Commercial contracts in London

‘Great understanding of how the company operates, very hands on and proactive. Great collaboration between their team which shows in the service they provide. Training sessions have been provided by the team to our internal stakeholders which have been very successful.’

‘Jonathan Davies has a great understanding of how our company operates which has been cascaded down to his team of associates. He is always very helpful, friendly and proactive.’

‘A very service-oriented team- I work with many large firms and this law firm is one with a human touch and with a keen sense of business. They don’t have that “we are great and we know it” air that many large law firms have.’

‘Andrew Carter- super quick mind and able to grasp and oversee very large transactions. Fiona Ghosh- fantastic in managing all her lawyers and delivering a coordinated package.’

‘The team are exceptionally strong – they are clear leaders in the Northwest for their breadth of experience, quality of client base and progressive approach. They have a leading edge interest in the application of AI to legal services provision, which sets them apart, and have exposure to some of the UK’s biggest commercial contract transactions, via their panel appointments.’

‘James Whittaker – extremely experienced, a strong blend of expertise and practicality. A safe pair of hands for the most complex of deals. Phil McGough – a real rising star, he is dedicated to achieving the best outcomes for his clients, and is a leader in the application of AI to legal services in this sector. Nadine Waters – a client favourite, for her breadth of knowledge and her “non nonsense”, plain speaking style in negotiations.’

‘Andrew Carter is absolutely fearless.’

‘Exceptional quality in service provided, comprehensive understanding of the objectives of our business and extraordinary ability to work with us to help is achieve our goals.’

‘Both at partner and associate level able to understand what was being asked for, provide succinct and clear advice and to produce output that required very little modification by the business.’

‘A superb team of lawyers, experts in the Advertising and Marketing sector. A close-knit unit, with robust legal expertise combined with deep industry knowledge. Always happy to go above and beyond to help with any request.’

‘Oliver Bray goes from strength to strength. We were delighted to hear of his promotion to Senior Partner. Incredibly well deserved. We would be lost without him.’

‘The team have extensive knowledge in how to create complex technology agreement for global organisations.’

‘Great experience in the sector, consistently added value beyond just ‘black letter’ issues. Very responsive when needed, but maintains a human touch.’

‘Ciara Cullen is technically excellent and a fantastic client lawyer. Always there when we need her and gives consistently good advice, both legally and commercially. Josh Charalambous has a wealth of knowledge in the sports and entertainment sector and is one to watch.’

‘Attention to detail, speed and quality of response. In-depth understanding and knowledge of the team. Ability to deliver clear and concise advice.’

‘Travers’ main strengths are the strong client relationship which it builds and invests in, the detailed knowledge of our business, technical excellence, a commercial approach and also continuity of personnel. In the commercial law space, the Travers team compares very favourably to other firms I have worked with. I would consider Travers’ commercial offering to be among the best in the London market.’

‘Primarily I have worked with Richard Brown (partner) and Michael Cuthbertson (senior associate). My experience with both has been excellent. Richard provides hands-on oversight of the matters and is always available to chat through any partner level issues that may arise. Richard has a wealth of experience and brings strong technical legal knowledge and a commercial approach to his advice. Michael has been responsible for the “heavy lifting” on recent matters – Michael is excellent technically and is highly responsive. I have also been impressed with Michael’s commercial understanding – he quickly grasped the key points for our business and tailored his advice accordingly.’

‘Ben Chivers (Partner) has always been on hand to help out with a variety of matters, often at short notice and often in complex/sensitive matters.’

‘I have always found the team at Travers to be very approachable and down to earth. This has really helped develop a strong relationship. In addition to this, the team have a great sense of humility which flows down from the partners, despite being experts in their field and from my perspective, this really sets them apart from other law firms I have worked with.’

‘Ben Chivers is a standout partner. Often I have approached Ben for advice, where other lawyers and firms have failed. He is both reliable and gives consistently good advice. It is rare to find a Partner who will advise to such a high standard, whilst remaining flexible and approachable.’

‘The team is always professional and helpful. They bring a sense of commercial and practical solutions to all legal challenges, ensuring an outcome that works in the best interest of all parties. The attention even from partner level on all aspects of our legal dealings makes a big difference, always makes you feel valued as a client.’

‘Commercial advice from Travers is consistently of a high standard. For in-house lawyers, their practice provides vital flexibility and responsive team members. Where other firms are rigid with cost options and collaborative working, Travers will provide that rare quality of working with lawyers in-house to create an extension of the internal team and are always flexible when it comes to fees. They understand the in-house lawyers’ role and the challenges they face and handle them deftly.’

‘On the ball, really good team.’

‘The team is very well organised and super capable. In particular, they are very good at bringing in specialist expertise in related areas (such as real estate, or litigation) to ensure all bases are covered.’

‘Chris Bates -very helpful and approachable, able to cut through jargon, negotiated well for us. Clearly has expertise in the area.’

‘Chris Bates – great guy, very hard working, sensible advice, responsive.’

‘Christopher Bates is very knowledgeable and experienced and brings a great deal of assurance with his advice.’

‘Bird & Bird offer us a virtual secondment arrangement, at low fixed rates, which compares favourably to other City firms. It’s a quick and convenient way to outsource business-as-usual commercial work without having to worry about fee estimates and escalating fees.’

‘They have been a great partner to us, showing an investment in our longer term relationship.’

‘Industry experience and expertise. Commercial attitude.’

‘Christian Bartsch is pragmatic, responsive and commercial.’

‘The team that we work with is led by Marcus Pearl who brings extensive experience to a host of technology and innovation commercial areas that have been very relevant to our growth. The team works across multiple departments with BCLP from property to employment, fibre, data, transport and commercial and that interaction is seamless. A true one-team approach.’

‘Responsive, on hand, make the effort to really understand our own needs and become integral team members to the senior leadership leading the business. Marcus Pearl leads the team exceptionally well and this shows in the way the values and culture is established in all associates who join our team.’

‘First-class team with unrivalled ability and strength in depth, excellent technical knowledge and creativity. They instil confidence through their reassured and confident approach. Also, engaging and charismatic – overall a pleasure to work with.’

‘Rob Sumroy is outstanding in defence of his clients’ best interests and has built an excellent team of associates who can step in and lead too.’

‘Their attention to detail, duration of support and professionalism was exemplary. We simply could not have delivered the calibre of work for a brand new international certification scheme without the support of the team.’

‘I work with Duncan Blaikie’s team on technology related contracts. What stands out most is the “gold service” responsiveness and the quality of the output. You get the feeling you are their only client and their organisation is devoted to your requirements. Best in class.’

‘From my perspective Duncan Blaikie is stand out. His understanding of the telecoms sector, his familiarity with market norms and his commerciality (without compromise to the legal analysis) are best in class. He is completely unstuffy and therefore a pleasure to work with.’

‘Flexible team that is able to respond at short notice. I have tried other firms but Bristows are the most responsive and understand what we do best. They take time to invest in relationships.’

‘Matthew Warren is the lead IP partner and has advised us on most of the challenging IP matters we have done in the last few years. Matthew knows his stuff and is unflashy.’

‘There is a huge wealth of talent in the team, as well as a deep understanding of the sector and current trends. This ability to contextualise the legal advice given is immeasurably beneficial to clients.’

‘Marek Petecki – stand out nice guy and totally on top of his game. Very effective negotiator and organiser of teams of large transactions. Nick Cross – a great associate and rising star potential. Has an incredible memory and undertakes stand out research. Claire Smith – intellectually brilliant and superb marriage of IP and commercial.’

‘The Clifford Chance Corporate and Commercial team is a very experienced team with a clear focus on achieving their client objectives. Very results oriented and with a very practical and commercial approach, which is of the essence in the M&A transactions we are involved in. They are also extremely capable of working under a lot of pressure and with very challenging deadlines, with no impact on the quality of their advice.’

‘We use Clifford Chance consistently due to the quality of their advice and support and rate them higher than many others in the same market. The team take the time to really understand the project, the drivers and add strategic advice while quickly getting to the heart of the matter.’

‘Andre Duminy’s input and advice is excellent and focused to ensure it adds real value.’

‘Andrew Joint is fantastic, a very commercial and practical mind combined with serious intellect and knowledge of the IT market. There’s nobody better at what he does.’

‘Paul Hinton and Chris Hill are superstars in all things financial regulatory. They’ve seen it all and if you’re in fintech this should be your first call when in need of legal advice from experts in the field.’

‘Kemp Little has recently transitioned into Deloitte Legal. They have a special combination of dynamic client support with excellent, targeted, pragmatic legal expertise.’

‘Andrew Joint is an excellent partner. One of the best technology lawyers in London.’

‘Peter McCormack led the team and really invested time in getting to understand us and our business.  I wouldn’t want to use anyone else now. Peter frees up a significant proportion of my time because I know I can trust him to work directly with the business teams and to know when he needs to bring me in for an opinion on something, which brings a valuable degree of assurance for me without taking up too much of my time.’

‘Peter McCormack is fantastic. He really gets what we’re trying to achieve, which means he’s great in a negotiation – he knows the points to stand firm on, he anticipates where the greatest risks lie, and he doesn’t waste time arguing points that don’t have value. He also understands the culture of our organisation, and as a result our business teams all find him really easy to work with. He has a great client service ethic too.’

‘Kuljeet Gill was able to become a key part of our team, driving the project forward and coordinating our approach and responses on hugely complex issues. She was also able to translate complex issues to enable us to make key decisions.’

‘All private practice firms want to shout about how well they understand your business but very few understand the creative world as well as Lewis Silkin. No need to waste time talking them through the intricacies of your industry, they know it and will probably teach you a few things you didn’t know to boot. The adage ‘you get what you pay for’ isn’t always true – it’s ridiculous how competitive their rates are given their exceptional industry knowledge.’

‘Jo Farmer is simply a rock star lawyer when it comes to advising on commercial contracts, particularly ones with an advertising focus – responsive, practical, takes time to understand the business. The first lawyer anyone should call when they have a media buying agreement to tackle. Love working with her. Geraint Lloyd-Taylor – Loves the creative sector, especially advertising, and his passion for it shines through. James Gill – An incredibly trustworthy and safe pair of hands for the most complex of contracts.’

‘Not only excellent lawyers but very business minded. Great team work between the lawyers and they seem to truly enjoy working together.’

‘Alan Hunt – Very passionate and extremely committed in finding the best tailor-made solution for the client. Not only an excellent lawyer, but also a great trusted business partner. Provides excellent legal service in an efficient and timely manner. It is a true pleasure working with Alan.’

‘Excellent level of service: very proactive and creative in their solutions.’

‘The entire team that we worked with at TLT were exceptional, in that they all brought different things to the table and complemented one another perfectly. They were fantastic at taking complex legal points and boiling them down into layman’s terms to enable us to make a decision on the point. Equally the breadth of expertise in the firm meant that regardless of the issue that was being considered in the contract be it personnel, IP, payment mechanisms etc. they had relevant experts available to provide specific advice and guidance almost immediately.’

‘Bill Hull leads an amazing commercial team that has deep expertise in procurement and commercial law. Their key strength is the ability to know what the clients actually need and their ability to delivery a client focused service. They really take the time to understand your needs and exceed them. They are extremely commercial and offer sage, pragmatic advice. They are also all genuinely nice people to work with!’

‘Bill Hull is extremely pragmatic and commercially focused. He sees the bigger picture and slots seamlessly into project teams. He is so easy to work with and very responsive. He quickly becomes a trusted adviser with everyone who works with him. He has an outstanding knowledge of the law.’

‘Jonathan Whall is also extremely dependable and responsive.’

‘Very high degree of experience and wide reaching skillset. We usually go to Wombles for complex matters which require a higher level of intellect and commercial guile.’

‘Their expertise and knowledge have never failed us. That coupled with the impeccable customer service – I’d never look anywhere else for legal advice. We trust them entirely.’

‘The team understand and are very knowledgeable about the sectors I have worked in, in particular in the NE of England but with the ability to reach nationally and internationally. This allows them to understand what the client’s requirements really are, often when the client can’t describe them fully themselves! They are pragmatic and generally offer useful and actionable advice when asked rather than merely a ‘balanced’ legal view.’

‘Peter Snaith is excellent in leading a team of highly professional individuals in supporting a company’s needs across the breadth of corporate and commercial requirements.’

‘Peter Snaith – unfussy, approachable and good understanding of the big picture.’

‘The commercial contracts team is very easy to work with. They have a very practical focus and advice is always structured in a way that addresses business needs and deliverables.’

‘Client focused and adaptive to needs. Understand sector.’

‘Richard Hugo takes time to understand our aims and where we want to be, focusing on what is practically possible, and making the legal fit with that. We’ve thrown him some challenging issues relating to complex outsourcing and IP arrangements in a regulated sector and he has never failed to deliver. Richard is a true business partner, creative and forward-thinking in approach.’

‘The Team at OC works with us as if they are part of our company. They know our business, customers and the stakeholders involved in the contracting process (i.e. our shareholders and investors).’

‘ Lara Burch is exceptional in leading their team in understanding our business. She has a very good feeling for the status of the legal process and knows when to push, when to back off, when to be firm.’

‘Osborne Clarke always give practical advice and its lawyers understand our business.’

‘Lara Burch and Ed Barratt are incredibly knowledgeable and easy to work with.’

‘Technical expertise is a given, but this team uses that in a highly effective manner to deliver clear advice on the key issues in a way that is easily digested by non-lawyer stakeholders. They deliver on time with the right level of advice flexed to hit the audience.’

‘Lara Burch – excellent relationship builder – never sits on the fence. clear advice and views given. Would put her in front of the most senior stakeholders in the business without any concerns whatsoever.’

‘The SH team offers significant experience in the issues associated with manufacturing/supply agreements in the biotech/life-science sector and have provided excellent support during a number of significant negotiations, advising on industry-standard commercial aspects as well as legal drafting points. This is a highly knowledgeable, great team to work with!’

‘Dan Holland has a great team of associates under him who are at my disposal. The associates are at different levels which is great as I can give the more difficult contracts to the more advanced associates and Dan manages this seamlessly. Dan is genuinely on top of our business, knows our clients and is able to pick out key issues in transactions. He also is very approachable and can be contacted easily and gets back to me quickly.’

‘They are very approachable and very familiar with our line of business. They are commercially minded and don’t go down the legal “rabbit hole”. They are also very good at sticking to deadlines and turning over documents without delay.’