A “forward-thinking approach” to supporting mortgage lenders has earned Bristol-headquartered national law firm TLT a major award.
The firm’s approach, which included supporting the growth and development of the green mortgage market, landed it the title of Best Law Firm at the Mortgage Finance Gazette Awards 2022. 
The awards, which started in 1999, celebrate innovation and achievement in the mortgage industry.
The Best Law Firm category champions practices that work in partnership with, and offer excellent service to, their lender clients.
This can be for any aspect of legal work from litigation and regulation through to arrears and repossessions, remortgage work, title defects, securitisation and mortgage book sales, professional negligence and fraud.
TLT, which won the Law Firm of the Year title at The Lawyer Awards 2021, said at a time of significant regulatory change it had leveraged its breadth and depth of expertise in the mortgage market to help lenders understand and navigate the challenges and opportunities they faced.
This included creating an industry-wide toolkit and FAQs on LIBOR (London Inter-Bank Offered Rate) transition, helping firms navigate the disputes landscape and assisting firms with the implementation of the FCA’s new consumer duty, as well as its work on the green mortgage market. 
TLT also offers significant pro bono support to the industry, including representing its views on LIBOR transition policy, as a supporting member of the EU Energy Efficient Mortgages Initiative, as a member of the Green Finance Institute’s Coalition of Energy Efficient Buildings and as a member of the Finance & Leasing Association’s Green Finance Group.
The firm also pointed to its thought leadership in areas such as a comprehensive assessment of how the UK can secure its role as a green finance leader, as well as opinion research amongst UK financial services firms on the challenges and opportunities they face with regards to green finance.
TLT partner Robin Penfold, pictured, who specialises in mortgage law and regulation and advises banks, building societies and specialist lenders, said the firm’s mortgage sector team had worked hard on going above and beyond for its clients in the past year.
“As well as providing lenders with industry-leading advice, we’re using our unique knowledge of the mortgage market to help shape future policy in relation to some of the most significant regulatory developments in our lifetime, including green finance and the consumer duty,” he said.
“This is a significant decade for the mortgage industry and we are looking forward to continuing to support our clients both directly and through our strategic participation with UK and EU industry bodies.”
