Media And Entertainment

Leading Silks

Edmund Cullen KC –Maitland Chambers 'A top quality media and entertainment barrister.'

Ian Mill KC – Blackstone Chambers ‘An exceptional advocate who is very clear in his delivery. Ian not confined by a script and well able to pivot effectively in response to questions from a judge. Authoritative in his advice to clients; whilst being warm and engaging.‘

Andrew Norris KC –Hogarth Chambers ‘Andrew's knowledge is second to none. User friendly, always happy to have a discussion and has the answers at his fingertips.'

Tom Weisselberg KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘Tom has emerged as one of the leading commercial silks of his generation. He deservedly garners praise for his legal intelligence with he couples with a fantastic client manner.'

Robert Anderson KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘Brilliant technical lawyer with a massive brain. Cuts through the most technical issues in short order. Very pleasant demeanour and a good sense of humour.‘

Hugo Cuddigan KC – 11 South Square ‘Hugo is top-drawer. He is a five-star general level tactician, master of the written word – he distils complex issues into clear compelling submissions – a true wordsmith and, brilliant and charismatic on his feet. A joy to work with and clients love him.‘

Robert Howe KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘Concise, very good at identifying and explaining the issues to clients, incisive, and excellent at cross examination.‘

Lord Pannick KC –Blackstone Chambers

Andrew Sutcliffe KC –3 Verulam Buildings ‘One of the top silks in his field.‘

Hugh Tomlinson KC –Matrix Chambers

Mark Vanhegan KC – 11 South Square

Antony White KC –Matrix Chambers ‘Extremely calm, user-friendly, insightful, knowledgeable and commercial in his advice. An excellent all-round advocate and strategist.'

Daniel Alexander KC –8 New Square

Andrew Caldecott KC –5RB

Catrin Evans KC –Matrix Chambers

Andrew Green KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘Andrew is superb with clients. He is a tenacious advocate who delivers, and is without doubt a first port of call for a heavyweight silk in this area.‘

Tom Hickman KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘Authoritative, confident, insightful and reassuring. He is accessible and helpful. Solicitors have no hesitation putting him before clients.‘

Anthony Hudson KC –Matrix Chambers

Andrew Hunter KC –Blackstone Chambers

Brian Kennelly KC –Blackstone Chambers

Lindsay Lane KC –8 New Square

Thomas de la Mare KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘Tom is a real leader in his field. Super bright, inventive and easy to deal with.‘

Gavin Millar KC –Matrix Chambers

Justin Rushbrooke KC –5RB

James Segan KC - Blackstone Chambers ‘James is very thorough with both his attention to detail on factual matters and analysis and application of the relevant law.‘

Michael Silverleaf KC – 11 South Square ‘Michael is extremely authoritative. He is clear in his advice and clients understand him - he is very user friendly.‘

2021 Silks

Iain Quirk KC –Essex Court Chambers 'Very user friendly. Good attention to detail and fun to work with.'

Jeremy Reed KC –Hogarth Chambers

2022 Silks

Jessica Boyd KC – Blackstone Chambers 'Great to work with, incredibly client-friendly and is a real asset on regulatory/licensing cases where she can bring her substantial administrative law experience.'

Edward Brown KC – Essex Court Chambers

Aidan Eardley KC – 5RB

Sara Mansoori KC – Matrix Chambers

Andrew Scott KC – Blackstone Chambers ‘Fiercely intelligent, calm under fire and excellent considered advocacy.‘

2023 Silks

Tom Richards KC –Blackstone Chambers ‘Tom is excellent on his feet. His cross-examination is calm, focussed and very effective. He is very responsive, gives practical and strategic advice and is able to explain things clearly to the client.‘

Leading Juniors

Gwilym Harbottle –Hogarth Chambers ‘Gwilym’s deep knowledge of the music and entertainment industry is exceptional, and is crucial in being able to develop a strategy for each case.‘

Michael Hicks –Hogarth Chambers ‘Michael has encyclopaedic knowledge of the case law, partly thanks to the sheer number of landmark cases he has worked on. He has the reputation and abilities to be pitched against any KC.'

Amanda Michaels –Hogarth Chambers ‘Amanda is outstanding. She is very bright and articulate. She also has the ability to explain things simply and logically.'

David Sherborne –5RB

Jessie Bowhill –8 New Square ‘Jessie has superb knowledge of music theory which, combined with her knowledge of the law, makes her a compelling choice in disputes relating to musical works.‘

David Glen –11KBW ‘David is an expert on media law in particular on all things freedom of expression. He is incredibly approachable and easy to work with.‘

Mark Vinall –Blackstone Chambers ‘Mark is very bright and thorough. He has an eye for detail and is a pleasure to work with. He is very clear and commands authority.‘

Tom Alkin – 11 South Square 'Very good advocacy skills and very prepared to listen to and take directions from those instructing him. Good in person skills with clients.'

Daniel Burgess –Blackstone Chambers ‘Daniel’s personal qualities are excellent and he quickly bonds with clients. He gets to grips with the legal and factual elements of claims very quickly.‘

Tom Cleaver –Blackstone Chambers 'Tom is able to cut through the most complex of issues so quickly and his advice is excellent.'

Edward Craven –Matrix Chambers ‘Highly experienced, extremely hard-working, unfailingly helpful – a real star.‘

Jonathan Hill –8 New Square

Justin Kitson –Selborne Chambers ‘Justin is very good at getting to the heart of the issues and plotting a course through particularly thorny matters. His advice is clear and responsive. His advocacy in particular is excellent; the points made are succinct and compelling.‘

Jonathan Moss –Hogarth Chambers

Jaani Riordan –8 New Square

Celia Rooney –Blackstone Chambers ‘Celia is excellent; she has a great manner with clients and her written work is thorough. Celia’s stand out quality is her measured yet powerful approach to advocacy, which goes down well with judges and the client alike.‘

Shane Sibbel –Blackstone Chambers ‘Astute and insightful. Provides solutions, not problems.‘

Guy Tritton –Hogarth Chambers ‘Guy is very knowledgeable and establishes rapport with the client effectively.‘

Ari Alibhai –QEB Hollis Whiteman ‘Without doubt an expert in the media and entertainment arena. Impressive knowledge of digital piracy. Excellent audience specific communication skills in both conveying key points to court and examining and cross-examining witnesses.‘

Ashton Chantrielle –8 New Square

John Critchley – Field Court Chambers

Jacob Dean –5RB

Amanda Hadkiss – Chambers of Christopher Pymont KC

Jamie Muir Wood – Hogarth Chambers 'Jamie is efficient, accessible and knowledgeable - his written submissions and advocacy skills are rock solid.'

Jason Pobjoy – Blackstone Chambers

Ben Silverstone –Matrix Chambers

Chloe Strong –5RB

Media and entertainment in London Bar

Tier 1 sets

Blackstone Chambers

Blackstone Chambers ‘remain the leading set for contentious work in music and the wider entertainment industry‘ with ‘superb strength in depth‘, acting for artists, production companies, and publishers in disputes relating to licensing, royalty, and copyright claims. Tom Weisselberg KC, considered a ‘superb advocate‘, successfully represented Rudimental in a copyright dispute over the drum and bass act’s 2013 single “Waiting all Night”. In Warner Music v TuneIn, Robert Howe KC acted on behalf of the defendant in proceedings concerning TuneIn’s global internet radio station platform, with the case covering wider public right issues and the way in which these apply to hyperlinks. In addition, James Segan KC acted in British Beer and Pub Association and UK Hospitality v Phonographic Performance Ltd, defending a reference regarding a revised tariff for “Specially Featured Entertainment” applicable to the nightlife and hospitality sectors before the Copyright Tribunal.

Testimonials

Set

‘Blackstone Chambers remain the leading set for contentious work in music and the wider entertainment industry. They have superb strength in depth.‘

‘Blackstone is a go-to set – great all round general commercial practitioners.’

‘The absolute go to set for entertainment and media related work.‘

‘Blackstone Chambers are simply unrivalled in terms of talent.‘

‘Unquestionably the leading media and entertainment set.‘

Clerking

‘Fantastic. Helpful at every turn. Adam Sloane and Derek Sutton are a reliable pairs of hands!‘

Tier 2 sets

Hogarth Chambers

With its standing as ‘one of the very top sets in IP and media‘, the members at Hogarth Chambers act in a range of copyright and trademark infringement cases, representing clients in the music, media and publishing sectors. Andrew Norris KC, whose ‘knowledge is second to none‘, acted for the defendant in Island Records and Others v Live From Abbey Road Ltd, an ownership and rights dispute over approximately 100 recordings of various high-profile bands produced between 2006 and 2015 in Abbey Road recording studios. Gwilym Harbottle acted for BPI and other record companies in a High Court case regarding orders for ISPs to block streamrippers (which allow users to download streamed content) and cyberlocker websites (file storage providers allegedly used for illegal filesharing). In Voodoo SAS v Rollic Games, Michael Hicks represented the defendant in a dispute based on the alleged plagiarism of mobile games “Wood Shop” and “Woodturning”.

Testimonials

Set

‘Hogarth is a great IP set, with some top quality barristers at the junior and silk level.‘

‘Hogarth have a good range of counsel in this very specialist field. They make themselves available and are excellent at accommodating client needs.‘

‘Hogarth remain a go-to IP set, the clerks are responsive and their bench of counsel is very deep, meaning that we have a good range of options when looking to instruct on short notice.‘

‘Hogarth is one of the very top sets in IP and Media.‘

Clerking

‘Ian Bowie and John Davies are excellent clerks, with the deep knowledge of not only their own barristers but barristers at other sets that comes from years of practice.‘

‘All the clerks at Hogarth are approachable and very helpful.‘

Matrix Chambers

Considered an ‘excellent set with great silks‘, members of Matrix Chambers often handle proceedings in relation to the publishing and entertainment industries, acting for production companies, publishers and media personalities in high-profile disputes.

Testimonials

Set

‘Very strong.’

‘Excellent set with great silks.’

Clerking

‘Very attentive.’

‘Friendly and approachable.’

Tier 3 sets

11 South Square

Regarded as ‘one of the top IP sets at present‘, 11 South Square acts for film studios, musicians and music producers in a range of copyright and trade mark infringement challenges, with further expertise in royalty disputes and contractual breaches. Hugo Cuddigan KC, considered a ‘top-drawer‘ silk, acted in Sheeran v Chokri, a High Court claim for negative declaratory relief by Ed Sheeran concerning his song “Shape of You” following allegation the song was plagiarized from the respondent’s 2015 song “Oh Why”. Representing the high-profile streaming service, Mark Vanhegan KC acted in In EasyGroup Limited v Netflix Inc and Swanberg, a High Court trademark infringement dispute relating to Easy, a Netflix comedy-drama.

Testimonials

Set

‘This set is an excellent set for IP matters.‘

‘11 South Square is one of the top IP sets at present.‘

Clerking

‘Helpful, friendly and accessible. They are commercially minded and pro-active.‘

‘Ashley Carr and his team are a delight to work with, always accommodating when they can be and flexible to meet client’s needs. The best clerking team.‘

‘They are very strong in IP and are generally a go-to set.‘

‘All clerks are superb.‘

5RB

The barristers at 5RB handle work for a variety of celebrities and outlets, acting in high-profile matters relating to the media and entertainment sphere. Taking silk in 2022, Aidan Eardley KC acted in defence of Italian publisher Gedi Gruppo Editoriale in a challenge to the court’s jurisdiction in relation to the granting of an injunction against foreign defendants. Elsewhere in chambers, other notable figures include Andrew Caldecott KC, Christina Michalos KC, and Justin Rushbrooke KC.

8 New Square

The set at 8 New Square acts in a variety of disputes involving broadcasters and internet service providers, dealing with issues across the advertising, television, and film industries. Acting for Ed Sheeran and the remaining claimants, Jessie Bowhill was led in a dispute over the authorship of “Shape of You”. In addition, Jonathan Hill acted for the claimant in Shazam Productions v Only Fools The Dining Experience, a copyright dispute relating to the defendant’s use of characters and lines from Only Fools and Horses in a theatrical dining experience. In addition, Jaani Riordan represented Nintendo against six main British ISPs in a mandatory injunction claim with the objective of having them disable access to websites with pirated copies of the claimant’s games for its Switch console.

Coverage By Practice AreaLondon Bar