Laura West

I represent a wide cross-sector of property-owning interests, including institutional investors, investment funds, privately owned companies, developers, educational institutions, hoteliers, charitable bodies, sports clubs, local authorities, housing associations and ultra-high net worth individuals across a number of sectors including health, retail and energy.

My practice covers property development (including difficult contractual matters where forward funding is in place, restrictive covenants, overage, site assembly issues, rights of way, and Rights of Light), telecoms, injunctive relief, and real property issues as well as traditional asset management matters such as contested 1954 Act matters, high-value dilapidations, forfeiture, change of use, compliance with covenants, tenants in financial distress and so on.

I spent the first ten or so years of my legal practice as a self-employed barrister practising in Chambers, and as such, was in court day in, day out. This grounding in court practice and experience of the judicial perspective allows me unique insight into how legal disputes can develop, and crucially, how to secure an early resolution saving costs and time, and allowing my clients to get on with their usual business. I have represented clients in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and have considerable experience of Arbitration and expert determination. As an experienced member of the bar with hundreds of hours of court time behind me, my advocacy skills are exceptional and I put these to use day to day both in telephone negotiations and written correspondence. In 2012 I successfully completed the prestigious South Eastern Circuit Advanced Advocacy Course which is open exclusively to members of the Bar of England and Wales with more than three years' experience.

I have spent the last seven years gaining specialist experience of the Electronic Communications Code (the new telecoms Code), advising in relation to renewals, surveys and terminations. I have successfully removed apparatus from numerous development sites to allow redevelopment to go ahead on time, fended off attempts by the Operator to extend the temporary two-year agreement ordered by the UT in March 2021 in their decision in EE Ltd & Hutchison 3G UK Ltd -vs- Aviva Investors Ground Rent Holdco Limited and Aviva Investors Ground Rent GP Limited [2021] UKUT 0057 (LC) (when Aviva had alternative representation) and obtained an usually costs order for a sizeable sum of my client's costs (April 2023). I have been instructed on a number of projects concerning portfolio-wide roll out of full fibre.

Since 2016 I have been involved in various matters concerning building safety, including loose (improperly fixed) cladding, flammable cladding and compartmentation. I have advised on various claims against developers, including securing one settlement for an institutional investor worth in excess of £8m to cover remedial works for an eleven storey, higher-risk building, legal and professional costs and interest. Since the advent of the Building Safety Act 2022, I have assisted a range of different property owners in relation to developer claims, BSA applications, and other matters arising in relation to the BSA. I currently have conduct of one of the key appeals on the Building Safety Act 2022 (concerning Sch. 8) which will be heard by the Court of Appeal later this year.

I write a quarterly column for Estates Gazette on Code matters, and have done since 2019 (authoring over thirty articles to date).

I have led on a number of key matters where clients need interim relief to protect their interests from protestors or in circumstances where known parties are acting in excess of rights, including for clients in the energy sector and universities.

Nominated for the Legal Week's Rising Star award in 2019.

Confidential client quotes provided to support Legal Week's Rising Star award in 2019:

• "Insightful, precise, client-orientated".
• "Highly productive with a good eye for detail, tenacious and no nonsense with a dry sense of humour. A focus on getting the right answer".
• "Thorough, commercial and determined".
• "One to watch".
• "A partner of the future".
• "Tenacious and no nonsense".