Lawrence Stephens appoints Chief Operating Officer

By Bridging Loan Directory 1st September 2022

City-based law firm, Lawrence Stephens has announced a new management role with the position of Chief Operating Officer to be taken up by Johnny Nichols from 1st September 2022.

Johnny Nichols, previously Head of Business Services Projects at Allen & Overy and HR Director at Bird & Bird for 14 years, has project-managed and held senior positions within the Magic Circle.

Johnny also established US law firm Keller Lenkner’s London office, where he acted as COO and led the growth of that office to 85 people in two years.

The appointment follows a surge of growth at Lawrence Stephens that has necessitated the engagement of a COO to drive the operational and strategic side of the business.

Johnny’s role will extend across the operations, HR, culture and business development aspects of the business and will prioritise growth, people and technology in 2023.

Steven Bernstein, Senior Director comments:

“We are proud to say that Lawrence Stephens has experienced rapid growth and expansion across virtually all departments in recent years.

We are delighted that Johnny is joining us and bringing with him a wealth of Magic and Silver Circle expertise.

The continued drive and unparalleled commitment to client servicing by our people has resulted in the fantastic scope of work we deliver.

The business is now ripe for Johnny to do what he does best, facilitating and managing the continued expansion of the business, whilst ensuring our culture is upheld and strengthened.

We have no doubt that Johnny will be an integral part of our team and trust him to lead the business through a sustained and exciting period of growth”.

Johnny Nichols, COO, Lawrence Stephens comments:

“I’m delighted to be joining Lawrence Stephens. They are a firm with momentum and an exciting growth agenda.

They have asked me to accelerate their modernisation programme whilst maintaining excellent client service and to do that without losing sight of the desire for all their staff to enjoy themselves”.