managing Associate
020 7659 0344
- Qualified in England & Wales 2007
- Graduated from University College London with a First Class Honours degree in Geography
- Previously at US firm White & Case (London and Hong Kong Offices) before joining Hilmi + Partners LLP in 2009
- Broad real estate experience acting for both landlords and tenants with particular emphasis on estate management for landlords
Raza Anjum
Senior Associate
020 7871 8606
- Qualified in England & Wales 2013
- Trained with Norton Rose Fulbright LLP and previously with a city law firm
- Has a Masters in Law (LLM) from University College London and has undertaken legal secondments to Dubai and Bahrain
- Advises on wide-ranging commercial property matters including acquisitions, financing matters, landlord and tenant work and disposals
- Acts for various clients including property investment companies, lenders, high-net worth individuals, corporates and property funds
Miranda Bradley
Senior Associate
020 7871 8608
- Qualified in England & Wales 2017
- Trained with Trowers & Hamlins LLP
- Previously with a regional firm
- Assists in all property matters at Freedman + Hilmi
George Charteris
Associate
020 7871 8605
- Qualified in England & Wales 2020
- Previously with a large regional firm in the Midlands and more recently with a well-established London firm
- Experience across a range of Real Estate matters, to include landlord and tenant work, ongoing estate management as well as acquisitions and disposals
Lucy Begbie
Trainee Solicitor
020 7290 3600
- Graduated from the University of Strathclyde with honours in Scots and English Law
- Graduated from the University of Law with a Distinction in her LPC and LLM in 2020
- Interned at an International law firm in Hong Kong
Mike Wood
Trainee Solicitor
020 7290 3601
- Graduated from Northumbria University with a Masters in Law in 2018
- Worked as a Capital Markets and Finance paralegal with Clifford Chance
- Undertook secondments with Citi, Clydesdale Bank and Kensington Mortgage Company
Ryan Corr
Trainee Solicitor
020 7290 3602
- Graduated from Leicester University with a First Class Honours degree in Law in 2021
- Interned at Herbet Smith Freehill’s Dubai Office
Will Sutcliffe
Trainee Solicitor
020 7290 3604
- Graduated from University of Nottingham with Honours in History
- Graduated from BPP University with a Distinction in his LLM in 2022
- Previously with a regional firm
Elias Al-Alawi
Paralegal
020 7290 3603
- Graduated in 2022 from the University of Westminster with Honours in Law
- Worked within the Real Estate department as an Administration Assistant at a National Firm
- Most recently had experience at a Global firm working with US securities assisting the New York office
Elaine Hunter
Office Manager and Finance Director
020 7871 8602
- Manages administration of the firm and PA to Daniel Freedman
- Office Manager and Finance Director of Freedmans Law since 2012
- Manages the accounts system
- 30+ years’ experience in legal firms in the City, West End, Oxford and Hertfordshire
Fay Adedayo
Practice Manager
020 7659 0347
- Manages administration of the firm and PA to Merter Hilmi
- Practice Manager of Hilmi + Partners since 2007
- Associate Member of CILEX (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives)
- Currently working towards becoming a Fellow of CILEX