The Five Minute Interview with Jonathan Newman, Senior Partner, Brightstone Law

Brightstone Law is widely recognised as the leading law firm in bridging, mortgages and loans. The firm has over 25 years’ experience in bridging finance.

What we offer is technical competence together with practical guidance which comes from unrivalled experience in this area of lending.

What makes this firm different to others is its wide-ranging level of experience and the wide-ranging nature of that experience and the fact that the firm offers a complete range of services.

In addition to its property finance team, the firm has a leading reputation for advising on recoveries and litigation, having successfully pursued possession claims, receivership claims, insolvency actions, actions against professional service providers (lawyers and surveyors) and land registry indemnity claims.

We speak to senior partner, Jonathan Newman:

What is the best thing about being in the bridging finance business?

I enjoy the pace and at times the drama. But more than anything else, problem solving issues that can arise in all sorts of areas.

What keeps you focused?

A desire to improve the quality of my experience and technical know-how, together with a passion to continue to build a successful law practice, which helps support, assist and develop a client base and which continues to thrive and have an impact on the UK finance industry.

What qualities do you look for in your employees or colleagues?

Passion, technical competence, combined with a first-class service ethic, I would never treat an individual matter as a one-off billing opportunity.

It’s an opportunity to demonstrate what Brightstone Law is about, why we are different and to develop a solicitor/client relationship to last for years to come.

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

As a lawyer providing advice which is to be relied upon, I am a realist and a pragmatist. Neither optimism or pessimism has a place in that world.

As a Man Utd fan, mostly a pessimist – at the moment.

What did you want to be as a child?

An adult.

What will be the greatest challenge facing the bridging finance industry in the coming months?

The greatest challenge is maintaining the business advantage, which specialist finance providers now hold over traditional funders.

Initially that was based mainly upon delivery and execution.  But as the market has grown, so the complexity of the lending has increased.

The challenge is to handle and deal with added complexity, without dropping service standards.

Who or what makes you laugh?

Love northern humour in the genre of Peter Kaye. Massive devotee of Phoenix Nights, Shameless and little known, but worth a box set Saturday – Open All Hours.

Do you dread Monday mornings?

Not at all. Monday Morning is the opportunity to assess last week’s performance, which we do and push on to achieve better and more.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Learning how to say “No”.

With whom would you most like to have dinner?

Jeremy Corbyn. Not sure it would be so enjoyable for him.

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