Paul Jones

Partner

Paul Jones is a commercial contracts expert with an exceptional track record of delivering complex, business-critical projects for high-profile clients operating in the worlds of media, sport, education and culture.

A dedicated contracts expert, Paul specialises in advising on contract law and in undertaking work related to a wide variety of commercial contracts across both the public and private sectors.

His client base spans a broad range of industries and features large blue-chip organisations, as well as high-profile household names. He has particular expertise in acting for international media and publishing companies, sports governing bodies, schools and universities and internationally recognised cultural institutions.

Paul manages large, transformational projects for clients, and typically where the commercial contracts underpin business critical infrastructure changes or complex, large-scale transactions. These are some of the core contracts that enable the way these organisations operate. He regularly advises on supply, agency, distribution and services contracts, business process outsourcing (BPO), IT and technology contracts as well contractual joint ventures, collaborations and other strategic alliances. He has notable experience of broadcast, licensing, acquisition, publishing, exhibition and sponsorship contracts within all of this.

To complement his work and advice on the contracts being awarded, Paul also has significant expertise in advising on public and private sector procurement processes (including compliance, in the public sector, with the public procurement regime).

Paul develops close relationships with his clients and enjoys the privilege and responsibility of becoming part of the team helping to deliver some of the most challenging and exciting phases of their growth and development. Alongside his own technical expertise, clients benefit from Paul’s skill in project-managing the work across typically more than one key contract and coordinating teams of experts from across the firm to resource complex projects often featuring elements of employment, corporate or charity law.

Working as he does with many in-house teams Paul is closely attuned to the needs of, and pressures put upon, in-house lawyers. He co-ordinates and runs regular training and update sessions for in-house lawyers, spanning the likes of contract, employment, information and corporate law, as well as themes such as litigation, governance, compliance and regulation. He plays an active role in the wider legal sector and is a member of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA), the Society of Computers and Law (SCL) and the Procurement Lawyers' Association; as well as a regular speaker at events for the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) and the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association (ISBA).

Within the firm, Paul supports his colleagues through his role in the firm’s graduate recruitment programme, amongst a range of other responsibilities.

Paul qualified as a solicitor in 2002.

Expertise

Cultural Organisations

Paul has many years of experience advising major cultural institutions, including the National Gallery, the British Library, Somerset House and the national museums. His expertise spans public procurement issues; and he regularly drafts, negotiates and advises on contracts for complex, high-value projects that include IT and technology, outsourcing, digitisation, sponsorship and purchases of goods and services; as well as around new lines of commercialisation, such as events, venue hire, merchandise and publishing. He advised the British Library on its ground-breaking newspaper digitisation project, and three national museums on their joint purchase of security services. He also has advised the National Gallery on many of its recent high-profile acquisitions.

Sport

Paul acts for a number of the largest and most high-profile national governing bodies in sport, including UK Athletics, the LTA, the PGA European Tour and British Rowing. His clients rely on him for a broad range of commercial contract advice, often in relation to broadcast agreements.

Education

Paul acts for independent schools and leading higher education institutions. He regularly advises schools on parent contracts, and is responsible for the ISBA's model parent contract available to some 900+ independent schools. He also advises schools on their international ventures and collaborations. His higher education clients include London Business School and the University of Oxford, where he is the lead adviser on major IT procurement and infrastructure projects.

Media & Publishing

Paul acts for high-profile publishers and media organisations including Bauer Media, owner of the Magic, Kiss, and Absolute radio brands. He has an intimate knowledge of the digital radio sector and can draw on nearly twenty years experience working with media clients. He advises on the full range of clients’ IP and commercial contract needs, including supply and distribution contracts, production and broadcast, IT and technology licensing and acquisition, outsourcing, joint ventures and data and information licensing.