The Legal 500

Lewis Silkin LLP

5 CHANCERY LANE, CLIFFORD'S INN, LONDON, EC4A 1BL, ENGLAND
Tel:
Work 020 7074 8000
Fax:
Fax 020 7864 1200
DX:
182 LONDON/CHANCERY LN
Web:
www.lewissilkin.com
Email:
Oxford, London

What we say about the firm's legal practice in London

Corporate and commercial

Within M&A: lower mid-market, £50m-£250m, Lewis Silkin LLP is a third tier firm,

Lewis Silkin LLP is one of the leading lights when it comes to media work, and has ‘an excellent approach to commercial work’. Jo Evans is the standout partner, and has the ‘superb combination of knowledge with commerciality’. Philip Lamb acted for Solomon Capital on its £35.76m cash bid for the AIM-listed Metals Exploration.

Within Partnership, Lewis Silkin LLP is a second tier firm,

Lewis Silkin LLP has built up a ‘quality partnership team that is a genuine pleasure to work with’. The practice straddles both contentious and non-contentious matters, jointly led by ‘sensible, commercial and experienced’ litigation partner Clive Greenwood and ‘top-flight non-contentious expertFergus Payne. Newly promoted and ‘easy-to-work-with’ partner Miguel Pereira rounds out the team.

Dispute resolution

Within Commercial litigation, tier 6

Lewis Silkin LLP acted for Fulham FC in an unfair prejudice petition brought against the Premier League and its chairman. Tom Coates is ‘an outstanding, strategic litigator’; Clive Greenwood handles commercially sensitive partnership and LLP disputes; and Philip Foster advises in complex regulatory infrastructure matters.

Within Defamation and privacy, tier 4

The team at Lewis Silkin LLP is ‘knowledgeable’ and ‘prompt’.

Human resources

Within Employee share schemes, tier 5

Sara Cohen at Lewis Silkin LLP is ‘imaginative and pragmatic’.

Within Employment, Lewis Silkin LLP is a second tier firm,

Lewis Silkin LLP is ‘a big player in the employment world’. Clients range from law firms seeking to outsource or hire, to senior executives and employers in High Court litigation. The team was joined by the ‘commercial and practical’ Lisa Patmore from Pinsent Masons LLP, adding to its acknowledged strength in trade union law, and recent highlights include securing Court of Appeal approval for EDF Energy Powerlink’s contingency plans against industrial action. Among the 15 partners, Carolyn Soakell is a ‘responsive, tough negotiator’; Karen Baxter ‘extremely approachable’; Russell Brimelowvery knowledgeable’; Jonathan Carr a ‘superb all-rounder’; Michael Burd an ‘outstanding lawyer’; and Ellen Tempertonhighly professional’.

Within Immigration, Lewis Silkin LLP is a third tier firm,

Since the arrival of Andrew Osborne, Lewis Silkin LLP has acted for a raft of new clients including Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Carphone Warehouse and Jaguar Landrover. ‘Although a big organisation, it maintains relationships on a personal level’, providing solutions tailored to individual cases. Osbourne and George Koureas are both highly rated.

Public sector

Within Education: schools, Lewis Silkin LLP is a third tier firm,

Geoffrey Davies’ team at Lewis Silkin LLP has a strong academy client base, and in 2010 provided advice on both establishment and operational matters. Clients include Westminster Academy and United Learning Trust.

Real estate

Within Commercial property, tier 5

Lewis Silkin LLP represents a diverse range of occupier clients from the medical and dental, restaurant and leisure sectors. It advised Rio Tinto on the under-letting of its headquarters. Leonard Goodrich, Neil Toner, Rachel Francis-Lang and Jonathan Reuben are recommended.

Within Construction, tier 4

Lewis Silkin LLP is known for its expertise in education and social housing projects. It recently advised Notting Hill Housing Trust on a £17m acquisition in King’s Cross. Clare Reddy heads the team.

Within Property litigation, tier 4

Lewis Silkin LLP mixes residential and commercial instructions, and in 2010 was busy representing longstanding client Pizza Express. Brian Kilcoyne heads the practice, and Paul Hayes is a housing expert.

Within Social housing: local authorities and registered providers, Lewis Silkin LLP is a third tier firm,

Lewis Silkin LLP has a broad client base, and a particular focus on care and support housing. Recent work includes advising Notting Hill Housing Trust and London Borough of Barnet on the acquisition of and re-provision of housing for people with learning disabilities. Practice head Gillian Bastow and Linda Convery are recommended. Naomi Goode has left the firm.

TMT (technology, media and telecoms)

Within Brand management, Lewis Silkin LLP is a first tier firm,

Lewis Silkin LLP is ‘excellent on all counts’. Its leading advertising agency practice assists global brand owners with multi-jurisdictional and cross-border issues. Practice head Brinsley Dresden advises the hundreds of advertising agencies that use the IPA Legal Advice Service. Jo Farmer advises Bacardi Global Brands on Grey Goose’s sponsorship programme. The highly regarded Giles Crown acted for ICI in a comparative advertising dispute with PPG, and Dominic Farnsworth is recommended for sponsorship matters. Marcus O’Leary specialises in online advertising, including user-generated content.

Within Intellectual property, tier 4

The ‘highly recommendedGiles Crown and his team at Lewis Silkin LLP are acting for The Automobile Association in a comparative advertising dispute with Green Flag. Dual-qualified trade mark attorney Dominic Farnsworth and trade mark litigator Simon Chapman act for major advertising agency networks and global brands, including Bacardi. Simon Morrissey advises global brands on data protection. Arsenal FC is a new client.

Within IT and telecoms, tier 5

At Lewis Silkin LLP, Simon Morrissey and Marcus O’Leary advise on specialist cutting-edge solutions, open-source software, cloud-based digital asset management systems, and mobile apps and games.

Within Media and entertainment, Lewis Silkin LLP is a second tier firm,

Lewis Silkin LLP strengthened its resources by recruiting Jonathan Coad from Swan Turton and consultant Paul Chinnery, formerly head of legal at Channel Five. Music lawyer Cliff Fluet heads the team, which represents clients including Ministry of Sound, Sony BMG, BSkyB, and MTV. The team is particularly noteworthy for its format protection expertise. Simon Morrissey continues to advise media and entertainment clients on IP and IT issues, including the licensing and distribution of digital content across different platforms. Simon Entwistle advises publishers on contracts.

Within Overview,

Boutique and mid-size firms dominate media, entertainment and sport, with Wiggin LLP maintaining a high profile and Lewis Silkin LLP recruiting Jonathan Coad from Swan Turton and Paul Chinnery, former head of legal at Channel Five.

Within Sport, tier 4

Lewis Silkin LLP’s sports practice was bolstered in 2010 with the arrival of Andrew Osborne from Squire Sanders Hammonds. The team regularly advises rugby clubs including Saracens RFC and Northampton RFC. It also represents individuals such as rugby player James Haskell and coach Andy Robinson. Practice head Dominic Farnsworth is recommended.


Legal Developments by:
Lewis Silkin LLP

  • Negotiating the minefield of administrative decisions

    There are many situations where decisions are made by organisations such as local authorities (during the tendering process, the grant of contracts or planning decisions, for example) or professional or disciplinary bodies where a party may wish to challenge the outcome. A party with an interest in a decision may feel aggrieved by the outcome due to what appears to be a conflict of interest by those making the decision, or the appearance of bias. This may have serious consequences for in-house lawyers acting for organisations subject to such decisions, and therefore this briefing is intended to provide a general overview of the areas to consider. Challenging judicial or quasi-judicial decisions where there is a conflict of interest was considered by James Levy in a previous briefing (IHL146, p37-40).
    - Lewis Silkin LLP

Legal Developments in the UK

Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to
  • COUNCIL TAX

    In Harrow LBC v Ayiku [2012] EWHC 1200 (Admin) Sales J held that the word “or” in the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992, art 3 Class N, had a disjunctive meaning, therefore it was sufficient for the non-British spouse of a foreign student to satisfy one or other of the two conditions, namely being prevented from taking paid employment or being prevented from claiming benefits, in order to qualify as a “relevant person” who was exempted from liability to pay council tax.
    - 11KBW
  • QUEEN’S SPEECH

    Bills already introduced pursuant to the Queen’s Speech on 9 May 2012 include Local Government Finance Bill and Electoral Registration and Administration Bill, both accompanied by Explanatory Notes, which in each case address ECHR compatibility.
    - 11KBW
  • Standards

    In R (Calver) v Adjudication Panel for Wales [2012] EWHC 1172 (Admin) Mr Calver was a member of Manorbier Community Council who successfully challenged the decision of the Panel to dismiss his appeal against a decision by Prembrokeshire County Council Standards Committee censuring him for a number of comments or blogs posted by him on a website he owned and controlled.
    - 11KBW
  • A justified retrospective

    Clive Sheldon - QC debates the pros & cons of retrospective tax legislation
    - 11KBW
  • Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”)

    In R (Greenwich Community Law Centre) v Greenwich LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 496 the Court of Appeal held that the Council had had “due regard to the PSED when making changes to its funding of community legal advice services”. At para 30 Elias LJ said:
    - 11KBW
  • Public Sector Equality Duty

    Surrey County Council conducted a review of its Library Service. This culminated in a Report to the Council’s Cabinet. The Recommendations in the Report included that there should be consultation about a community-partnership approach at selected Libraries.
    - 11KBW
  • Judicial Review

    The Judgment of Lindblom J in The Manydown Co Ltd v Basingstoke and Deane BC [2012] EWHC 977 (Admin) repays attention. The Claimant sought to challenge by judicial review 2 decisions of the Council: (1) the Council’s refusal to reconsider its position on the development of a site that it owns (and is the subject matter of a Joint Development Partnership Agreement with the Claimant); and (2) a decision of the Council’s Cabinet approving a selection of sites for development which did not include this site.
    - 11KBW
  • The Health and Social Care Act 2012: impact on adult social services

    After its torrid passage through Parliament, the Health and Social Care Bill received Royal Assent on 27 March 2012. The Act deals principally with healthcare reform, but it also contains some amendments to the legislative framework for social care. It will come into force on a day yet to be appointed by the Secretary of State.
    - 11KBW
  • Immigration update May 2012

    In this issue:
  • Premium service for tier 2 and 5 sponsors to be launched

    A premium service for sponsors will be launched by the UKBA on 6 April 2012. The service is designed specifically for companies that sponsor international employees under tier 2 and 5 of the points based system and aims to provide them with enhanced support.