Sarah Riding > Gowling WLG > Birmingham, England > Lawyer Profile

Demonstrating in-depth expertise in the automotive, tech and real estate spheres, the Gowling WLG team follows a ‘flexible, collaborative’ approach when advising on strategic investments, cross-border M&A and joint ventures. The team’s commercial offering is notable, primarily focusing on contractual, IP and employment law aspects associated with corporate transactions. Chris Towle heads the corporate side in Birmingham, while Sarah Riding and David Lowe handle the commercial aspects from both London and Birmingham. Jeremy Millington is knowledgeable on disposals and restructurings, Anurag Singh focuses on the car manufacturing and sports sectors and Sharon Ayres is an expert in the real estate space.

Renowned as specialists in the sports IP, copyright and trade mark spheres, the Gowling WLG team is based out of both London and Birmingham, consistently acting on behalf of major sporting organisations and football clubs. Sarah Riding and Ragi Singh co-head the practice, focusing on complex commercial contracts and disciplinary cases, while Ruth Griffin specialises in construction and engineering transactional work.

Gowling WLG stands out for its breadth of contractual work, which spans from procurement and sales contracts to outsourcing agreements. Franchising agreements are another key element of the group’s offering, and practice co-head Sarah Riding, who splits her time between Birmingham and London, and is singled out for her ‘strong understanding of franchising law and principles‘. Riding is also commended for her expertise in the automotive industry, a key area of expertise for the group alongside the real estate, retail and public sectors (where the group has experience of advising on contracts for government departments). Versatile practitioner David Lowe co-heads the practice and also leads the international trade group. Jocelyn Paulley and Rachel Pennell are other key team members.

Comprising four specialist task forces to cater to clients’ desires across the production chain, the team at Gowling WLG advises a wide array of clients, ranging from car manufacturing companies, to banks and consumer goods companies. The team is led by John Coldham, who displays particular expertise in handling IP, strategy and litigation matters; he has also spearheaded the company’s AI tool ‘Saturn‘ to help brands identify counterfeit and copycat products. In addition to co-heading the team, Jocelyn Paulley leads the firm’s data centre practice, regularly advising on IT, digital infrastructure and data protection matters. Sarah Riding and Kate Swaine are also key names in the team, advising on trade mark enforcement and commercial contracts, respectively.