Harbottle & Lewis added a new string to its TMT bow this year when it hired a commercial technology team formerly of The Legal 500 top-ranked tech boutique Kemp Little.
The team, led by Emma Wright, telecoms and tech regulatory star, includes data privacy partner Anita Bapat and tech partner Rupam Davé, who adds technology transformation projects and digital platforms expertise.
All joined in early 2022 from Deloitte, which acquired Kemp Little in February 2021. Their arrival could be said to add the Ts (ie, tech and telecoms) to bookend Harbottle & Lewis’ already highly respected and well-established media practice.
Says Wright: ‘We are one of the few firms that can now offer a one-stop-shop for the full plethora of idea protection, strategy around commercialisation, how you deliver it, how you protect the data and the regulatory environment.
‘We have a real depth and breadth to our TMT offering and our client base is 50/50 supplier and customer. Some of our customers come to us because they do not have a dedicated tech lawyer in the legal team and they have a chief technology officer that wants a lawyer that speaks the same language. We can do that. Then we also have large clients that, once we’ve built up their trust, want to just outsource work to us together with scale ups who like our pragmatism.’
‘We’re genuinely interested in the subject matter that we’re focused on and that doesn’t change regardless of which member of the team you work with.’ Emma Wright, Harbottle & Lewis
The team acts for a full range of clients from startups in the tech sector to large corporates on tech-related transactions. Examples include online travel company Tripadvisor, luxury motor yacht manufacturer Princess Yachts and IT digital consultancy company Equal Experts. ‘The common theme as to why all these companies come to us is for our enthusiasm and experience. Both from a regulatory perspective and a commercial perspective. Whether you are a customer procuring tech or a supplier trying to navigate your way around the market, you want that depth and breadth of experience.
‘The most common request we get is: “Just sort it, please. Make it sensible, make it commercial, just sort it.” That can go from small contracts to strategic partnerships of £50m-100m, and it’s that simple – we just sort it.’
Ella Smith, KFC’s head of legal for UK and Ireland, instructed the entire team including associates Emily Giles and Agatha Claridge on a strategic technology partnership and echoes this sentiment: ‘It was a really complicated strategic project and was something we had never done before. They [the Harbottle team] had the ability to cut through what needed to be done as quickly as possible and bring the business along with them. They were a real extension of the team and, as an in-house lawyer working across many strategic projects, that’s exactly what you need.
‘We are now working with the team on another big project, which Aggie [Claridge] is leading. You wouldn’t know she is as junior as she is, it’s the same with Emily Giles, who worked on the strategic IT contract. They are both really impressive.’
‘You can talk about being a trusted adviser, but it really comes down to the fact of being prepared to solve business problems rather than problems that a client has to try and put into legal terms.’ Emma Wright, Harbottle & Lewis
Coming from a boutique tech firm background, the team are all immersed in the sector. Wright is counsel and director of the Institute of AI and sits on the World Economic Forum’s AI Action Alliance. She will also be speaking at the UNESCO Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination in Mexico City in November 2022 on the use of AI to combat racism and discrimination online and has recently been recognised in the Top 20 Most Influential Women in UK Tech. She says: ‘We’re genuinely interested in the subject matter that we’re focused on and that doesn’t change from the juniors to the top level. We’re also genuinely interested in the technology that’s coming through, and then how we would either commercialise it or regulate it.’
Davé is a member of the Society for Computers and Law and of the firm’s interactive entertainment group. His combination of technology transformation experience and interest in emerging trends in the digital space provides a valuable addition to Harbottle’s media offering. Since joining he has worked closely with the firm’s established video games, film and TV teams on a number of complex client tech projects.
Bapat, who previously led the privacy and data protection teams at Deloitte and Kemp Little respectively, provides Harbottle’s existing clients with similarly synergistic advice. She has experience advising leading brands, technology and media clients on data monetisation strategies as well as privacy compliance.
Having taken the leap to a new firm, for the second time in two years, Wright has learned at least one positive lesson: ‘Don’t underestimate your network and how loyal people can be.’
‘Forming great relationships built on trust is key and once established it’s invaluable. Some of the loyalty we’ve been shown is amazing. People have genuinely tried to look out for us and it has been huge in working with longstanding clients here.’
It is this ethos that Wright applies to her own advice to clients and instils in her team. ‘You can talk about being a trusted adviser, but it really comes down to the fact of being prepared to solve business problems rather than problems that a client has to try and put into legal terms. Whether it’s bet-the-company legal advice or something that needs a process around it to allow the business risk to be minimised. You can get quite siloed in your view in the short term, but everyone needs to try to think of the bigger picture.’
Looking to the future, Wright lays out the priorities of her team. ‘We are having fun. It’s amazing when you remember to really enjoy things again.
‘We are hugely excited about the collaboration with our media, entertainment, film, theatre TV and reputation and our [Harbottle’s] strength in corporate and venture capital in the tech sector. I believe we genuinely have an excellent platform allowing us to focus in the areas we’ve been able to work really successfully before adopting, same kind of approach yet with deeper skill sets in the areas of content creation and protection and reputation management. With tech regulation on the increase I believe we now have a unique offering.’
Article written by Megan Mayers.
For more information, please contact Emma Wright, partner, Harbottle & Lewis.
Harbottle & Lewis
7 Savoy Court
London WC2R 0EX
Tel: +44 (0)20 7667 5000
Email: emma.wright@harbottle.com