Transatlantic alliance for Birmingham media barristers

A GROUP of Birmingham barristers specialising in media law has forged a strategic alliance with US law firm Altchiler LLC.

Cornwall Street Chambers Media Law Group (CMLG) said arrangement allows the firm of New York attorneys to represent the interests of CMLG’s media clients in the US, and vice versa.

CMLG says the move builds on the chamber’s reputation as only barristers outside of London to offer a specialist service to the media industry.
The affiliation with the attorneys at Altchiler LLC stems from a relationship forged several years ago between Robert Altchiler and the head of the CMLG team, Bruce Drummond, when Mr Drummond  worked and studied in New York.
 
CMLG are already representing a range of US clients in the UK including Rx (thepartyparty), The Parker Project and DX, in addition to musicians and bands.

Rx produces video mash-ups that are both “edgy and subversive whilst at the same time gloriously entertaining”.  Former US President George Bush doing U2’s Sunday Bloody Sunday has already racked almost 2,000,000 views on YouTube.  

British clients benefiting from CMLG’s ‘New York Office’ include Horus Records, an independent label based in Leicester, and Birmingham IT company, Civico.

Civico is a practical online democracy engagement platform which enables local councils and public facing organisations, through their meetings, conferences and events, to actively engage with citizens. Existing clients include Digital Birmingham, Citilab, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council and Rhubarb Radio.
 
The services offered by CMLG come as a result of the changes in Direct Public Access which allow the public to approach barristers directly for legal advice rather than having to go through a solicitor.  Direct Access allows clients to keep litigation costs to a minimum by the need to only instruct one lawyer rather than two. Those in the media and creative industries can also now deal directly with members of the CMLG team for the drafting of a wide range of contracts and advice on their content.

Nick Tarbitt from CMLG said: “The changes in the rules permit us to carry out contractual drafting and negotiation, previously the preserve of solicitors, allowing us to increase the range and diversity of work we can perform for our clients. The international dimension arising from our affiliation with Altchiler LLC will hopefully take the service we offer to an even higher level.”