Litigation Services & Advice

We have extensive experience advising individuals and businesses in the entertainment sector in relation to a wide range of disputes, including: breach of contract; partnership and shareholder disputes; breach of confidence; copyright and trade mark infringement; and reputation management. 

Our clients include: A-list talent; film, TV and theatre production companies; live event companies; script writers; record labels; book and music publishers; and talent agencies.

We pride ourselves on providing commercial, pragmatic and cost-effective advice with a view to resolving disputes at an early stage where possible, including through alternative dispute resolution procedures such as  mediation and arbitration.  

Sometimes however, you will simply have to enforce, or defend, your rights in Court.  Our team has extensive litigation experience, successfully acting at all levels from tribunals to the Supreme Court, with many of us having trained and practised in leading City litigation firms before joining Russells.     

Our strength in depth means that we can handle cases of all sizes, from simple ‘day to day’ business disputes to complex, multiparty cross-border litigation.

Notable Experience

Advising:

• Andrew Lloyd Webber in a defence to a claim of copyright infringement regarding the song ‘Memory’ from the musical, “Cats”
• Culture Club in their dispute with former drummer Jonathan Moss
• Portobello Productions in their dispute with Benedict Cumberbatch’s production company (SunnyMarch) over the film production rights to Roald Dahl’s iconic children’s novel, “Danny, the Champion of the World”.
• A consortium of Premier League clubs in a motion to intervene in the CAS arbitration between UEFA and Manchester City F.C.
• A number of clients including Cheryl Tweedy, the Estate of George Michael, Ian Wright and the Estate of Amy Winehouse in phone hacking claims against both News Group Newspapers Limited and MGN Limited
• Coldplay in a dispute with their former manager Dave Holmes
• Amir Soleymani in his dispute with Nifty Gateway LLC regarding the purchase at auction of an NFT

If you are or suspect that you might be about to become involved in a dispute and if you would like clear, practical advice on how to proceed, please contact Steven Tregear or Henry Priestley on 020 7439 8692 or email steven.tregear@russells.co.uk or henry.priestley@russells.co.uk.