Paul Jones > Farrer & Co > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Farrer & Co Offices

66 LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS
LONDON
WC2A 3LH
England
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Paul Jones

Work Department
Intellectual Property
Position
Paul Jones is a commercial contracts expert with an exceptional track record of delivering complex, business-critical projects for high-profile clients operating in the worlds of media, sport, education and culture.
A dedicated contracts expert, Paul specialises in advising on contract law and in undertaking work related to a wide variety of commercial contracts across both the public and private sectors.
His client base spans a broad range of industries and features large blue-chip organisations, as well as high-profile household names. He has particular expertise in acting for international media and publishing companies, sports governing bodies, schools and universities and internationally recognised cultural institutions.
Paul manages large, transformational projects for clients, and typically where the commercial contracts underpin business critical infrastructure changes or complex, large-scale transactions. These are some of the core contracts that enable the way these organisations operate. He regularly advises on supply, agency, distribution and services contracts, business process outsourcing (BPO), IT and technology contracts as well contractual joint ventures, collaborations and other strategic alliances. He has notable experience of broadcast, licensing, acquisition, publishing, exhibition and sponsorship contracts within all of this.
To complement his work and advice on the contracts being awarded, Paul also has significant expertise in advising on public and private sector procurement processes (including compliance, in the public sector, with the public procurement regime).
Paul develops close relationships with his clients and enjoys the privilege and responsibility of becoming part of the team helping to deliver some of the most challenging and exciting phases of their growth and development. Alongside his own technical expertise, clients benefit from Paul’s skill in project-managing the work across typically more than one key contract and coordinating teams of experts from across the firm to resource complex projects often featuring elements of employment, corporate or charity law.
Working as he does with many in-house teams Paul is closely attuned to the needs of, and pressures put upon, in-house lawyers. He co-ordinates and runs regular training and update sessions for in-house lawyers, spanning the likes of contract, employment, information and corporate law, as well as themes such as litigation, governance, compliance and regulation. He plays an active role in the wider legal sector and is a member of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA), the Society of Computers and Law (SCL) and the Procurement Lawyers’ Association; as well as a regular speaker at events for the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) and the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association (ISBA).
Within the firm, Paul supports his colleagues through his role in the firm’s graduate recruitment programme, amongst a range of other responsibilities.
Career
Trained at Farrer & Co and qualified in 2002; made a partner in 2011.
Memberships
Procurement Lawyers Association; Society for Computers and Law
Education
Keble College, Oxford and Nottingham Law School.
Lawyer Rankings
London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Theatre, publishing and other media
Farrer & Co advises a slew of print and digital publishers – including leading newspapers, academic publishers, book publishers, B2C and B2B magazines, and online content distributors – as well as authors and agents on traditional and emerging issues, such as the use of AI and exploitation of content for training AI models. The team is also adept at acting for other players across the media sector, including international broadcast production and rights companies, music publishers and estates, and radio broadcasters. Practice head Henry Sainty advises a number of key print, digital, consumer and academic publishing clients; he is sought after for his expertise in AI, digital market regulations, commercial joint ventures and data protection issues. Paul Jones is the go-to name for commercial contracts work; Owen O’Rorke focuses on AdTech, AI, digital data and commercial agreements; and Alan Baker assists major newspapers, magazines and directory publishers with the use of data and IP rights as business assets. David Morgan is active in print, digital and radio matters. Peter Wienand retired in April 2024.
London > Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
Farrer & Co‘s varied workload includes joint venture contracts, distribution agreements and international collaboration agreements. The team has extensive expertise in the media and arts sector – a key area of strength for David Copping – and counts major newspapers and arts institutions among its clients. In addition, the firm advises on contracts in the education and technology spheres. Paul Jones, who is highlighted as ‘an excellent drafter‘, heads up the team, and is skilled in assisting with key logistics contracts, as well as supply, agency, distribution and services agreements.
London > Public sector > Education: schools
Farrer & Co is renowned in the education sector, serving a diverse client base that includes independent schools and associations, providing advice on the full range of issues, particularly regarding innovative guidance on safeguarding. The department is well-regarded for its experience dealing with parents and pupils, governance and institutional issues, as well as sensitive issues such as sexual assault and commercial matters such as school mergers and school closures. Maria Strauss‘ practice spans employment, education and safeguarding while the hugely experienced Jonathan Eley advises on parent, pupil and employee matters and on crisis management together with disciplinary investigation. Key members of the team are safeguarding expert David Smellie , commercial contracts specialist Paul Jones, and charity law specialist Sam Macdonald
. Katie Fudakowski is valued for her County Court, Employment and Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunals expertise and ‘stand-out’ Alice Yandle is noted for her broad employment and education expertise.
Lawyer Rankings
- Education: schools London > Public sector
- Media: Theatre, publishing and other media London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
- Commercial contracts London > Corporate and commercial
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Agriculture and estates
- Private client > Art and cultural property
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Public sector > Education: schools
- Private client > Family
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Theatre, publishing and other media
- Corporate and commercial > Partnership
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Real estate > Residential property
- Employment > Senior executives
Firm Rankings
- Public sector > Education: institutions
- Employment > Employers
- Employment > Immigration: personal
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Smaller Deals, £10m-£100m
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Investment fund formation and management > Retail funds
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Employment > Immigration
- Employment > Immigration: human rights
- Real estate > Property litigation
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Real estate > Commercial property: investment
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
- Real estate > Planning
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- Real estate > Property finance
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: non-contentious/regulatory
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration