Michael Stead
DLA PiperThe Birmingham practice at DLA Piper advises major retailers, universities, appliance companies and consultancies on all aspects of IT and telecoms. The team is experienced in handling international projects including those relating to AI. The firm also regularly assists clients in master service agreement negotiations and digital platform operations. Gareth Stokes spearheads the practice, with an expertise in AI advice; he attracts many household tech brand owners. Michael Stead is a key team member, bolstering the firm’s AI offering. Phillip Kelly leads the technology disputes practice.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The Commercial Contracts Team is market leading in terms of their experience and technical knowledge. The team is highly attentive and collaborates effectively with our internal legal teams to identify pragmatic solutions.’
‘Gareth Stokes leads experienced teams that are highly responsive, strong in their negotiation skills and with a keen ability to understand and advise on technical issues.’
‘The DLA Piper team has a range of relevant expertise for our business, both in established areas, and also evidence of being proactive in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence too.’
‘Both Gareth Stokes and Michael Stead have been influential in helping us navigate various legal and commercial considerations as we expand our business and adapt to new business models.’
‘Gareth Stokes is highly knowledgeable in the field of AI and knows his sector inside out.’
‘Gareth Stokes' team in Birmingham has a collaborative approach to any task no matter how complex. They engage with the client teams to really understand the subject matter and then apply their legal expertise, making the whole process less stressful.'
‘Gareth Stokes and Michael Stead's deep knowledge and understanding of AI put them ahead of other advisors in this area!'
‘Gareth Stokes and Michael Stead have an impressive level of understanding of and around generative AI.'
Key clients
- AIB
- Cydea
- Dyson
- Infosys
- Mondelez
- National Grid
- Rolls-Royce
- Superdry
- University of Sheffield
- VISA
Work highlights
- Advising Dyson on a connected series of large scale technology transactions/sourcing projects to secure best-of-breed application development processes.
- Advising Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (and its commercial arms Venture One and AI71) on the development, licensing and commercialisation of the market-leading ‘Falcon’ family of AI models.
- Advising Infosys on the outsourcing of Liberty Global’s entire global IT infrastructure and application development pipelines.
Lawyers
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Gareth Stokes
DLA PiperPractice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Gareth Stokes