Harbottle & Lewis was originally a media firm, ever since Laurence Harbottle set it up with his law school buddy Brian Lewis in 1955. Harbottle himself would go on to be a leading figure in London’s theatreland (early clients included Dirk Bogarde, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh).
Harbottle & Lewis was originally a media firm, ever since Laurence Harbottle set it up with his law school buddy Brian Lewis in 1955. Harbottle himself would go on to be a leading figure in London’s theatreland (early clients included Dirk Bogarde, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh).
Since then, the firm has diversified considerably, but its heritage is obvious. It still acts for many clients relating to the world of entertainment and creativity, but that is now naturally a much broader sphere than in the 1950s. The Royal Family is a client, particularly in relation to broadcast issues relating to royal weddings and the like. So are TV networks and production companies, high-end retailers like Harrods, celebs like David and Victoria Beckham, plus a whole host of less famous but hardly less wealthy entrepreneur types.
Services range from defamation and reputation management, classic private client work, corporate transactions and litigation for this client base. Harbottles is also increasingly moving into the tech space.
Just before the pandemic, the firm moved from Hanover Square in Mayfair to its current home in Savoy Court, just off the Strand.
