Partner Appointments Strengthen Davenport Lyons’ Contentious Team

28th January 2008

Former partners of Michael Simkins LLP, Stephen Hornsby and Roger Billins, have joined the Contentious Team.

Stephen is one of the most experienced competition lawyers in the UK.  After working in the Competition Directorate of the European Commission in Brussels and at Allen & Overy, he became the first EU & Competition Law partner at DLA.  At The Simkins Partnership, he worked on such matters as NMTV v Jobserve – the first case in which an injunction was obtained under the Competition Act 1998 to prevent an abuse of a dominant position. He also acted for Premier Rugby in the OFT investigation into promotion and relegation in English professional rugby and is currently acting in a case against Ofcom before the Competition Appeal Tribunal.

Stephen has co-authored a book on competition law and published over 20 articles in leading journals particularly on the application of competition law to the media and sport industries.

Roger brings to Davenport Lyons extensive experience in litigation, having dealt with a range of contractual and intellectual property disputes within the film, sports and publishing sectors. He has acted on such high profile matters as the successful claim by The Recorded Picture Company against Grosvenor Park arising from their joint venture to exploit tax-driven film investment schemes.    He is the author of two books published by Sweet and Maxwell "Agency Law" and "Solicitors Duties and Liabilities".

Kevin Bays, head of Contentious Rights & Dispute Resolution (CRDR) at Davenport Lyons, says: “These additions are an excellent fit with our contentious practice and will increase our capacity to deal with commercial disputes and contentious work particularly in the arena of rights protection and enforcement, both here and internationally.”