Media, entertainment and sport in East Anglia

Mills & Reeve LLP

Mills & Reeve LLP joins the ranking having continued to invest in its sports law capability. Clients describe it as ‘the go-to regional firm for sport’. The practice is led by Carol Couse, who works between Manchester and Cambridge, and vastly experienced Cambridge-based international sports lawyer and arbitrator Alastair Cotton. Cotton is a member of numerous  sports arbitration panels, including the Premier League Judicial Board and the National Anti-Doping Panel. He is currently advising the PGA on the restructuring of its joint ownership of Ryder Cup Europe LLP. Paddy Lynam has extensive sports law expertise due to his interest in bloodstock and horseracing. John Shea, who joined from Lewis Silkin and who works in both London and Cambridge, adds experience in sports disputes on behalf of clubs, players, agencies, and governing bodies. He also advises on high-profile football transfers.

Responsables de la pratique:

Carol Couse; Alastair Cotton


Autres avocats clés:

Paddy Lynam; John Shea; Rustam Sethna; Phil Hutchinson


Les références

‘Very knowledgeable about the sports industry and relevant legal issues; great to work with (excellent with clients and a lovely team to work with); work extremely hard for the client.’

‘Carol Couse – highly knowledgeable, particularly in relation to football disputes, and a pleasure to work with. Phil Hutchinson – already operates at Partner level; hard-working and knowledgeable. Rustam Sethna – v bright bright and hard-working.’

‘Very strong team. very busy with sports work. The go-to regional firm for sport.’

Principaux clients

Commonwealth Games Federation


International Paralympic Committee


International Tennis Integrity Agency


International Tennis Federation


The Ryder Cup Europe LLP


British Cycling


British Canoeing


British Fencing


England Golf


Sport England


UK Sport


Cole Palmer


Kieran Trippier


Kyle Walker


Kevin De Bruyne


Romelu Lukaku


Jadon Sancho


Joelinton


Diogo Jota


Miguel Almiron


Norwich City FC


Cambridge United


Liverpool FC


Manchester City FC


Bristol City FC


Crystal Palace FC


Birmingham City FC


Rangers FC


Aberdeen FC


Wolves FC


KKS Lech Poznan FC


Nordsjaelland


Al Qadsiah FC


Professional Footballers’ Association


Rugby Players’ Association


Professional Golfers Association


Entertainment Venues / Operators|, such as Cambridge Junction, ODEON Cinemas Group and Broadwick Group


Media businesses (especially publishers)|, such as World Business Media (now sold to Thomson Reuters)|, Cambridge University Press & Assessment


Principaux dossiers


  • Advised World Business Media on its sale to Thomson Reuters.
  • Advised the Professional Golfers’ Association on restructuring its joint ownership of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, including amending the LLP Agreement and drafting new ancillary agreements. This work aims to protect the Ryder Cup amidst professional golf’s evolving landscape, particularly negotiations involving the PGA Tour, DP Tour, and LIV Golf. We collaborated with Ryder Cup Europe’s other partners to future-proof this prestigious competition.
  • Assisted the International Paralympic Committee with matters for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, including negotiating a new multi-million-pound investment deal with the Toyota Mobility Foundation, a media rights deal with NBC Universal, and a content licensing deal with TikTok. Advised on the media marketing agency agreement for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games and assisted in prosecuting Para athletes for anti-doping violations.

Stobbs IP

The Cambridge Stobbs IP has become the central hub in a brand management powerhouse since the firm was founded in 2013, and works closely with its offices in Dublin and Eindhoven to service a stellar roster of clients in sport, media and entertainment. As well as handling the interests of bands such as Nirvana and KISS, artists including Dua Lipa and Stevie Wonder, and DJs such as Grandmaster Flash, the firm also advises a host of record labels, clubs, music equipment manufacturers, and event producers. In sports, UEFA and Harry Kane are among its high-profile clients. Chris Hawkes leads on music, media and entertainment matters, while Russ Munro is the key contact for sports clients. IP portfolio management specialist Louise Goodsell is a key contact. Claire Breheny departed the team in May 2025.

Responsables de la pratique:

Chris Hawkes; Russ Munro


Autres avocats clés:

Louise Goodsell


Principaux clients

AFTV


All England Netball Association


AOL


Automobil Lamborghini SPA


Channel 4


Dua Lipa


England and Wales Cricket Board


Facebook (Meta)


FIFA


Gene Simmons (KISS)


giffgaff Limited


GoPro Inc.


Grandmaster Flash


Greger Porsche Motorsport GmbH


Harley-Davidson Europe Limited


HK28 Ltd (HARRY KANE)


Instagram


Jude Bellingham


Jurgen Klopp


Mark Knight/ Toolroom Records


Marshall Amplification Plc


Moonbug Entertainment Ltd


O2 Worldwide Limited c/o Telefonica Digital Limited


Paramount Pictures


Pharrell Williams


Snap Inc


Springer Nature Limited


Tik Tok


Trek Bicycles


Tumblr


UEFA


Yahoo Holdings Inc.


7-Eleven, Inc.


Adobe Inc.


AG Barr Plc (Irn Bru etc)


AIRWAIR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED (DR MARTENS)


All Saints Retail Limited


ASOS Plc


ASOS.com Limited


Balfour Beatty


Barclays Bank PLC


Beiersdorf (Nivea etc.)


Berry Bros


Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd


BUPA


Cambridge University Press & Assessment


Camelphat


Cancer Research UK


Capri Sun GmbH


Cemex (UK) Operations Limited


Chiaro Technology Ltd (ELVIE)


Citco Converse


Clear Score Technology Limited


Cumberland Corporate Services Ltd (Tower Records)


Danone


DKNY


Doordash


Ecolab


Energizer Holdings Inc.


Eton College


Eve Taylor (London) Limited


Federal Mogul


Fine and Country


Ford Global Technologies LLC


General Mills


Glencore International AG


Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)


GRIDSERVE EMEA DEPC Ltd


H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB


HSBC


Informa Group Limited


Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc


Jagex Limited (4001)


Jellycat Limited


John Torode


Just Eat


Kensington RG Limited


La Prairie


Laboratoires La Prairie SA


Lycamobile UK Limited


Macmillan Publishers International Ltd (2214)


Marks and Spencer plc


Mars Petcare UK


Mars Wrigley Confectionery


Mattel, Inc


McDonald’s Corporation


Monster Inc.


Mothercare Global Brand Limited


Mountain Warehouse Ltd


Nike


Off-White (Virgil Abloh)


Orla Kiely


Ovo


PayPal


Pip & Nut


Premier Foods Group Limited 4072


Purple Bricks


PZ Cussons (International) Ltd


Raffles Hotels


Raspberry Pi Ltd


Reckitt


Ronnie Scotts


Siemens AG


Stephen Webster Ltd


The Citco Group Limited


The Goodwood Estate Company Limited


Tommy Hilfiger Europe BV


University of Cambridge (Core matters)


Upfield Europe BV


Visa


Wendy’s


Wickes Building Supplies Ltd


Wilmington Plc


Yoox Net-a-Porter


YouView


Zoe Global Limited


Principaux dossiers


  • Successfully took over the management of Dua Lipa’s global trademark portfolio.
  • Assisted the Harry Kane Foundation in its collaboration initiative with Starbucks to promote mental wellbeing by encouraging people to ‘kick off a conversation over a coffee’ through the Cups4Kane campaign. The campaign went live ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.
  • Successfully recovered the domain name ‘converse.co’ for Nike by winning a UDRP case against a domain investor with a history of being involved in domain disputes.

Fosters

Fosters  in Norwich has a ‘highly skilled and dedicated team that works diligently to understand the needs of the client in depth’. Led by non-contentious commercial lawyer Jamie Arnall, who draws on his experience as head of legal at Norwich City FC, the practice acts in complex matters for high-profile football clubs and industry bodies, as well as providing the In House subscription service for day-to-day matters. Charlotte Darkins is actively involved in sports and entertainment work, and is a lynchpin of the In House offering.

Responsables de la pratique:

Jamie Arnall


Autres avocats clés:

Charlotte Darkins


Les références

‘Highly skilled and dedicated team who work diligently to understand the needs of the client in depth prior to providing advice. Flexible Monthly Retainer Service option available which offers incredible value and has led to us involving Fosters in some secondary matters that generally we wouldn’t have engaged legal counsel previously. The resulting outcomes from said matters have saved us many multiples of the cost of the Retainer.’

‘Whilst the entire practice provide an excellent service, Jamie Arnall and Charlotte Darkins are exceptional. Consistently delivering an incredibly high level of performance and regularly going over and above in terms what could be reasonably expected.’

Principaux clients

Super League Basketball Limited


Coventry City Football Club Limited


Norwich City Football Club Plc


Nottingham Forest Football Club Limited