Practice Areas

Specialist UK regulation and transactions across telecoms, data protection and payments

Chambers & Partners Band 2 Telecoms (UK Guide 2026)

Legal 500 Leading Partner, Telecoms (London)

Lexology Global Elite Thought Leader, Data Protection

Bratby Law advises on four practice areas: UK telecoms regulation, data protection, payments regulation and transactions. These practice areas reflect the firm’s core strengths in regulatory interpretation, sector-specific commercial work and complex digital-infrastructure matters.

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 regulation

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 Regulation

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.

How we work

Bratby Law works with clients in three ways: as direct legal advisors on specific matters, as specialist co-counsel supporting other legal teams, and as fractional general counsel on a longer-term retained basis. Each model delivers partner-level input without delegation.

Direct Legal Advice

Senior advice on telecoms regulation, data protection, payments regulation and commercial transactions. Bratby Law acts as lead advisor on specific regulatory, compliance or transactional matters, delivering clear conclusions with the context needed to act on them.

Specialist Co-counsel

Bratby Law supports law firms and consultancies requiring specialist input on telecoms regulation, data protection or payments matters. Input is delivered as white-label or attributed expert advice, without competition risk or conflict of interest.

Fractional General Counsel

Ongoing senior legal support for businesses that need GC-level input without a full-time appointment. Rob Bratby currently holds a General Counsel appointment at UK Payments Initiative Limited. This model covers governance, regulatory compliance, commercial contracting and coordination of external counsel.

Why these practice areas matter

Telecoms, data protection and payments are converging. A telecoms operator launching a payments product needs advice across all three practice areas simultaneously. A fintech processing personal data under an FCA licence must satisfy both the ICO and the FCA. An investor acquiring a digital infrastructure business needs regulatory due diligence that spans Ofcom obligations, data protection compliance and any payments exposure.

Bratby Law is structured to advise across these practice areas as a single team rather than referring work between separate departments. Rob Bratby has held regulatory, commercial and general counsel roles across all three sectors, giving clients a single advisor who understands how these regimes interact in practice. For a detailed overview of each area, visit the individual practice area pages linked above or contact us to discuss your requirements.

Who we advise

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

Specialist topics across our practice areas

Within telecoms regulation, we advise on Ofcom General Conditions, numbering, spectrum, switching, access and interconnection, telecoms security and Ofcom enforcement defence. Our data protection practice covers UK GDPR compliance, DPIAs, international data transfers, AI and automated decision-making and data breach response. In payments regulation, we advise on FCA authorisation and licensing, open banking, scheme governance and Consumer Duty. Our transactions practice spans M&A, joint ventures and commercial agreements in regulated sectors.

Also see

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 – Telecoms” in London (TMT – IT & Telecoms): The Legal 500
Lexology: Rob Bratby is featured on Lexology’s expert profiles as a Global Elite Thought Leader for data: Lexology

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