Specialist Co-counsel for Telecoms, Data and Payments matters

Rob Bratby, Managing Partner
Last updated: July 2026

Chambers & Partners Band 2 Telecoms (UK Guide 2026)

Legal 500 Leading Partner, Telecoms (London)

Lexology Global Elite Thought Leader, Telecoms & Media

Bratby Law provides co-counsel support to UK and international law firms, consultancies and advisory practices that need specialist telecoms, data protection, payments regulation or digital infrastructure expertise on a matter. We supply senior-level legal input where English-law regulatory analysis or sector-specific interpretation is required.

We integrate directly into cross-border advisory teams on transactions, investigations, policy projects, market studies and legislative reform. The instructing firm retains conduct of the matter. We deliver focused regulatory input on the elements that require specialist knowledge.

Who this is for

Running a transaction or advisory mandate that needs English-law telecoms, data protection or payments regulation input, but a full-service regulatory practice is not the right fit? Specialist co-counsel provides the sector-specific expertise your team needs, integrated into your existing matter management.

Transactions co-counsel

Regulatory input alongside a lead deal team on telecoms, data, payments and digital-infrastructure transactions: due diligence on networks, spectrum, licences and data governance; warranties and indemnities on regulatory risk; approvals and market-access analysis under English law.

English-law counsel

English-law specialist and local counsel for foreign law firms and advisory teams: where English law governs a transaction outside the UK, and where UK-law and UK-regulatory questions arise in a multinational deal. Analysis, drafting, opinions and due-diligence sign-off.

Counsel to consultancies

English-law and UK-regulatory input behind economic, technical and strategic consultancies on international telecoms, digital and data projects: drafting laws, licences and authorisation frameworks; spectrum auctions and tender design; legal input to market studies and reform programmes. UK, European and international.

Disputes co-counsel

Regulatory input to litigation teams on disputes with a major telecoms, data or payments element: analysis of the regime in issue for pleadings and evidence, Ofcom determinations, CAT appeals, judicial review and expert witness instructions. Bratby Law supports the team running the case; it does not conduct the litigation.

How we work with your team

Co-counsel engagement follows a consistent process. The instructing firm identifies the regulatory element requiring specialist support. We run a conflicts check, agree scope and fee structure, and begin work within 24 to 48 hours. We attend relevant calls, draft or review regulatory sections of transaction documents, and produce briefing notes and regulatory analyses as required. We report to the lead partner or general counsel and align our work with the overall matter timetable.

Engagements operate on either a white-label or attributed basis. In white-label matters we produce deliverables using the instructing firm’s templates, terminology and branding. In attributed engagements we appear as named specialist co-counsel. Both models are standard.

What we deliver

Typical deliverables from co-counsel engagements include regulatory due diligence reports for transactions, perimeter assessments on whether a product or service falls within a regulated regime, drafting and mark-up of regulatory provisions in transaction documents, English-law advice, consultation responses, and sector briefing notes for deal teams or investment committees.

We also provide oral advice in deal calls and steering group meetings, regulatory input on shareholder agreements and governance frameworks, and post-completion support where regulatory conditions or undertakings require monitoring.

What clients ask

Does this target hold the right authorisations under the Communications Act 2003 or the Payment Services Regulations 2017?
What regulatory consents or notifications are needed to complete this acquisition?
How should the regulatory provisions in the SPA be drafted to allocate risk correctly?
We need English-law advice on the regulatory classification of this service. Can you provide it under our brand?
Our client faces an Ofcom investigation. Can you advise on the regulatory aspects while we handle the litigation?

Related practice areas

Other client engagement models

To discuss specialist co-counsel support, please contact the firm to arrange a confidential conversation.

Schedule a discussion

Representative experience

Recent and representative matters include:

Acted as UK telecoms regulatory co-counsel to a leading international law firm on a cross-border matter requiring English-law regulatory analysis, delivering to the instructing firm’s timetable.
Provided specialist legal input to a leading telecoms consultancy on European cybersecurity regulation affecting high-risk vendors, supporting a policy study for an industry association.
Provided English-law telecoms regulatory input to economic and strategy consultancies advising operators, investors and public bodies.
Acted as English-law regulatory counsel to an EU firm advising on a telecoms operator restructuring, addressing interconnection agreements that required UK-specific regulatory expertise.
Provided specialist data protection advice to a commercial firm on the regulatory aspects of a health-data platform transaction, enabling the deal to proceed with a compliant data-sharing structure.

Frequently asked questions

How does co-counsel engagement work in practice?

We join your team at the point specialist input is needed. You retain conduct of the matter. We attend relevant calls, draft or review regulatory sections of transaction documents, and deliver standalone regulatory deliverables to your timetable and format.

Who instructs Bratby Law for co-counsel support?

Law firms (from Magic Circle to mid-market), in-house legal teams, consultancies and PE houses. The common factor is a matter requiring specialist telecoms, data protection or payments regulation input that the instructing team does not hold in-house.

Can you work under our brand?

Yes. In white-label engagements we produce deliverables using your templates, terminology and branding. In attributed engagements we appear as named specialist co-counsel. Both models are standard.

How quickly can you mobilise?

We typically begin work within 24 to 48 hours of instruction. We structure co-counsel engagements for rapid deployment on compressed deal timetables.

How is confidentiality managed?

We are SRA-regulated (number 801942) and operate under full professional duties of confidentiality. We run conflicts checks before accepting any instruction and do not act where there is a conflict of interest.

How does co-counsel differ from direct legal advice?

In a co-counsel engagement, another firm or in-house team leads the matter and we provide specialist input. In a direct legal advice engagement, we act as lead adviser to the client. See Direct Legal Advice for the alternative model.

Independent directory rankings

Our specialist expertise is recognised in major independent legal directories:

Chambers & Partners: Rob Bratby is ranked as a Band 2 lawyer in the UK Guide 2026 in the “Telecommunications” category: Chambers
The Legal 500: Rob Bratby is listed as a Leading Partner for Telecoms in London (TMT: IT and Telecoms). The Legal 500
Lexology: Rob Bratby is recognised in the Lexology Index as a Global Elite Thought Leader for telecoms and media, and as a Thought Leader for data privacy and protection: Lexology