Mark Smith opened Purdy Smith for business in July 2017 having spent a number of years working at leading City law firms Fieldfisher and Osborne Clarke.
Mark provides advice to a range of leading brands and other businesses on a variety of matters including commercial contracts, intellectual property rights, consumer law, data protection, the Gambling Act, e-commerce issues and the regulation of advertising and marketing. He has considerable experience in dealing with regulators, particularly the Advertising Standards Authority.
Mark’s clients include major brands in a range of sectors including hospitality, food, cosmetics, retail, travel and entertainment. He is recommended as a "Leading Individual" in The Legal 500 UK in the Media & Entertainment: Advertising & Marketing category. He is also recommended in Chambers UK in the equivalent category.
Mark was instrumental in drafting ISBA's highly publicised template agreement for media buying and planning services, which was later used by the Association of National Advertisers (“ANA”) in the US as a base for drafting their own template agreement.
© Purdy Smith Ltd 2017-2024
Mark has enjoyed working on international projects throughout his career. He has particular expertise in advising on pan-European projects, having sourced advice from all of the twenty seven (27) member states of the European Union (“EU”), as well as key countries sitting outside the EU, such as Norway, Switzerland and Russia. Mark also has plenty of experience working with lawyers in countries further afield including China, India, Japan, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America, amongst others.
Mark has been quoted in publications including Campaign and The Independent and appeared on both radio and television as a legal expert. He wrote a regular legal column for The Marketer for several years and has had articles published in E-Commerce Law & Policy, Data Protection Law & Policy and the Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice.
Mark regularly speaks at seminars and events on various aspects of advertising, consumer and data privacy law.
During his career Mark has spent time on secondment at Eurostar, Expedia, Jagex and Xerox.
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Purdy Smith is an exciting and progressive law firm founded by Mark Smith and based in the heart of London.
Purdy Smith is a creative and dynamic new law firm based in London offering services across a number of areas including commercial contracts, advertising, consumer, intellectual property and data privacy law.
We enjoy working with a range of clients in a variety of sectors from established household name brands to newer market entrants that share our entrepreneurial spirit. We like to act as an extension of our clients’ businesses by getting under their skin and providing tailored, commercially-focused advice. We take time to understand the challenges they face and the sectors they operate in and provide creative, accessible and timely solutions.
We are proud to have been recommended in The Legal 500 UK since the 2018/2019 edition. We are currently recommended in the Media & Entertainment: Advertising & Marketing category having previously been recommended in the Brand Management category before it was disbanded.
We are a progressive, modern firm with a down-to-earth approach that is far removed from the stuffy and conservative culture that perpetuates at many traditional City practices. We pride ourselves on being friendly and approachable. When providing our advice we avoid blinding our clients with unnecessary legal terminology and use plain English wherever possible.
We also take a refreshingly transparent approach to fees and are willing to consider a number of approaches including fixed fees, capped fees, monthly retainer arrangements and of course traditional hourly rates.
We have a strong network of legal contacts around the world which allows us to provide a seamless service in relation to international matters (see our International page for more details).
We also offer engaging and practical training sessions on our specialist areas (see our Training page for more details).