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Business Services Team

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Jonathan Copper

For many years I predominantly practised family and civil law. I qualified as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives in 1997 and in 1999 qualified as a solicitor.

I have experience of all types of litigation including housing, commercial, dispute resolution, disputed wills and probate, insolvency and debt recovery.

I have successfully concluded a case in the Supreme Court, which clarifies the law surrounding harassment: Hayes v Willoughby.

I am a member of ACTAPS which is the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists.

My main area of practice now is contentious probate advising upon the validity of wills, claims under the Inheritance (Provision for family and dependants) Act 1975 and disputes in relation to trusts.












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Mel Lawrence

I am a solicitor specialising in commercial property transactions. I deal with a variety of commercial property work including landlord & tenant issues (drafting and advising on leases, lease renewals, assignments and sub-letting), business sales and purchases, portfolio management and dilapidation settlements.

I have lived in Bedfordshire for the past 20 years and qualified as a solicitor in 2006. Having undertaken most of my training in residential and commercial property, I specialised in commercial property from the outset. I joined Sharmans in April 2014 and I am based in our Bedford office. I take a practical approach to matters and find that clients appreciate my professional yet friendly approach.

















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Hayley Jackson

I have lived in Bedford all my life and worked for legal firms since leaving school. The majority of my working life has been spent in residential and commercial property departments. I joined Sharmans in February 2018 and now assist with Lease Extension matters. Lease Extensions can be a complicated and daunting process but my aim is to provide a friendly and professional service so that my clients are kept updated and understand what is happening every step of the way.

























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Julie Bonich

I am a commercial real estate solicitor and have a broad range of experience in all aspects of commercial property transactions. I specialise in conditional acquisitions and disposals, real estate finance and landlord and tenant transactions including agreements for lease, new/renewal lettings and lease management.

I qualified as a solicitor in April 2013 and joined Sharman Law in May 2023 as an Associate. I am based in our Bedford office.

My clients would describe me as an approachable, professional, responsive and pragmatic solicitor who is known to drive transactions forward to completion.

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Ben Abubacker

I was born and grew up in Luton and completed my Law degree at Leeds Beckett University, graduating in 2021. In July 2022, I graduated with a Masters in Legal Practice from the University of Law in London.

Having completed work experience with Sharmans in 2021, I joined the firm as a part-time paralegal in the same year, which accommodated my studies at the University of Law. I started on a full-time basis in September 2022 and progressed to starting my training contract with Sharmans in January 2023, where I completed seats in the Commercial Property, Dispute Resolution, Family and Private Client departments working closely with the Partners.

In January 2025 I qualified as a Solicitor and am now working in the Commercial Property team. I can assist with a range of transactions including sale and purchases of commercial property, property refinancing and commercial lease transactions where I act for either landlord or tenant.

Outside of work I enjoy playing Sunday league football and have recently returned to running which involves marathon training and frequently attending my local Parkrun.