Legal support for strategy consultancies, regulatory economists and technology advisory firms working on telecoms, payments and data assignments. Your firm is advising a client on market entry, regulatory strategy, spectrum valuation, infrastructure investment or policy reform, and the project has a legal dimension that requires qualified input. You need a senior regulatory lawyer who understands how consultancies operate, can integrate with your project team, work to your client deliverable format and meet your project timescales. We provide legal analysis, drafting and regulatory advice as part of your project team, not as a parallel workstream.

Who this is for

Your team is managing an extended programme of work that needs ongoing telecoms, data protection or payments regulatory input, but the volume does not justify a permanent hire? Consultant support provides a retained specialist who operates as part of your team on a flexible, ongoing basis.

Consultancy project type	Legal input required	Typical client
Spectrum auction strategy and valuation	Licence conditions analysis, spectrum cap assessment, regulatory risk in valuation models	Operator, regulator or investor
Market entry and regulatory mapping	Licensing requirements, General Conditions compliance, authorisation pathways	New entrant or foreign operator
Regulatory policy and consultation responses	Legal analysis of proposed regulation, drafting consultation submissions	Industry body, operator group or regulator
Infrastructure investment due diligence	Code powers, wayleave review, regulatory risk assessment for fibre or tower assets	PE fund or infrastructure investor
Payments regulatory strategy	FCA/PSR authorisation requirements, safeguarding, open banking regulatory analysis	Fintech, bank or payments scheme
Interconnection and access modelling	Regulatory framework for access pricing, SMP obligations, dispute resolution mechanisms	Operator or regulator
Licence drafting and regulatory submissions	Drafting licence applications, regulatory filings, compliance documentation	Operator or government

Typical trigger situations

• A strategy consultancy is advising a client on market entry into UK telecoms or payments and needs qualified legal input on Ofcom notification, FCA authorisation or regulatory perimeter questions
• A regulatory economics firm is preparing an expert report on interconnection, access pricing or market definition and needs a lawyer to review the regulatory framework underpinning the analysis
• A technology advisory firm is supporting a client on a digital infrastructure project and the engagement involves wayleave agreements, the Electronic Communications Code or spectrum licensing
• A consultancy is advising an investor on a telecoms or payments target and needs a regulatory risk assessment to sit alongside the commercial due diligence
• A public policy firm is drafting a response to an Ofcom, FCA or PSR consultation and needs legal analysis of the specific statutory provisions and regulatory powers under discussion
• A consultancy needs a senior regulatory lawyer to join a client pitch or project team to demonstrate qualified legal capability alongside the advisory offering
• The in-house team needs specialist telecoms, payments, or data protection support for a regulatory compliance project that exceeds its current capacity
• A regulated business needs to design or overhaul its compliance programme and wants specialist input alongside the in-house team
• A PE portfolio company needs temporary regulatory legal support during a transition period following an acquisition

How we help

• Regulatory analysis for client deliverables: providing the legal analysis that sits within your advisory report, strategy document or expert submission
• Legal review of advisory outputs: reviewing your team’s work product for legal accuracy on regulatory matters, including compliance assessments, market entry plans and policy papers
• Consultation responses and regulatory submissions: drafting or reviewing responses to Ofcom, FCA, PSR or ICO consultations on behalf of your client or alongside your team
• Regulatory due diligence input: providing the regulatory layer of a commercial due diligence exercise, covering licensing, compliance status, enforcement history and pending regulatory change
• Project team participation: joining your project team for specific workstreams, client meetings or pitch processes where specialist legal input adds credibility and depth
• Flexible engagement: daily rate, fixed fee or retained basis, scaled to match the project scope

Rob Bratby works alongside management consultants and regulatory advisors, contributing specialist legal expertise developed at Oftel, Ofcom and as General Counsel to regulated businesses. Bratby Law holds Chambers UK (Band 2) and Legal 500 Leading Partner rankings.

Related specialist co-counsel pages

See also our other specialist co-counsel pages:

• Transactions Co-counsel
• English Law Local Counsel
• Specialist Co-counsel (overview)

Representative experience

Recent and representative matters include:

• Provided retained telecoms regulatory support to an in-house legal team during a multi-year network upgrade programme, covering wayleave negotiations and Electronic Communications Code rights on a call-off basis.
• Acted as embedded regulatory consultant to a law firm advising on a series of connected payments transactions, providing consistent FCA authorisation and safeguarding advice across the programme.
• Supported an in-house team on an ongoing PECR compliance programme, advising on cookie consent mechanisms and direct marketing rules as the product portfolio expanded.
• Provided regulatory consultant support on a digital infrastructure rollout, covering planning consents, Code rights and regulatory compliance requirements across multiple deployment phases.
• Acted as retained data protection specialist for a firm advising multiple fintech clients, providing consistent UK GDPR compliance advice across the client portfolio.

Frequently asked questions about consultant support

How is consultant support different from co-counsel?

Co-counsel is for law firms that need a specialist regulatory lawyer to act alongside them on a transaction or advisory matter. Consultant support is for consultancies and advisory firms that need qualified legal input as part of a non-legal client engagement. We work within your project team and deliver to your direction, rather than acting as independent legal advisors to the end client.

What seniority level do you provide?

Rob Bratby delivers all consultant support directly. That means 30+ years of telecoms, data protection and payments regulatory experience on every engagement. This matters for consultancies, because your clients expect senior, qualified input when legal analysis forms part of the advisory deliverable.

Can you work under our firm’s brand?

Yes. On consultant support engagements we can work under your firm’s name if that suits the client relationship. We are experienced in operating within consultancy teams and adapting to your reporting structures, templates and project governance. The engagement terms set out the branding and client communication arrangements clearly at the outset.

What is the minimum engagement period?

There is no minimum. Some engagements are a single day’s input on a specific regulatory question. Others run for several months as part of a strategy project or regulatory reform programme. We agree the scope and duration at the outset and adjust as the workstream develops.

Do you have experience working with strategy consultancies?

Yes. We have worked alongside telecoms and technology strategy consultancies, regulatory economics firms and public policy advisors on a range of engagements including market entry assessments, regulatory submissions, expert reports and infrastructure investment analysis. We understand the consultancy delivery model and how legal input needs to fit within it.