other sectors: commerce: Media and Entertainment
Media and Entertainment Martineau has a growing practice, reputation and presence in media and entertainment. This is the industry sector for which, and by which, the term convergence was coined, and our lawyers, especially our Intellectual Property and Information Technology team, are heavily involved in work at the leading edge of these developments.
To reflect what our clients are doing in these areas, our group of over 20 media and entertainment lawyers meet regularly to share developments and consider opportunities for clients in one sector to exploit commercial developments in another. Looking at the traditional classifications:
- Publishers of books, magazines and newspapers instruct us across the range of their activities, in the UK and abroad
- Our TV work has involved the establishment of foreign TV stations and closed-loop stations in the UK and a variety of TV-related work such as advising businesses the subject of adverse treatment in documentaries and consumer affairs programmes
- In the radio sector our headline activity has been in the sale and purchase of radio stations
- In the Internet sector, we serve as general counsel to the UK’s largest ISP host, and also advise scores of businesses, across practically the entire range of business, on the multitudinous implications of their web presence, whether it is a major multi-national suing the web as a supplementary sales channel, a sole trader using the web to use the extraordinary leverage power of the web in order to appear large and grow fast, a business which merely advertises on the web, and a “host” of others
- Our film practice is set to grow, based on our expertise in IP and IT, as well as tax-based financing
- In music, we have advised bands, orchestras, individual musicians, record companies, studios, instrument manufacturers and suppliers, and operators of venues
- Our practice in the theatre has been limited, but we have the expertise to take on most challenges, backed by our undertaking that we never accept instructions we cannot fully perform
- As Sport fills an ever-increasingly important part of our lives, fuelled by TV revenues, so our Sports practice grows. It is primarily but not exclusively focused on football, where Andrew Stilton has a nationwide reputation in club takeovers and is frequently called upon for comment in the media, and Adam McGiveron brings the benefit of his pre-qualification work as an agent, both to footballers and musicians
- We advise a wide variety of businesses on their advertising and sales promotions activities, and are carving out a niche for ourselves as “the” advisers to the public relations industry
The Media and Entertainment practice is led by Nick Mallett, who has specialised in the particular legal problems encountered in this area since shortly after he qualified as a solicitor in 1979. Throughout the ensuing period, Nick has represented media organisations, large and small, as well as individual entertainers. The nature of the industry is such that we work, virtually on a daily basis, with lawyers in various foreign jurisdictions on the international legal implications of our clients’ businesses. We have built up an informal network of lawyers who have the necessary experience of the particular characteristics and requirements of the industry, on whom we can call at any time. We have particular strength in the tax implications for the individual entertainer of international touring. Our media and entertainment practice is an integral part of our full-service commercial law practice. We are, therefore able to support our media and entertainment clients whatever their requirements. Typical specific tasks have involved advice on:
- establishing a UK company or registration of foreign branch
- corporate governance
- establishing suitable employment packages to provide incentives for key personnel
- acquisition of premises
- advertising and marketing schemes and materials
- government affairs and lobbying, in the UK, Europe and the USA
- selection, instruction and monitoring of counsel in foreign jurisdictions
- monitoring and reporting regularly on changes in English and European law, whether general or specific to the industry
Foreign legal advice Should you require us to provide or procure legal advice in respect of other jurisdictions we can do so. Martineau lawyers believe that the development of a stable network of well established and like minded law firms is a more cost effective and comprehensive approach for clients than is the establishment by any firm (and the resulting cost increase to clients) of many offices around the world.
Our network, much of which consists of members of Multilaw, a world-wide grouping of independent law firms, provides access to information, people and services necessary to achieve clients’ objectives in foreign countries. Personal commitments between individual lawyers, as well as professional standards, dictate that clients are served well across frontiers as much as within our firm. This enables us to make the best recommendations from the client’s perspective. Several Martineau lawyers, including the leaders of our Media and Entertainment practice, have experience of co-ordinating the provision of legal services across Europe and elsewhere for individual and multi-national clients, both on a case-by-case and a more regular basis.
In relation to government affairs and lobbying in the USA we work in co-operation with our fellow members of State Law Resources, an organisation of independent commercial law firms drawn from the capitals of practically all 50 states, each having a pre-eminent government affairs practice. Martineau is the first non-American member of SLR.
Publications:
key expertise: Nick
Mallett
Partner
nick.mallett@martineau-uk.com Adam McGiveron
Partner
adam.mcgiveron@martineau-uk.com Andrew Stilton
Partner
andrew.stilton@martineau-uk.com Roger Blears
Partner
roger.blears@martineau-uk.com Helen Driscoll
Partner
helen.driscoll@martineau-uk.com Tom McGuire
Partner
tom.mcguire@martineau-uk.com Carol Gunning
Associate
carol.gunning@martineau-uk.com |
