Three recognised as Rising Stars by IP Stars

Three of our managing associates have been recognised as Rising Stars in the IP Stars 2025 rankings.

Zoey Forbes, Clare McGarry, and Sam Purkiss have been named as Rising Stars, an accolade which recognises the best up-and-coming intellectual property practitioners in private practice who have contributed to the success of their firms and clients.

IP Stars, part of the Managing IP media group, is a specialist guide covering legal practitioners who deal with contentious and non-contentious intellectual property issues. Its rankings assess and rank law firms and practitioners globally in a range of IP practice areas.

Click here to view the full list of practitioners on the IP Stars website.

FIRMWIDE RECOGNITION IN LEGAL 500 UK GUIDE

Legal 500 has today published its 2026 UK Guide, in which we have received rankings across multiple practice areas, with 29 firmwide and 39 individual rankings.

We have been ranked as Tier 1 in five categories and as Tier 2 in six categories. Seven individuals have been awarded Hall of Fame status, which Legal 500 describes as those “at the pinnacle of the profession”. We also have 15 Leading Partners, eight Next Generation Partners and five Leading Associates.

These results reflect the breadth of our expertise in a wide range of practice areas and sectors, which enables us to provide high quality support to our clients across all of their business and personal needs.

The Legal 500 UK Guide recognises top law firms and lawyers in the UK for their client service and expertise across various practice areas. The guide is based on independent research and client testimonials sourced from law firms, lawyers and their clients.

View the full rankings here.

Finalists in four categories at the Spear’s Awards 2025

Four of our people have been named as finalists in various categories at the Spear’s Awards 2025, which recognise the outstanding contributions of wealth managers, lawyers and advisors to HNW and UHNW individuals and families.

Our finalists are:

  • Spear’s Woman of the Year – Catherine Bedford
  • Private Client Accountant of the Year – Gary Ashford
  • Lawyer of the Year: Tax and Trusts – Chris Moorcroft
  • Future Leader in Private Client Services – May Delaney

Now in their 18th year, the Spear’s Awards highlight leading work across the private wealth sector. Having individuals named as finalists across four categories reflects the broad range of expertise at the firm as we support our clients with their eclectic and ever-evolving business and personal needs.

The awards ceremony will take place on 20 November 2025 at Raffles London at The OWO.

Find out more about the Spear’s Awards 2025 here.

Finalist for Family Law Firm of the Year

We have been named as a finalist for Family Law Firm of the Year at the LexisNexis Family Law Awards 2025.

The awards seek to recognise the work of family lawyers and celebrate their successes and achievements. The Family Law Firm of the Year category recognises firms that have delivered outstanding quality of legal service for their clients and displayed high levels of teamwork with external lawyers and/or other third parties.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Wednesday 19 November at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London.  

To read more about the awards, including the full list of nominees, click here.

Protecting cancer patients at work: Howard Hymanson’s article published in The Times

Partner Howard Hymanson has written an article published in The Times on how protecting cancer patients at work would give peace of mind to employees following a diagnosis.

Howard notes that many employers are compassionate in light of a recent diagnosis and provide enhanced benefits (e.g. pay and sick leave) but issues often start to emerge in the long term.

Read the full article here.

Learn more about our expertise in this area here.

Harbottle & Lewis advises on the management buyout of The Chinese Room from Sumo Digital

We have advised the management team of British indie games studio The Chinese Room on their buyout from Sumo Digital.

The studio is known for first-person narrative-centric games such as Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and recent BAFTA-award-winning Still Wakes the Deep.

Our team was led by corporate partner Ed Lane, supported by senior associate Alex Gays and associate Elizabeth Compton. Partner Mark Phillips advised on commercial games matters, senior associate Mark Primrose on employment matters, partner Shireen Peermohamed on IP matters and associate Lauren Probert on real estate matters.

On working with Harbottle & Lewis, studio director at The Chinese Room, Ed Daly commented: “Ed Lane and the team at Harbottle & Lewis were a great help throughout the process. It was important to find advisors with an understanding of the game development business and I look forward to our continuing to work together in this next exciting phase for the studio.

Ed Lane added: “We are delighted to have been able to support Ed and the whole team at The Chinese Room on their journey towards independence – we can’t wait to see what they do next! Against the backdrop of a challenging few years for independent games developers, this is a massive ‘good news story’ and we are proud to have played a small part – indies are a key part of what we do.”

Widespread recognition in Chambers High Net Worth 2025 Guide

Chambers and Partners has today published its High Net Worth 2025 Guide in which we have received a range of individual and departmental rankings across multiple practice areas. In total, six of our departments and 17 individuals have been recognised with many of those in the higher bands.  

All of our rankings have either been maintained or improved compared to last year’s guide. Our ranking for the Real Estate: High Value Residential category moved up a band, and several individuals have also achieved new or improved rankings.

These results reflect the continued growth of the firm and our eminent reputation for advising HNW and UHNW individuals, families and their businesses across their increasingly complex and evolving business and personal needs.

The Chambers High Net Worth Guide recognises the leading law firms and advisors serving HNW individuals and families. The guide is based on independent research and client feedback and is trusted globally as a benchmark of excellence in the private wealth sector.

View the full rankings here.

Harbottle & Lewis advises Amdax on its acquisition of a strategic stake in Custodiex

We have advised Amdax, a Netherlands-based digital asset service provider, on its acquisition of a strategic stake in UK-based Custodiex, a specialist in quantum-safe cold storage solutions for digital assets.

Founded to provide cutting-edge custody infrastructure for financial institutions, Custodiex has established itself as a key innovator in the digital asset custody sector. The Manchester-based company’s quantum-safe solutions are designed to be scalable and future-proof, and meet the stringent international ISO 27001 security standard. The transaction enables Amdax to enhance its comprehensive digital asset platform.

Our team was led by partner Tom Macleod and managing associate Rosie Marston, with support from managing associate Katerina Capras and associates Elizabeth Compton and Matthew Shannon. Partner Yvonne Gallagher and associate Elisabeth Davies advised on employment aspects, partner Shireen Peermohamed and associate Samuel Flack advised on IP matters and senior associate Matthew Stephenson advised on property law matters.

On working with Harbottle & Lewis, Martin Cernohorsky, Amdax Head of Legal, commented:

Working with the Harbottle & Lewis team was a great pleasure. Their broad range of expertise and professionalism proved invaluable in navigating throughout the twists and turns of this deal. From the start we were in good hands. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Harbottle & Lewis.”

Tom Macleod added:

We are delighted to have supported Amdax on this strategically significant acquisition. The combination of Amdax’s regulated platform with Custodiex’s innovative custody technology creates a compelling proposition for institutional clients across Europe. We look forward to seeing the continued success of this partnership as the digital asset custody market matures.”

Five partners recognised as leading family lawyers by Spear’s

Five of our partners have been recommended by Spear’s as leading family lawyers for HNW and UHNW individuals in the 2025 Spear’s family law index which was published today.

Senior partner Catherine Bedford has once again been recognised as Top Flight, Nicholas Westley and Mark Irving are Top Recommended whilst Lidia Cantele and Alex Ward have been given Recommended rankings. The index recognises the leading family lawyers advising on high value divorces, cohabitation disputes, child custody, nuptial agreements and mediation and is compiled using extensive data from advisers themselves, as well as submission forms, nominations, peer reviews, data from third-party sources, references, recommendations and hundreds of interviews.

You can see the index in full here.

Harbottle & Lewis advises PlaySafe ID on pre-seed fundraising

We have advised PlaySafe ID, a digital identity platform designed to improve safety and accountability in online gaming, on its $1.12 million pre-seed fundraising led by Early Game Ventures with participation from Hartmann Capital and Overwolf.

Founded by Andrew Wailes, PlaySafe ID is currently in talks with several major gaming platforms and is aiming to announce its first partnerships later this year.

Our team was led by partner Ed Lane with support from associate Matthew Shannon.

On working with Harbottle & Lewis, founder Andrew Wailes commented: “I cannot express how happy I am with the work that Harbottle & Lewis undertook for us. The expertise and guidance in particular from Ed Lane and Matthew Shannon was critical in securing our funding in the right way, to protect both us and our investors. The team have been prompt, and provided assistance whenever we needed it. I would gladly recommend them.”

Ed Lane added: “We are delighted to have supported Andrew and his team on this initial fundraise, and we look forward to seeing PlaySafe ID go from strength to strength as it scales.