A consultant in the Media team, Lawrence is one of the leading litigators in the media industries in the UK, advising on both media and commercial disputes.
Lawrence has extensive knowledge of all areas of the entertainment and media industries, including music, television, film, publishing, sport and interactive entertainment. His expertise covers a broad range of disputes and he has represented many high-profile individuals and corporate organisations. Lawrence has also advised a number of syndicates and company insurers in film insurance claims in the Commercial Court. He is a member of both the British Association of Sport and Law and the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers.
Expertise
- Contractual and other forms of commercial disputes
- Copyright and trade mark issues and passing off
- Defamation and reputation management
- Production and distribution agreements
- Minority shareholders protection
- Director’s duties
- Insolvency
- Management, recording and publishing agreements
- Computer games development
Experience
Film & Video
- Warner Bros v Channel 4 (Clockwork Orange case) – still one of the leading cases on fair dealing involving a Channel 4 documentary on Stanley Kubrick’s notorious film
- Lace and ors v Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (Enfield Riots case) – a claim against the police for damages sustained by video labels from the destruction of the Sony warehouse during the riots
- Forstater v Python (Monty) Pictures (Holy Grail case) – a claim for rectification of a producer’s agreement against the members of Monty Python
- Acting for client in a claim of copyright infringement against a leading UK tv production company who is alleged to have copied the format of a TV series for his own production
Music
- Henderson v All Around the World – infringement of performers’ rights
- Ludlow v EMI (‘Jesus in a Camper Van’ case) – a claim brought by Woody Guthrie’s publishers alleging breach of copyright in two lines of a Woody Guthrie song in Robbie Williams’ song, ‘Jesus in a Camper Van’
- Fisher v Brooker (‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ case) – a claim by Procul Harum’s keyboard player to be entitled to a share of the ‘60s classic ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ which went all the way to the House of Lords, and was the last case to be determined by the House of Lords before it became the Supreme Court
- Wienerworld v Polygram – remedies available for breach of copyright
- Experience Hendrix v Chalpin – a case which went to the Court of Appeal on the extent to which a claimant who had not suffered any quantifiable loss as a result of being in breach of contract could nevertheless recover damages
- Experience Hendrix v Times Newspapers – a ten-day damages enquiry in respect of a Jimi Hendrix covermount
- Advised a pioneer of the UK music business on the sale of his entire music catalogue a company based in Tennessee. This involved negotiating heads of terms, advising on numerous drafts of the agreement and dealing with post-completion matters
- Advised the heirs of former bandmates of well known artist alleging copyright and performers’ rights infringement and seeking substantial damages. The claim is significant and worth many millions however will create new law on performer’s rights and the transitional provisions of the relevant regulations
Sport
- ITV v FA Premier League – an attempt by ITV to prevent the FAPL concluding an agreement with BSkyB
- ITV v BBC and Sky – a dispute over the TV rights to a world heavyweight boxing contest
- Swiss Bank v FA Premier League – a claim for commission on the sale of TV rights
- Acting for Peter Davies who claims to be the copyright owner of the club’s distinctive angular wolf’s head logo
Arbitration
- Acted for Natoora in an arbitration against Petit Forestier over the terms of their lease agreement for their vans
- Acted for Telia in an arbitration against two individuals over the construction of a data centre which led to a reported case in respect of jurisdiction appeal https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a8ff74260d03e7f57eaa87d
- Conducted numerous IFTA arbitrations
- Accredited IFTA arbitrator
- Provided advice on various litigation aspects in a multi-million pound claim under a Group Income Protection policy for a client involving complex arguments on assignment, liability and quantum
- Advised on dipute between various board members leading to two of them trying to unseat the third board member, who was also the company’s largest shareholder. This led to allegations and counter allegations, threats of proceedings from both sides culminating in a settlement.
Other
- Cairns v Modi – Britain’s first libel action over a tweet
- Arief v Celador (‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ case) – a ten-day trial following Celador’s decision to unlawfully terminate its relationship with its Indonesian licensee
- Universal Television v Flextech – a dispute over a contract for the Jerry Springer series
- Advised a photographer on a claim for copyright infringement against a Magazine after a photograph was used for one of the copies in 1995 and subsequently on merchandise appearing in Selfridges
- Made an application to the Culture Recovery Board (CRB) for funding, which was rejected, initially because it was claimed by CRB that the application did not meet the criteria of the scheme. Later, the reason was changed to an allegation that the client had not exhausted all other avenues for raising finance
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Recognised in WIPR leaders 2024 for expertise in IP, including patent, trademark, and copyright issues.
Recognised by Best Lawyers (UK) for Media & Entertainment Law (2009 – 2025)
Recognised by The Legal 500 (2024-2025) for Media: Film & TV
Recognised by The Legal 500 (2024-2025) for Media: Music
Recognised in Who’s Who Legal 2023 for Entertainment
Recognised in The Legal 500 2023 for Commercial Litigation: Mid Market
Recognised in The Legal 500 2023 for Media and Entertainment (including media finance)
Recognised in The Legal 500 2023 for Intellectual Property: Trade Marks, Copyright and Design
“Lawrence Abramson has extensive knowledge of the law, with a very pragmatic and commercial approach to handling cases.” The Legal 500 2023
Winner of the award for Copyright Impact Case of the Year 2019 (Kogan v Martin) at the Managing IP Awards
“Lawrence Abramson has built a good reputation for his music work, especially in music rights litigation. He is lauded for his technical prowess and for being collaborative rather than prescriptive. Clients speak of him as quick, cost-effective and thorough in his dealings”. Chambers UK 2013
He is also recommended as a legal expert in Media & Entertainment by the Legal Business Legal Experts 2012 and by the Legal 500 2012 which highlights his “pragmatic and responsive” approach.
Recognised as Best in Commercial Media Disputes (UK) by Acquisition International Magazine at the 2017 Dispute Resolution Awards.
Lawrence is on the panel of approved Independent Film and TV Alliance (IFTA) arbitrators.
Career
Lawrence qualified as a solicitor in 1988. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2014, he worked at the following firms:
- Fladgate
- Harbottle & Lewis
- Denton Hall
- Sheridans