Lee & Thompson commenced practice in August 1983 and from the outset enjoyed a high profile for a small firm, and an excellent reputation, acting for well known record labels and for a number of successful recording artists.

The firm continued with its work for record labels but as, one by one, the larger label clients were acquired by and “lost” to the major labels, the firm’s music practice focused increasingly upon talent representation.

The firm’s ambition was to couple the provision of high quality legal services with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the music industry and the leading players within it. Robert Lee and Andrew Thompson are commercial music lawyers with reputations for professionalism, pragmatism and fairness. These qualities have informed the development of the practice which over a period of more than a quarter of a century has diversified into a broad range of media and entertainment related work.

The firm’s expansion has been driven by the needs of our clients. The key creative industries of music, television and film are increasingly interdependent as a result, in part, of the new technologies which have impacted dramatically upon all of them. It is no longer an option for those involved in one aspect of the creative industries to plough their own furrow. They must engage with the wider entertainment world. In the same way we, as a law firm, have had to broaden our horizons and develop a proper level of expertise across the entire spectrum of media work.

Our Music Group represents an ever growing list of clients from every sector of the music industry. We have developed a particular expertise in relation to digital issues and the importance of this area of our work, for our music and other clients, is underlined by our dedicated Digital Group.

In order to protect the commercial interests of our clients the firm has had from a very early stage a litigation capability. Gordon Williams assumed responsibility for this area of our work when he joined the firm in 1997. Over the years we have extended the services we are able to provide so that we now have, alongside our commercial or “deal making” lawyers, a highly experienced team of intellectual property lawyers organised across our Dispute Resolution Group and our Brand Protection Group. We believe that we are uniquely equipped to protect the interests of our broadening client base.

Jeremy Gawade joined the firm in 1989 in order to develop our television practice and since then we have built upon our expertise in relation to the UK television industry to such an extent that the presence of our TV Group in this sector is unparalleled. We are the production lawyers for a significant proportion of all independent UK television output.

Our television work has led inexorably to the world of film and we have an enviable film practice, now led by Reno Antoniades who joined the firm in 1994. We act as production lawyers for at least one in four of all UK qualifying feature films, we have a trail blazing practice in terms of European co-development deals, and our Film Group engages more and more with Hollywood and with Mumbai and other important film markets.

2007 saw the successful launch of our Family Group. We are uniquely qualified to advise and protect a divorcing spouse in those cases where media related assets are at stake or if, by reason of the client’s high profile, reputation management issues are involved.

Separately from our music, television and film work, we have recently placed particular focus upon the work we do for our talent clients including high profile actors, sports personalities and comedians. In 2008 we formed a dedicated Talent Group to focus specifically on our non-music talent clients.

Another key area of convergence for our practice has been our work in relation to branded live events and in early 2009 we created our Live Events Group which is dedicated to delivering a comprehensive service to promoters, investors and other clients involved in this sector.

As the firm and its clients have expanded, and the entertainment and media work has grown in complexity, we have had to develop a proper capability in terms of those deals involving a corporate element and so 2009 saw the formation of a dedicated Corporate Group.

Similarly, our increasing representation of sporting personalities and trade bodies led to the formation of our dedicated Sports Group to provide a more focused service for their particular needs.

As the firm’s representation of clients involved in the performing arts and theatre production continues to increase exponentially, we have recently added a dedicated Theatre Group, headed by Robert Lee to assist composers, authors, directors, producers, actors, agents and orchestrators with all their legal requirements.

We now boast specific expertise in twelve key areas of work thus enabling us to deliver a full and bespoke service to our diverse media and entertainment clients. All our lawyers adhere to rigorous professional standards having regard to their duties under the Solicitors Code of Conduct (the content of which can be accessed here). The firm is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales (registered number OC351626) and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

As we continue to develop our practice, we remain faithful to our original ambition of providing the highest quality legal service, delivered by a team of first rate lawyers expert in their field, striving always in our approach to be professional, pragmatic and fair.