Mike Brookes
Mike is a partner and specialises in entertainment dispute resolution and reputation management. He trained at Fox Williams, the City based employment law specialist, and qualified in 1995. He then joined an entertainment law firm as a litigator and handled a variety of entertainment and sports related disputes including the High Court trial for Robbie Williams against the former manager of Take That.
Mike joined Lee & Thompson in 1998 and has played a key role in creating the firm’s reputation for quality dispute resolution. Mike’s varied practice spans the industries of music, film, television and sport and he represents both industry corporates and individual talent within those sectors.
Much of his work involves protecting the reputation of some of the firm’s highest profile clients. Various battles with the press have been fought and won for celebrities such as Peter Andre, the Beckhams, Kerry Katona, Charlotte Church, Christopher Eccleston and Nicole Appleton, as well as a number of prominent figures in industry and also some politicians.
In 2012 he successfully represented Charlotte Church and her parents in their well publicised “phone hacking” claim against the News of the World. Mike’s clients held out longer than any other of the victims going to trial and settled with NGN only after full admissions of liability were made and an apology obtained. The Churches were paid £600,000 in damages and costs, one of the highest settlements in the entire phone hacking scandal.
Mike also handles the full range of copyright and contractual disputes for music clients ranging from artists to record companies. Also immersed in the film and television world, Mike deals with a large amount of copyright and defamation clearance work for producer clients on major feature films and television productions.
Mike’s expertise in employment law enables him to continue to advise both executives and companies on termination packages and also negotiate employment contracts and advise on employment issues generally.
The new UK edition of Chambers and Partners ranks Mike as a Band 1 leader in his field..
