John Burns > Gateley Legal > Manchester, England > Lawyer Profile
Gateley Legal Offices
SHIP CANAL HOUSE
98 KING STREET
MANCHESTER
M2 4WU
England
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John Burns
Work Department
IPCT
Position
John’s main areas of expertise are intellectual property exploitation, franchising, brand licensing, commercial agreements, competition law, sports and media.
His uncluttered and commercially focused approach has won him praise when dealing with high profile, high value matters.
John is an established speaker at various brand licensing seminars both in the UK and abroad and is a director of the Manchester Fashion Network.
Career
Trained Alsop Wilkinson (DLA); qualified 1995. Littlewoods Home Shopping Group 1995-97; Cuff Roberts 1997-2000; Halliwells 2000-10; partner Gateley 2010 to date.
Education
St Francis Saviours College, Liverpool; University of Exeter (1987-1991 Bsc (Hons); BA (Hons)); Chester College of Law (1991-92).
Leisure
John enjoys playing ice hockey and helping his daughters achieve success in gymnastics and figure skating.
Lawyer Rankings
North West > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
(Leading individuals)JMW Solicitors LLP houses a varied practice with specialisms in media contracts, brand and sponsorship deals, sports tech and sports science (including nutrition) and sports related crypto. Practice head Stephen Taylor Heath is an expert in broadcasting agreements, primarily focusing on football and boxing. Experienced sports arbitrator Claire Brown and Mike Blood, a corporate lawyer with specialist sports finance knowledge, are also key. Ben Peppi heads the firm’s Barn Door UK initiative, a business platform for retired sportspeople. John Burns joined the group in early 2024, contributing his deep knowledge of sponsorship and naming rights agreements.
North West > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media and entertainment
(Leading individuals)JMW Solicitors LLP’s practice, rated by clients as the ‘go-to firm in the region‘, is led by experienced reputation management specialist Rebecca Young . Young is described by one client as ‘the best litigator I have dealt with‘, having overseen the growth of the practice and its workload, bringing in harassment and NDA expert Katherine Mills from Clyde & Co in October 2022. Also key within the team is Oliver Wright, whose specialism is reputation management work for politicians, trade unions and the police. Technology sector and cryptocurrency specialist Jemma Fleetwood has vast experience in acting in high-profile privacy litigation. The media group also works closely with the firm’s sports practice, led by Stephen Taylor Heath. Nick McAleenan joined Brabners LLP in August 2022, contributing his knowledge of phone hacking cases and security incidents. John Burns joined the group in early 2024 from Gateley Legal, contributing his broad experience in the drafting and negotiation of IP assignments and tech development exploitation agreements.
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Real estate > Planning and environment
- Real estate > Construction
- Real estate > Planning and environment
Firm Rankings
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Manchester
- Employment > Employment
- Finance > Insolvency and corporate recovery
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Employment > Pensions
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Manchester
- Real estate > Commercial property: Manchester
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media and entertainment
- Real estate > Construction
- Real estate > Planning and environment