Graham Shear > Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner regularly handles high-stakes litigation, from large-scale contractual disputes to multi-party claims. Practice head Graham Shear represents banks, corporates, governments and high-net-worth individuals, as well as leaders in the sports and entertainment industries. Joby Davies leads on large-scale commercial disputes, from damages claims to cases concerning the misuse of personal data. Rachel Ziegler – ‘very astute, commercially switched on and very clever’ – bolsters the team’s cross-border offering, focusing on multijurisdictional disputes. A ‘phenomenally intelligent and hardworking litigator’, Oran Gelb is active in the sports and telecoms sectors. Promoted to partner in January 2024, Andrew Street excels in shareholder, civil fraud and trust disputes.

With experience of representing clients in the Court of Arbitration of Sport, before the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber, and in FA disciplinary proceedings, the Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner practice is renowned for its ‘unrivalled attention to detail’. The team leverages the expertise of its offices across the globe, with sports head Graham Shear being a specialist in supporting entertainment and EPL clubs in M&A transactions and regulatory matters, while Marcus Pearl is a tech and IP expert. Marc Trottier focuses on finance and investment work in the sports, media, and entertainment sectors, and both Andrew Street and Kate Jeffery  are also recommended.

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner advises individuals and corporates on mandates concerning crisis management and reputational risk, leveraging its strong dispute resolution capabilities. The group is led by Graham Shear, who has extensive experience acting for banks, corporates, governments and HNWIs in a breadth of reputational management issues, often with multijurisdictional considerations.