Purdy Smith > London, England > Firm Profile

Purdy Smith > Firm Profile

Purdy Smith is a creative and dynamic law firm established in July 2017 and offering pragmatic, client-focused advice to leading brands and other businesses.  We are based in central London and offer services across a number of areas including advertising and marketing law, consumer law, intellectual property law, data privacy law, travel law and commercial contracts.

We enjoy working with a range of clients in a variety of sectors from established household names to newer market entrants that share our entrepreneurial spirit.  Purdy Smith counts a number of well-known brands amongst its clients including Expedia, Charlotte Tilbury, Claire’s, The Entertainer and TONI&GUY.  We also receive instructions from several marketing agencies and overseas law firms that work with leading international corporations.

We are proud to have been recommended in The Legal 500 UK since the 2018-2019 edition.  We are currently recommended in the highly competitive Media & Entertainment category having previously been recommended in the Brand Management category before it was disbanded.

Our approach

We like to act as an extension of our clients’ businesses by getting under their skin and providing tailored, commercially-focused advice, and take time to understand the challenges our clients face and the sectors they operate in.  Furthermore, we are a progressive, modern firm with a down-to-earth approach that is far removed from the stuffy and conservative culture that perpetuates at many traditional City practices.  We pride ourselves on being friendly and approachable and avoid blinding our clients with unnecessary legal terminology.

We also take a refreshingly transparent approach to fees and are willing to consider a number of approaches including fixed fees, capped fees, monthly retainer arrangements and of course traditional hourly rates.  Moreover, as a relatively new market entrant we offer our exceptional expertise at a much better price than our competitors at traditional City law firms.

Types of work undertaken

Advertising and marketing

We have outstanding expertise on the full remit of advertising and marketing related issues including ad copy clearance, prize draws and competitions, social media, direct marketing, intellectual property, sponsorship, loyalty programs, product placement, ambush marketing, advertising-related commercial contracts and regulatory investigations.

Consumer

We counsel leading consumer-facing brands on a range of issues including the regulations applying to in-store, off-premises and distance selling, terms and conditions of sale and supply, customer complaints, e-commerce requirements, regulatory investigations, website compliance audits, rules on alternative dispute resolution and product labelling.

Data privacy

We can support on a variety of data privacy matters including drafting privacy policies, cookies policies and data processing agreements, advising on subject access requests, marketing consents, international data transfers and data commercialisation.

Intellectual property

We advise brand owners on a variety of intellectual property matters, primarily focusing on trade marks, copyright and passing off.  We assist our clients in the exploitation, management and protection of their brands, including by handling trade mark prosecution work and providing support with trade mark portfolio management.  We also advise upon and draft intellectual property assignments and licences.

Commercial contracts

We draft a wide range of commercial agreements to suit our clients’ requirements and effectively govern their relationships with their customers, suppliers and partners.  We have particularly strong expertise in drafting advertising-related agreements, such as creative services agreements and media buying and planning agreements, and consumer-facing contractual documents, such as terms and conditions of sale and supply.

Travel

We have in-depth experience working with businesses in the travel sector and offer support on a range of matters including the regulations apply to package travel, ATOL bonding requirements, booking terms and conditions, advertising and pricing issues, commercial contracts, regulatory investigations and customer complaints.

International

We have a strong network of legal contacts around the world which allows us to provide an excellent service in relation to international matters.  Most of our clients operate across a number of markets and a significant amount of our work has an international dimension.

We are completely independent with no overseas offices and a policy of not belonging to any formal law firm networks.  Consequently, we select the best lawyers we can find in each country for a particular project, in contrast to international firms that are heavily biased towards using lawyers from their own offices, or international law firm networks whose member firms will typically favour cross-referring work to each other.

We often project manage the overseas legal advice our clients request, in line with their preferences, offering a seamless service with one point of contact, one engagement letter and one billing arrangement.

Client testimonials from previous editions of The Legal 500 UK

“Purdy Smith (and particularly Mark Smith) always give sharp and accurate advice.  They have the ability to respond quickly and in a very effective way meaning that the advice they provide is always useful, even if they spot a specific risk”.

“Mark Smith is always available by phone or email and ready to fit your urgent issues.  He has the ability to go straight to the legal point(s) at stake, which makes his advice very effective”.

“The advantage that Purdy Smith has is its specialised and in-depth knowledge in advertising and marketing law.  Purdy Smith provides excellent specialised advice and offers its clients personal service”.

“I work with Mark Smith and he is always very quick to respond, provides excellent advice in the area of advertising and marketing law and at very competitive prices”.

“Mark Smith is the attorney with whom we most regularly work.  He is direct, clear, and is a good team member as we work through international projects.  In particular, it is extremely helpful when working on documents being reviewed around the world that Mark limits his edits to those necessary while still providing clear guidance around the requirements of the law.  Additionally, he continues to keep us updated about new developments in advertising and privacy in the UK.  The information is always helpful”.

“Mark Smith at Purdy Smith provides practical, reasoned and prompt advice.  He is business driven in his solutions and strategic advice”.

“Mark Smith is excellent.  He gives quick, smart and business-driven advice that translates easily to US clients”.

Legal Briefings

• Brand management: hot topics to look out for in the 2020s

  Mark Smith, founder and CEO of Purdy Smith, discusses some of the brand management issues in-house lawyers should keep an eye on in the upcoming decade, with a focus on the headline-grabbing areas of advertising and consumer law.