Simons Muirhead Burton

Lawyers 91
Turnover £17.2 million
Offices 1

A child of the 1970s and based in London’s Soho, Simons Muirhead Burton (SMB) has grown from being a civil liberties and crime specialist to the full-service outfit it is today.

This year the media disputes team acted for the Sun journalist Dan Wootton during the actor Johnny’s Depp’s much-publicised High Court libel claim. Depp lost the case.

Another notable case for the firm was Tomlinson-Blake v Royal Mencap Society, which addressed the question of whether staff carrying out overnight “sleep-in” shifts in the care sector were entitled to be paid the minimum wage for their entire shift.

SMB advised an American purchaser, Narrative Capital, on its acquisition of Sony Pictures Television’s UK channels portfolio. It continues to house and support the charity the Death Penalty Project. This provides free legal representation to death row prisoners around the world.