TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
Russells Solicitors is lauded as the ‘pre-eminent firm in music disputes’ and ’one of the leading London firms in music law’. The firm stands out for its history in assisting leading artists and music companies with the full gamut of music matters. It has also been notably active in catalogue sales and purchases, which are often handled by corporate specialists Ryan Vince and practice head Chris Gossage. It fields a dedicated new artist department, which is geared towards advising emerging talent; Simon Jordan is the key name to note for new artists. Jo Brittain co-leads the practice alongside Gossage, and he focuses on both emerging and established talent. Gavin Maude heads up the commercial team, and he is well-known as a leading artist lawyer, and he also represents music industry executives and employees in employment issues. The litigation team is spearheaded by Steven Tregear, who excels in bringing and defending copyright infringement, contractual, and audit claims. Simon Esplen advises a wide array of industry clients, from artists and managers, to songwriters and producers, while Henry Priestley is a go-to figure for disputes. Dan Hoyle and Alice Rudge are also noted for their specialism in non-contentious and contentious music work, respectively. Liv Lyons recently joined the practice following her departure from Lee & Thompson LLP.
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Steven heads up Russells’ litigation department.
He specialises in litigation in the worlds of entertainment, media and sport covering a varied case-load representing major record and music publishing companies, artists, managers, promoters, sportsmen and women as well as many related businesses. He has been particularly involved in bringing and defending copyright infringement, contractual and audit claims for Russells’ clients, a number of which have been reported.
Currently he is representing the Prince Estate in High Court litigation and recently he has also acted in streaming related issues both in a contractual and audit context – disputes over whether streaming rights have been granted and the terms of that grant and the audit of a major telecommunications company for a record label.
Aside from his music industry related litigation practice, Steven handles international arbitration claims acting for both Claimants and Respondents governed by different arbitration rules and procedures and especially in the sports related disputes forum where he represents sports personalities, teams and agents. Steven regularly advises the firm’s clients on defamation, privacy and breach of confidence matters where he has been at the forefront of Russells’ work protecting their clients’ reputations and businesses and particularly in the area of celebrity harassment by the media.
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