Bratby Law

About us:  Bratby Law provides expert legal, regulatory and transactional advice in the telecoms, digital and data sectors.

Regulatory advice: We advise on all aspects of telecoms, digital and data regulation.

From understanding and complying with current rules, through using regulation as a source of competitive advantage to influencing new regulation and regulatory decisions, we provide expert counsel.

We advise clients on an on-going basis with their compliance responsibilities. We are integrated into new product launch review processes for several large international telecoms clients.

We help clients obtain, use and comply with Spectrum, Code Powers and numbers.

We undertake regulatory due diligence and provide support for regulatory due diligence and warranty and indemnity negotiations.

Our data advice goes beyond box-ticking GDPR compliance, with a particular focus on new or difficult issues, data retention and lawful intercept requirements for telecoms and messaging businesses.

We advise on cyber and data breach issues.

Transactional advice
Commercial transactions: We advise clients on how to achieve their commercial objectives including drafting and negotiating bespoke or specialist agreements. We have deep experience with industry specific commercial arrangements including:

• telecom network procurement and sales (including IRUs and capacity sales)
• network sharing (including RAN sharing)
• interconnection and access
• MVNO/MVNE
• roaming
• broadcast and transmission
• construction, maintenance and operation of terrestrial and sub-sea cable systems
• satellites
• cloud and online services
• mobile services and applications
• digital and mobile money, e-commerce and m-commerce
• (out)sourcing and procurement
• robotic and AI process automation
• customer, resale distribution and partnering arrangements.

Corporate transactions: We advise medium sized private companies and their owners (or divisions of larger businesses) on sector specific corporate deals, particularly where there is a significant regulatory, commercial and/or cross border element. Our expertise includes:

• joint ventures
• equity and debt investments
• buying and selling businesses and companies
• structuring investment to emerging markets
• strategic counsel to companies and their boards
• We act as co-counsel to other law firms on larger transactions to provide our industry and sector expertise.

Who we advise: We work with telecoms providers, digital businesses, data-intensive businesses, law firms and governments and regulators.

Telecoms operators: We have worked with telecoms operator in different lines of business, varying stages of development and all around the world.

Whether you are an established multi-national multi-division business or a start-up we can help you.

Rob has rounded experience of working in-house at a telecoms operator and the UK telecoms regulator.

Digital businesses: We have particular expertise working with data centre providers, tower providers and on-line businesses.

We have worked both with our on-line businesses and traditional business using technology.

Data businesses: Both personal data and big data are board level issues for businesses of all types.

Come to us for issues and perspectives beyond box-ticking GDPR compliance.

We have advised on cyber-breaches and crisis management.

Co-counsel to law firms: We act as UK and EU local counsel to international law firms.

We co-counsel on telecoms, digital and data issues for the largest transactional law firms.

We can act as your local counsel, or as ‘white-label’ member of your team.

Governments and regulators: We have advised governments and regulators in Europe and Asia.

How we work
We listen, understand and collaborate: Each engagement starts with us listening to you. We work hard to understand you, your business and the challenges you face.

We will work with you. We will also work as part of a virtual team in your organisation or alongside other service providers in collaboration to achieve the best outcome for you.

We deliver: We take time before each engagement to understand what you want, and by when.

We will check that we have capacity to help you and be transparent about our capacity and availability.

We project manage all our engagements to ensure that you get the outputs you need at the time you expect.

Clear charging structure: If the scope of your project can be defined, we will fix a fee with you and stick to it.

Our time rates are transparent and fair, with material discounts for advance purchases of days or weeks. These can be combined with retainer arrangements.

Flexible engagement models: We can work with you on a traditional law firm engagement model.

We can engage with you ‘virtual in-house counsel’ engagement model which can be used for defined projects or ad-hoc support.

We work with other law firms either as a disclosed sub-contractor or as a ‘virtual team member’.

Virtual operating model: Conceived and born during the 2020 pandemic lock-down, Bratby Law uses cloud-based technology in a permanent virtual operating model.

In addition to our own skills and resources, we have long-standing relationships with a network of professionals and firms with complementary expertise and in other jurisdictions. We regularly work with our network to provide solutions to meet our clients’ needs.

Additional information: Bratby Law is an English legal boutique providing legal, regulatory and transactional advice in the telecoms, digital and data sectors.

Principal solicitor Rob Bratby has over 25 years of experience as a telecoms, digital and data lawyer. He has worked for the UK telecoms regulator, in-house at a leading European telecoms carrier as well as leading City and US law firms in London and Singapore.