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Lewis Cohen - Mishcon de Reya

Lewis Cohen

Partner

Personal Profile

Lewis is the Division Head for Commercial, Technology, Data and Sport within the Innovation Department and also co-head of our Retail and Hotel Sector groups.

Lewis is an experienced commercial contracts lawyer with a particular focus on the retail, hospitality and sports sectors. Whilst he has broad commercial contracts experience, a large part of his work is focused on helping businesses to grow domestically and internationally, including through franchising, manufacturing, distribution, licensing, agency and services agreements. He also assists businesses to engage with existing and new customers often in new and exciting ways, such as through brand collaborations, sponsorship, endorsement, ambassador, influencer, websites, apps, metaverses and NFT arrangements.   

Lewis and his team also provide specialist contract support on corporate transactions; particularly investments into tech, hotels and retail businesses. Lewis has particular experience of working on investments into eponymous retail brands and can cut through the particularly challenging IP arrangements.

He regularly works in the hotel and hospitality sector, advising on hotel, restaurant and nightclub franchise and management agreements. 

Lewis has advised extensively in the sports sector throughout his career. For over 15 years, he  advised a leading Premier League football club on all aspects of its commercial and operational arrangements and the protection and commercialisation of its brands.

He has advised on significant sponsorship deals for over twenty years, starting with the Millennium Dome (aka The O2) and including football World Cups, European Championships, Confederations Cups, kit manufacturing and shirt sponsorship deals and many other sporting and event sponsorships. He also drafted the agreements that all professional players sign to participate in two major international sports.

With over 20 years of experience, Lewis's expertise is recognised widely by the legal directories. The Legal 500 has identified him as a Leading Individual in Retail & Consumer and also recommends him for Franchising, Sport, Media & Entertainment and TMT. He is regarded as "a very good negotiator" with a "pragmatic and practical approach" and as "an incisive, commercial advisor" who is "creative with solutions".

Chambers & Partners and Who's Who Franchising also recommend Lewis as a leading franchise lawyer. Chambers & Partners commented that Lewis “impresses clients, who consider him to be highly knowledgeable, efficient, thorough and also extremely personable." Lewis has also been named as one of the Hot 100 Lawyers by The Lawyer magazine. Lewis is on the Steering Committee of the American Bar Association's International Franchise and Distribution Division. He is "recommended" by the World Trademark Review, which describes him as a "transactional maven" and "IP commercialisation wizard".

Lewis is a non-executive Director of Walpole, the official sector body for UK luxury.

Key Experience

  • Advised Castore on its sponsorship agreement with Sir Andy Murray as well as manufacturing, sponsorship, retail and licensing deals with Rangers FC and Newcastle United FC
  • Advised a leading luxury fashion house on major collaborations with other well-known brands and on its NFT drops
  • Advised Topland on its hotel management agreement with Hilton for the Hilton Metropole Brighton
  • Advised a client on its exclusive distribution and JV arrangements across a major international territory for premium vape products
  • Advised a leading Premier League football club on its day-to-day activities for over 15 years. Work included advising on all sponsorships, licensing, tour matches and all major commercial arrangements
  • Advised a leading international chef on the negotiation of the restaurant consultancy, licensing and management agreement for a major new EDITION hotel
  • Advised the hotel owners of the 297-room dual-branded Ibis Heathrow in respect of the negotiations of their hotel franchise agreement with Accor and hotel management agreement with RBH
  • Advised a leading UK retailer on the international franchise roll-out of its clothing brand into over 15 territories

Career History

Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Partner, Field Fisher Waterhouse
Solicitor, Field Fisher Waterhouse
Solicitor, KLegal (now McGrigors)
Solicitor, H20 Law
Trainee, Davies Arnold Cooper

Articles and Publication

  • Published in numerous publications including Sport Business and quoted in the national press. Lewis has chaired and presented at numerous conferences. Most recently on parallel imports into and within the EU to the Israeli LES and Sport And Digital Media; Maximizing Opportunities and Minimising Risks.
  • Lewis co-authored the UK Chapter in Getting The Deal Through Licensing 2009, 2010 and 2011
     
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