Noted for the breadth of its practice, taking its clients from ‘factory floor to shop door’, the team at CMS provides an impressive full-service law offering in its consumer and retail sector practice group. ’Very commercial and practical’, the team is a key port of call for a number of leading retailers and consumer goods corporates, who turn to them for their transactional, litigation, and competition acumen in high-profile mandates. The ‘exceptional’ team is led by Katie Nagy de Nagybaczon who is noted for her particular expertise advising clients in the fashion, retail and e-commerce sectors. Fellow co-chairs Tom Scourfield and Helen Johnson supplement the team with their extensive IP, and commercial knowledge that expands on the team’s footing in the industry.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘CMS provide us with an exceptional level of service and quality advice. They keep themselves current with regular workshops where we can discuss current issues and explore solutions.’

  • 'Roshni Kotecha is an exceptional Senior Associate. Roshni is wise beyond her years and is able to quickly find common ground in negations and drive the deal. Roshni has taken the time to understand our playbook and seeks instructions only where necessary thus speeding up negotiations.'
  • ‘Very commercial and practical. Deep knowledge of the sector. Collaborative and suggest ways to achieve results in an efficient manner.’

  • ‘Melanie Shefford and Matthew Bennett - always extremely knowledgeable and commercial.'

  • 'Elizabeth Vincent - pragmatic, commercial and efficient.’

Key clients

  • Active Partners
  • City Chic Collective
  • Compass Group
  • Costcutter
  • Depop
  • Dreams
  • Dune
  • eBay
  • Finsbury Foods
  • Floris (J Floris Ltd)
  • French Connection
  • Gail’s Bakery
  • Iconix International
  • Jaguar Land Rover (“JLR”)
  • Jojo Mom Baby
  • Management team of FatFace
  • Marks & Spencer
  • Mayborn (UK) Limited (Tommee Tippee)
  • New Balance Athletics, Inc.
  • One Retail
  • Pendragon
  • Sainsbury’s (including Argos / Habitat / Tu)
  • SharkNinja UK
  • Strix Group
  • Valeo Snackfoods
  • White Stuff
  • Yorkshire Premier Meat

Work highlights

  • Advising Jaguar Land Rover on multiple mandates in relation to parallel investigations by the Competition and Markets Authority and European Commission.
  • Advised Finsbury Food Group on a recommended takeover offer by Frisbee Bidco Limited for the entire share capital of Finsbury Food Group by way of a scheme of arrangement.
  • Represented Mayborn, in defending a registered design infringement claim brought by Chiaro Technology Limited.

Lawyers

Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Katie Nagy de Nagybaczon, Tom Scourfield, Helen Johnson

Other key lawyers

Louise Wallace, Melanie Shefford, Matthew Bennett, Elizabeth Vincent, Roshni Kotecha