Practice Areas

UK Telecoms Regulation | Data Protection | Payments Regulation| Transactions

Bratby Law‘s practice areas are advising on UK telecoms regulation, data protection and payments regulation, and Telecoms and Technology Transactions. Our work focuses on helping organisations understand and comply with complex regulatory frameworks, manage commercial and operational risk, and structure transactions that support long-term strategic objectives.

Each practice area shown below links to a dedicated hub page containing detailed guidance and related subpages.

Telecoms, data protection and payments regulation lawyers

Bratby Law advises on telecoms regulation, data protection, payments regulation and transactions across the communications, financial services and technology sectors.

Telecoms

We advise communications providers, operators, infrastructure investors and platforms on UK telecoms regulation. Our work covers authorisation, General Conditions, numbering, switching, security and resilience, spectrum, access and interconnection, and Ofcom enforcement and disputes.

Data Protection

We advise organisations on UK GDPR compliance, data protection impact assessments, controller and processor arrangements, international transfers and ICO engagement. We also advise on data protection for AI-enabled products and services.

Payments

We advise payment service providers, fintechs and scheme participants on PSRs 2017 compliance, FCA and PSR authorisation, open banking, cVRPs and scheme governance. Our payments regulation practice is anchored by a fractional General Counsel appointment at UK Payments Initiative Limited.

Transactions

We draft and negotiate commercial and corporate agreements across the telecoms, data and payments sectors. Our work spans network-sharing, MVNO and wholesale agreements, digital infrastructure projects, SaaS and platform contracting, data commercialisation, and joint ventures and M&A.

Regulation

We advise on regulation across the telecoms, data and payments sectors. Our work covers telecoms regulation, data protection and data governance, payments regulation, consumer protection, market entry, ongoing compliance, regulator engagement, investigations and enforcement.

An end-to-end regulatory perspective

Rob Bratby’s experience spans three perspectives that are seldom combined in a single advisor:

The Regulator’s Perspective

Work at Oftel, the predecessor to Ofcom, provides first-hand experience of how UK communications regulation is developed, interpreted and enforced. This includes leadership of the project to liberalise the UK’s international telecoms infrastructure market (subsea cables and satellite), and a detailed understanding of regulatory intent and enforcement dynamics.

The Operator’s Perspective

Senior in-house roles at COLT and embedded general-counsel roles within industry-wide joint ventures and operator-side businesses provide practical insight into how businesses are run, where risks arise, how compliance is operationalised and how commercial and regulatory decisions are made inside carriers, fintechs and infrastructure operators.

The Advisor’s Perspective

Senior partnership and management roles at international US and UK law firms in both London and Singapore provide a deep understanding of how high quality legal advice is delivered and translated into commercial and regulatory decisions at board level.

This combination enables advice that is legally rigorous, commercially aligned and technically grounded.

Why a specialist boutique?

Bratby Law is structured to provide a clear alternative to broad practices and City or international law firms:

Boutique approach	City firm
Specialist, sector-specific focus	Broad TMT or FS coverage with variable depth
Senior delivery on all matters	Work delegated to teams of varying experience
Integrated regulatory, operator and advisory experience	Limited practical or regulatory grounding
Predictable, flexible engagement models	Rigid, process-driven structures

As a boutique, Bratby Law provides specialist regulatory depth, partner-level delivery and commercially aligned advice shaped by practical operator-side experience. Engagement models are flexible and predictable, including direct instruction, specialist co-counsel and fractional general counsel support.

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What clients say about Bratby Law:

“…one of those rare lawyers who really does understand the business imperatives behind the legal situations businesses find themselves in.”
“I worked with Rob over many years whilst I was at Orange. He is one of those rare lawyers who really does understand the business imperatives behind the legal situations businesses find themselves in. Most notably he provided first class support to me and my team on a high profile / high value joint venture network sharing deal. His ability to see both the detail and the bigger strategic picture were enormously helpful.”
Amanda Doyle
(Former) General Counsel, Orange UK
“I would highly recommend Rob and his team.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with Rob now on a number of occasions and engagements with clients. Rob is one of the most knowledgeable people I have come across in the Telecommunications industry, both in his comprehensive understanding of the law for various countries and in the application of this law and what it means for Operators. This is complemented by his generosity with sharing his knowledge, and the friendly style with which he works. I would highly recommend Rob and his team.”
Nick White
(Former) Deloitte
“I would recommend Rob for any major Telecoms project”
“I worked with Rob to introduce One Touch Switching for broadband and fixed voice, which launched successfully with almost two million customers using the service to date. Rob is a first class Legal Counsel with exceptional legal and regulatory knowledge enabling him to give insightful strategic guidance to the ExCo and the Board. He is highly trusted by Directors and easy to work with. I would recommend Rob for any major Telecoms project.”
Toby Lovell
(Former) Chief of Staff, The One Touch Switching Company

Frequently asked questions about our practice areas

What practice areas does Bratby Law specialise in?

Bratby Law advises on three specialist industry practice areas: UK telecoms regulation, data protection and payments regulation, as well as regulation in those sectors and Telecoms and Technology Transactions. These Practice Areas reflect the firm’s core strengths in regulatory interpretation, sector-specific commercial work and complex digital-infrastructure matters.

How do clients work with Bratby Law?

Clients work with the firm through three engagement models:
(1) direct legal advice for regulatory, commercial or transactional matters;
(2) specialist co-counsel input for law firms and consultancies; and
(3) fractional general counsel support for organisations needing ongoing senior legal leadership across telecoms, data protection and payments regulation, and technology issues.

Who does Bratby Law advise?

We advise UK and international communications providers, network operators, digital-infrastructure companies, technology platforms, AI-driven businesses, SaaS providers, investors and law firms requiring specialist telecoms, data or payments regulatory expertise.