Esme Strathcole

I am an associate in the Commercial Group in London where I advise clients on a range of commercial issues, often where there is a technology aspect involved. I have a particular focus on work in the media, technology and retail sectors.

I advise on a wide range of commercial contracts (for suppliers and customers), including software licensing, the supply of goods and services, terms and conditions of service for digital platforms, commercial exploitation of data and projects involving the deployment of emerging technologies. I have experience of working on specific commercial transactions and larger transformational projects.

Whilst training at Bird & Bird I completed a six month client secondment where I acted on key commercial technology projects with the aim of improving the quality of copyright data throughout the music industry. I also advised on data governance and data protection matters.

Before joining Bird & Bird, I worked in-house for several years at one of the 'Big Three' record labels. My experience in this sector includes negotiating artist recording agreements, content licences, producer agreements, publishing agreements and film soundtrack agreements.

As a result of my in-house experience, I value the importance of being perceptive to clients' commercial priorities and providing practical, user-friendly legal advice.