Lewis Silkin > London, England > Firm Profile

‘Uniquely equipped to advise clients in the communications/data space on sophisticated legal matters. Very experienced team, capable of driving a deal efficiently and in a cost-minded fashion, involving its client on key decisions. We’ve been using Lewis Silkin for over 15 years and would recommend using them without any reservations.’

‘The team is very reactive, understands business issues and knows how to adapt to the needs of international transactions’

‘Paul Rajput is an incredibly experienced partner, with strong business acumen and great negotiating skills.’

‘Lewis Silkin lawyers are very business oriented, they know how to work with foreign correspondents, they know how to adapt their advice and assistance to any request of foreign clients. We have particularly worked with Paul Rajput and Sadiq Tajbhai who are very professional and have a great capacity to adapt to the needs of the clients.’

‘Over a very long and protracted deal, the Lewis Silkin team stayed focused and were always available with excellent advice. Quite frankly, on some areas of dispute they ran rings around the other side and when the deal broke down and there was a threat of litigation from the other side, Lewis Silkin had put us in such a strong position that the other side did not proceed.’

‘Paul Rajput was very strong and capable throughout the transaction. He is very calm and thoughtful and always makes himself available. He led his team well in the allocation of work. On this transaction he was streets ahead of the lawyers on the other side in anticipating potential problems and nullifying them from our side, so when a dispute did arise within the transaction, the other side did not actually have a leg to stand on and the threat of litigation went away.’

‘Incredibly broad strength in depth with a great team approach – always very switched on and strategic from the outset’.

‘Lewis Silkin have grown from strength to strength in recent years and there is not one area of employment law that they are unable to cover’.

‘Their Employment Litigation team have a formidable reputation. They are all over High Court Employment cases and have a wealth of talent at their disposal. The firm are rapidly becoming the go-to for Employers and are one of the firms that we would wholeheartedly recommend’.

‘Toni Lorenzo is the stand out partner among many excellent ones. At home in both the Tribunal and High Court litigation. He is a top choice for the most high profile cases’.

‘Colin Leckey – Fantastically knowledgeable and insightful. Colin is always fast to respond with practical advice. He is a trusted adviser, able to recognise when I need quick, off the cuff advice, rather than in depth analysis’.

‘One of the most impressive employment teams in the London market for strength and depth. Highly skilled and experienced litigators’.

‘Michael Anderson is one of the most skilled and impressive lawyers specialising in commercial employment litigation both in the High Court and in arbitration. Michael is probably involved in more cases than entire departments at other firms.’

‘Michael Burd – a brilliant strategist. He has seen it all and done it all before. Unflappable. ‘

‘A top team for senior executives  and dominant in the market. Good availability top to bottom. Particular strengths in covenants but exceptional in other aspects too.’

‘Toni Lorenzo and Mike Burd are particularly good. Calm and reassuring in style but backed up with immense experience and great tactical nous.’

‘Sarah McWhinney was an outstanding associate with great attention to detail and strategic in approach to solving issues.’

‘I engaged Nicholas Hadaway and worked with him and Laetitia Cooke. I found them both to be very knowledgable, empathetic, and a pleasure to deal with, both professionally and on a more human level.’

‘Market leading department handling employment and related issues (eg partnership) with unrivalled strength in depth.’

‘What Clive Greenwood doesn’t know about partnership law isn’t worth knowing. Sarah McWhinney is one to watch. She has great empathy and patience with clients and her drafting skills are excellent.’

‘This practice has a deep knowledge and experience of employment issues in financial services. It is commercial in its outlook and understands the emotional challenges of employees that are going through difficult times with their employers.’

‘Tarun Tawakley is a charismatic and engaging Partner at Lewis Silkin. He has tremendous knowledge and experience in employment issues and is well versed in how the other side thinks. He is firm in his advice and ensures that emotions are kept in check in order to deliver the best outcome for his client. He delivers his advice in a very clear and logical manner, he ensures that the client has understood the subtleties and nuances of the negotiations before explaining what particular path is the preferred one.’

‘Russell Brimelow is a great client service partner, keen to get to know our business and what needs our in-house legal team has.’

‘They are a good media lawyers. They offer lots of training and updates (online) and have a large number of partners with a wealth of experience.’

‘They are all very good in the fields and very knowledgeable and helpful.’

‘The team members have significant experience at the highest levels of the entertainment industry. This gives great confidence in the accuracy of their advice, which is always clear and reasoned for our understanding.’

‘Lewis Silkin is the leading law firm in the UK for advertising and marketing law.’

‘The individuals we work with are highly experienced, lead the industry, and are always on the cutting edge of the field. Brinsley Dresden, Jo Farmer, and Geraint Lloyd-Taylor are all highly knowledgeable, and we feel confident placing our trust in them to help make decisions for our agency and clients.’

‘I have most frequently worked with Cliff Fluet, Jeremy Summers, and Alan Hunt. Aside from their wealth of experience they are likeable personalities and very much human beings – which has made them a joy to work with. They have taken time to explain principles in their advice and encourage learning in our organization – things they would not be required to do, and this has created great value in their work with us.’

‘Paul Gillen is approachable and provides succinct and focused advice.’

‘Paul Gillen is a real champion for equality and diversity issues.

‘I very much value the openness and approachable manner of Paul Gillen. He has a wealth of legal knowledge, great business acumen and a broad commercial knowledge of our industry. Paul has a strong commitment to collaborative working, which I very much value.’

‘Paul Gillen’s expertise, of not only employment legislation, but also human resource practices is exemplary. Being past Chair of the Northern Ireland branch of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Paul has an excellent network in the HR field.’

‘Lewis Silkin provides an excellent service to its clients. Their billing is reasonable and their employment law knowledge in multiple areas is exceptional.’

‘James Storke is an excellent ‘go-to’ lawyer for all things employment-related. He has a pragmatic and commercial approach, deep understanding of the law, while also maintaining an excellent eye for detail. James will always make himself available, even at short notice. Associates Abi Fredricks and Georgina Curry are also recommended.’

‘Jonathan Carr is extremely responsive and leads a highly capable team. Jonathan is very commercial and works well with C-Suite clients on what can, at times, be very sensitive matters.’

‘The team is commercially focused and provides very high quality advice. They actively listen to what it is that we’re discussing and are extremely responsive to our needs. They understand the industry that we work with and our company and its values which helps to ensure that we get the quality of advice and service that we require.’

‘Managing associate James Storke has continued to provide extremely high quality advice and is extremely responsive. He ensures that we receive excellent communication along the way.’

‘The Lewis Silkin team is brilliant. They really understand our business, provide excellent legal advice, and are both pragmatic and commercial in their approach. I trust them completely. They are human in their approach, and are always very responsive/available to our needs.’

‘James Waters is excellent, always available, pragmatic and results-focused. Balanced and able to give a full perspective, but will give a view and clarity of risks.’

‘Russell Brimelow and his team provide commercial advice that is easy for any manager in the business to understand. They are friendly and practical in their approach.’

‘Lewis Silkin in Cardiff take client access to new levels with all levels of the team being available to clients. It is clear from working with them that they truly understand the client’s needs, business and outcome desires.’

‘In terms of innovation, Lewis Silkin are particularly good with updates and know how – their furlough advice, which was updated almost instantly, was very useful.’

‘The team provides first-class advice that is commercially focused and aligned to our requirements, our industry and company needs.’

‘Lucy Lewis feels like an extension of our team. Her advice never needs amending or tweaking.’

‘Richard Moore has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the law and his clients’ businesses and has cascaded his approach to client care to the entire team.’

‘Richard Moore brought a very practical and pragmatic approach to the challenges faced on our project. He was highly responsive to email requests and the need to talk through some of the more challenging aspects of the project.’

‘Charlotte Morgan is commercially focused and provides class advice and support. She has great attention to detail and is able to work to strict deadlines even when they are very tight.’

‘Neil Dite is proactive and business focussed.’

‘Huge amount of in-depth expertise in the areas that we need. Great to work with, quick to turn things around.’

‘They have been a guiding light and we have been able to quickly build a level of trust as well as learn huge amounts from them. Even though we are likely a small account for them, it never feels that way.’

‘The team understand how to deliver commercial, pragmatic advice, which is invaluable for businesses. Communication is suburb and I know I can trust the team with my internal clients to deliver what is needed. They feel like an extension of the in-house team – friendly, helpful and always available when I need them.’

‘James Gill is a valued partner to the business and provides solution-focused, pragmatic advice that enables contracts to be concluded efficiently, whilst ensuring the business understands any inherent risk. He is able to simplify complex negotiations and understand the root cause of any disputes, to ensure parties do not get side-tracked on minor points. As a result, supplier relationships start off on a positive foot and all parties are happy on signature.’

‘Michael Burd – huge experience of dealing with employment law matters involving business leaders and with the gravitas to give focused, commercial advice.’

‘I can always rely on Fergus Payne to understand that issue at hand and steer us towards the best solution.’

‘Clive Greenwood is one of the very best in the field. His knowledge of the law is second to none. He is fantastic with clients and works extremely hard to achieve client goals. An enormous pleasure to work with.’

‘Fergus Payne (now a consultant) is a very knowledgeable and capable non-contentious lawyer.’

‘Frances Simm is one of the very best associates in the market. Already hugely experienced, efficient and brilliant with clients. A star!’

‘Shalina Crossley is great to work with. Excellent with clients. Toni Lorenzo is a ball of energy and fights for his clients brilliantly. Karen Baxter is excellent too.’

‘Lewis Silkin’s partnership team have the perfect blend of serious partnership law knowledge and immense practicality. This means they are able to steer clients through difficult situations towards the best possible outcome.’

‘The partnership team at Lewis Silkin is exceptionally able and experienced. They build on the firm’s expertise in employment matters but bring real specialism to disputes relating to partnerships and LLPs.’

‘This is an excellent firm for commercial litigation – commercially-focused advice that is efficiently delivered, and with a wide and interesting range of clients and matters. One of the best firms in this market.’

‘Clive Greenwood has a huge market presence – extremely impressive. He is very bright, has great attention to detail, and is a tremendously calm and reassuring presence in a team.‘

‘Mark Lim is my go-to solicitor. Having worked with the legal profession for more than 25 years, I have not come across a better commercial dispute resolution solicitor. Mark is prepared to go the extra mile for his clients – a joy to work with and an abundance of knowledge. A truly first-class solicitor.’

‘Andrew Wanambwa is a very experienced partner. While he specialises in dispute resolution, he can turn his hand to other areas as appropriate. He always returns calls (unlike many these days) and is generous with his time.‘

‘Andrew Wanambwa is a first-rate lawyer with terrific judgement and client skills. Both highly commercial and unflappable – a very easy person to deal with.’

‘Neil Parkes is a class act – very good judgement, well liked by clients, and achieves great results.’

‘Managing associate Fraser McKeating is efficient and a very safe pair of hands – a rising star.’

‘Managing associate Nigel Enticknap is excellent. He is very efficient and turns out consistently very good work.‘

‘The team at Lewis Silkin are always on hand to support us with a diverse range of queries which are often very time sensitive. They’re able to convey the legal requirements and considerations in a clear way and help us to understand how it applies specifically to our business and the way we operate. They provide a high quality service to both the business and the employees that they support and this is reflected in the feedback that we receive.’

‘The team takes time to understand our business needs and learn about our internal policies and processes before advising on solutions, which is a very refreshing approach. While we are a small (but growing) company in the UK, they are thinking ahead and setting up processes and systems for us at scale for our anticipated future growth.’

‘I have worked closely with Lewis Silkin for a number of years. They have provided us with industry leading legal advice and support and I would not hesitate in recommending the practice, in particular in dealing with Creative Worker Visas (formerly Tier 5) and related immigration enquiries. They have provided outstanding legal support.’

‘They provide a unique and tailored service and goes above and beyond.’

‘Andrew Osborne heads the practice and is reactive to any queries in an efficient and timely manner.’

‘I’ve worked with Stephen O’Flaherty for a couple of years now and he is a trusted partner to our team. As well as his immigration expertise, he has a clear, practical approach which helps us to understand the full picture of a situation. We value Stephen’s support very highly.’

‘Supinder Sian – the gold standard for legal support in a complex and ever-changing area. Supinder is always able to find a solution to any problem we have. He is responsive, even at unsociable hours. We simply could not function without him!’

‘I appreciate how they’ve taken the time to get to know our company and our values. They connect with us as people first and foremost and want to make sure they are adjusting to our business and needs. Stephen O’Flaherty has been a very strong partner in our UK set-up and has provided catered advice on everything from our RTW checks, Sponsorship licence, ongoing compliance, and day-to-day casework.’

‘The team are super reactive and always available.’

‘Rachel Francis-Lang and Patrick Brown are exceptional.’ 

‘They think outside of the box and are prepared to go the extra mile. They genuinely care about the result.’

‘The team provide quick, pragmatic advice. They fully understand our business needs and the needs of in-house counsel.’

‘John Shea been a great external adviser who has become an extension of our in house team.’

‘Lewis Silkin are one of the leading City solicitors with a stellar offering and reputation in sports law..’

‘Alex Kelham is a former Commonwealth Games gold medallist and now a titan in sports law.’

‘John Shea is very strong in football and rugby disputes, especially those with a commercial or regulatory angle.’

‘John Shea is the driving force of the football practice, having great knowledge of contractual and regulatory matters, remarkable business acumen about the football industry and an extensive network with clubs, agents and peer lawyers.’

‘They all offer pragmatic high-quality advice in a way that is easy to understand. They balance technical expertise with a good understanding of the commercials.’

‘The team is pragmatic, commercial, responsive and generally great. In addition to that, their client care is great and even their support on a personal level is amazing.’

‘Always listening to our needs as the client with clear non-jargon legal advice. Very agile and fast turnaround, bringing the right experts into the team as and when required.’

‘Anthony Van Hoffen’s knowledge and expertise is exceptional. He always responds very promptly and is available and accessible. Anthony works very well with Katie Thomas. There is no gap between them and their communication is excellent.’

‘We use them specifically for trade marks and find they provide us with great service.’

‘The team that we work with are always very responsive and available to speak to us. Their advice in case of trade marks is always spot on. Anna Caruso and her team in particular are very helpful.’

‘The Lewis Silkin IP team offer a brilliant combination of skills, experience and knowledge across the IP spectrum. Their work is always of a high standard and reliable.’

‘It has been a pleasure to work with Lucinda Murphy in particular and have her ongoing support.’

‘Mathew Forde worked with me on a highly complex trade mark/food regulatory dispute. Mathew had a very good strategic understanding of the case (it was a David vs Goliath dispute) plus a keen knowledge of the details of the case. He was a  pleasure to work with and I know that the client was very impressed by his handling of the case.’

‘Excellent market knowledge; very able lawyers.’

‘Lewis Silkin LLP are honest, accurate, commercially aware and from my experience swift in action.’

‘Adam Glass is a wonderful IP lawyer. Gently jovial to his clients and honest to a tee. He provides decisive evaluations of complex matters, and I would thoroughly recommend his advice.’

‘Team is very knowledgable and provide an excellent service for early stage IT companies.’

‘A strong team with complementary skills and abilities. Very efficient and professional interaction with the client. Highly recommended.’

‘Personable service and able and willing to interpret and explain complicated terminology and concepts in understandable ways.’

‘Outstanding service. Efficient, personable, and showing an interest in the client’s business and its development.’

‘They take the time to explain technical concepts and terminology in understandable ways. Excellent communication and prompt response to enquiries.’

‘Their corporate and software contract team are without a doubt some of the best solicitors in this area.’

‘The practice has been very client-needs sensitive , and offers practical, simple guidance; they often feel as though they are in-house rather than external people.’

‘All of the teams have have been very good. In particular, Oliver Watson has been very instrumental in the speed and accuracy of delivery of all targeted areas.’

‘Lucinda Murphy has an excellent knowledge of the law within reputation management issues and combines this with fast, responsive communication and diligent attention to the wider commercial and personal issues. She is always calm, friendly and enthusiastic even under pressure. She is tuned in to our business and a pleasure to work with, along with the rest of the reliable and dedicated Lewis Silkin team.’

‘Lucinda Murphy is incredibly experienced and a leading associate in the reputational management team at Lewis Silkin. She provided calm and commercial advice on complex matters. Lucinda is a ray of sunshine.’

‘I dealt with Mathew Forde and his team. Our case was complex in terms of the convoluted structure of our association and affiliated branches internationally, however Mathew sifted through this and got to grips with it very early. I had 100% confidence in him at all times. He is very self-assured and that comes with the experience of having many successes over the years. During the covid restrictions, the team set up zoom meetings so we could continue communicating and their correspondence was always timely and accurate.’

‘Mathew Forde is extremely competent in the area of IP. He remains very calm in all situations but targets specifically the key points of a case and deals with them swiftly and effectively. I really appreciated the sensitivity and empathy with which we were treated.’

‘Organised, responsive, high-quality advice, good to work with.’

‘Impressive relationship with clients, engendering trust. Good subject matter knowledge.’

‘Sara Hanrahan, planning specialist. Very good with clients and knowledgeable in her field.’

‘I have worked with a few of the solicitors in this firm, all of whom are knowledgeable, approachable and professional. They are able to provide concise, thoughtful advice that I have found helpful. They are able to tackle a multitude of different problems and keep it within the team, which has made it really easy to communicate. I think there is a good dynamic between all team members and this is reflected in their collaborative approach.’

‘Sara Hanrahan – have known her for nearly 6 years now working on various issues. She is responsive, timely, thoughtful and efficient.’

‘Experience and listens. Advice, even if against one’s instincts, is sound.’

‘I am very satisfied with the way they follow up and forewarn of expenses and ask if it is a choice expenditure, whether the client wants to take it up.’

‘Sara Hanrahan is an excellent strategic planning adviser.’

‘A small but excellent team of property litigators, with especial expertise in dealing with the cross-over between insolvency and property.’

‘Brian Kilcoyne – one of the leading property litigation solicitors in the country with a huge amount of experience. Very clever and commercially astute.’

‘Mario Betts – a really first-rate property litigation solicitor who is a complete delight to work with.’

‘A small but perfectly formed Property Litigation team.’

‘Brian Kilcoyne – his technical legal knowledge is unrivalled and then when its combined with his beguiling manner and tactical instincts you want him with you not against you.’

‘Mario Betts – leaves no stone unturned and seems to thrive on chasing down the difficult and creating order.’

‘The firm is people focused, building relationships with individuals and in turn involving them in the decision making process. Those making up the team have years of experience and practical “know-how”.’

‘Brian Kilcoyne has an encyclopaedic knowledge of law and in particular property law. His analysis of tricky legal issues is more akin to that of a top property silk than a busy solicitor.’

‘The advice is always clear and commercially sound with good transparency in relation to fees estimates and billing.’

‘The team has strength-in-depth over the commercial property sector and offers a professional, diligent, proactive and pragmatic service.’ 

‘Tom Merrick is responsive and thorough and provides sound commercially aware advice that steers us as clients in a good direction.’ 

‘Tom Merrick’s communication skills are very strong and he has found innovative solutions to a number of complex matters. He is very diligent and professional in his approach.’

‘The construction legal team have been excellent and very supportive attentive and rigorous in the delivery.’

‘Knowledgeable, thorough in the analysis of risk and reward against the back drop of the commercial and legal constraints.’

‘Clare Reddy has been outstanding team player and has helped the project team arrive at a fully considered result. Her knowledge and ability to apply the knowledge in to the very detailed implication of our project has been outstanding.’

‘Alexander Milner-Smith is an expert when it comes to complex data protection and privacy issues. He is very focused, fast-thinking and pragmatic. He always handles matters efficiently. He is business oriented and never loses sight of the client’s best interests.’

‘Bryony Long provides excellent practical advice, enabling clients to make informed choices within a risk-based privacy framework. Bryony’s friendly and responsive approach makes her a pleasure to work with.’

‘All of the individuals I have liaised with have been very knowledgeable about the specifics and requirements of data protection law. They are able to explain the various options in clear and sufficient detail, and provide practical advice on what to do.’

‘Bryony Long has built an excellent practice with top quality associates who deliver very practical and efficient advice.’

‘Bryony Long is an exceptional partner with a real talent to cutting to the core of the issue and delivering practical advice in a timely manner. Ali Vaziri is also technically diligent and leaves no stone unturned to provide commercially balanced and clear advice.’

‘Ali Vaziri is exceptional and has tackled some very difficult and unique data situations for us and given us the advice we needed and would probably not have got anywhere else. He is absolutely the person I would go to for any data protection matters.’

‘I would  recommend Sean Illing if you have any subject access requests to deal with, especially difficult and detailed ones with multiple litigation matters in the background and a wealth of documentation to go through. There is more law involved in this than most people know and he will guide you exceptionally through what can be a very difficult and stressful process.’

‘Working with Sean Illing has allowed us to manage general privacy compliance in an efficient manner and most importantly in a manner which aligns to our business needs. Being given legal advice with a business driven focus is difficult to find, but we found that with Sean.’

‘A quality firm in the IP field.’

‘Antony Craggs has a great grip on the legal detail and is determined to get the best result for the client.’

‘Paul Gillen is approachable and provides succinct and focused advice.’

‘Paul Gillen is a real champion for equality and diversity issues.

‘I very much value the openness and approachable manner of Paul Gillen. He has a wealth of legal knowledge, great business acumen and a broad commercial knowledge of our industry. Paul has a strong commitment to collaborative working, which I very much value.’

‘Paul Gillen’s expertise, of not only employment legislation, but also human resource practices is exemplary. Being past Chair of the Northern Ireland branch of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, Paul has an excellent network in the HR field.’

‘Lewis Silkin provides an excellent service to its clients. Their billing is reasonable and their employment law knowledge in multiple areas is exceptional.’

‘James Storke is an excellent ‘go-to’ lawyer for all things employment-related. He has a pragmatic and commercial approach, deep understanding of the law, while also maintaining an excellent eye for detail. James will always make himself available, even at short notice. Associates Abi Fredricks and Georgina Curry are also recommended.’

‘Jonathan Carr is extremely responsive and leads a highly capable team. Jonathan is very commercial and works well with C-Suite clients on what can, at times, be very sensitive matters.’

‘The team is commercially focused and provides very high quality advice. They actively listen to what it is that we’re discussing and are extremely responsive to our needs. They understand the industry that we work with and our company and its values which helps to ensure that we get the quality of advice and service that we require.’

‘Managing associate James Storke has continued to provide extremely high quality advice and is extremely responsive. He ensures that we receive excellent communication along the way.’

‘The Lewis Silkin team is brilliant. They really understand our business, provide excellent legal advice, and are both pragmatic and commercial in their approach. I trust them completely. They are human in their approach, and are always very responsive/available to our needs.’

‘James Waters is excellent, always available, pragmatic and results-focused. Balanced and able to give a full perspective, but will give a view and clarity of risks.’

‘Russell Brimelow and his team provide commercial advice that is easy for any manager in the business to understand. They are friendly and practical in their approach.’