England - North West • TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
JMW Solicitors LLP’s practice, rated by clients as the ‘go-to firm in the region’, is led by experienced reputation management specialist Rebecca Young . Young is described by one client as ‘the best litigator I have dealt with’, having overseen the growth of the practice and its workload, bringing in harassment and NDA expert Katherine Mills from Clyde & Co in October 2022. Also key within the team is Oliver Wright, whose specialism is reputation management work for politicians, trade unions and the police. Technology sector and cryptocurrency specialist Jemma Fleetwood has vast experience in acting in high-profile privacy litigation. The media group also works closely with the firm’s sports practice, led by Stephen Taylor Heath. Nick McAleenan left the firm in August 2022. John Burns joined the group in early 2024 from Gateley Legal, contributing his broad experience in the drafting and negotiation of IP assignments and tech development exploitation agreements.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Good strength and depth.’
‘They were prompt, responsive and clearly knowledgeable.’
‘The go to firm in the region as they have strength in depth of high quality lawyers who are seasoned litigators and great tacticians. The quality and profile of their work is testament to their strengths.'
‘Rebecca Young - the best litigator I have dealt with. She is setting the standards for others to follow. Her case preparation is phenomenal and clients love her for how much she invests in their cases.’
‘Collaboration and willingness to provide solutions that may fall wide of the scope. Excellent team to work with.’
‘Graham Small and Stephen Taylor Heath have always been there to support us. Very grateful for their help.’
‘I have had the privilege of getting to know Jemma Fleetwood and recommend her.'
Leading individuals
John’s main areas of expertise are intellectual property exploitation, franchising, brand licensing, commercial agreements, competition law, sports and media. His uncluttered and commercially focused approach has won him praise when dealing with high profile, high value matters. John is an established speaker at various brand licensing seminars both in the UK and abroad and is a director of the Manchester Fashion Network.
Next Generation Partners
Rebecca is a Partner at JMW and heads up the Media and Reputation Management team. Rebecca’s team provide specialist media and reputation management advice to clients predominantly based in the UK. The team is known for working collaboratively with clients’ PR teams and key stakeholders to manage, often at short notice, reputational or privacy issues. The team has considerable experience in dealing with the Media and in injunctive matters. Rebecca is known for being dedicated to assisting her clients to enforce their legal rights, to defend their legal position and to achieve positive outcomes.
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Rebecca Young