West End-based boutique firm New Law Media has hired litigation partner Michael Bywell from Stephenson Harwood to bolster its disputes capabilities.

Bywell brings with him more than three decades of commercial litigation experience, particularly in areas including media law, technology, cybersecurity disputes and data breach claims.

Ian Penman and Paul Hosford, co-founders of New Media Law, said: “Michael’s reputation and work in the tech and media areas, together with his broader commercial litigation experience and expertise which spans 30 years in the UK and internationally, complements our existing practice very well.”

Bywell arrives after two years at Stephenson Harwood, during which time the firm grew strongly. He joined the firm as a partner from Hausfeld in 2023, where he spent four years specialising in large-scale data breach cases alongside work on distressed IT project/digital transformation disputes.

He also previously worked at Arnold & Porter and legacy SJ Berwin, alongside work in Australia and his native New Zealand for Minter Ellison’s Auckland affiliate and Australian firm Johnson Winter & Slattery, both times as partner. He is qualified in England and Wales, Australia and New Zealand.

Bywell told Global Legal Post his departure from Stephenson Harwood was amicable; it sprang from a desire to return to the vibrancy of London’s West End at a firm offering lower leverage and, therefore, greater flexibility on fees and hybrid working.

Having seen the firm’s progress over the last 20 years, Bywell said he saw opportunities to help grow the disputes practice, working alongside the founders who he has known since Penman and Hosford’s days at DLA Piper.

He said: “Joining Ian, Paul and the team at New Media Law is something I’ve been interested in ever since they set up back in 2002. I’ve admired how they have established themselves and grown over the years, so I jumped at the opportunity to join when it arose.”

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in London’s Soho district, New Media Law has become a prominent boutique law firm specialising in technology, film, television, publishing and renewable energy. The firm’s diverse practice areas include corporate, commercial, data protection and privacy, defamation and reputation management, dispute resolution, intellectual property and media finance. Its clientele features notable players such as music publishers, games platforms, broadcasters and renewable energy companies.

It operates under a consultant solicitor model, with more than 20 lawyers, including a mix of ex-private practice and in-house lawyers, including former general counsel.  

A Stephenson Harwood spokesperson thanked Bywell for his contributions to the firm and wished him well for the future. The firm announced in December that competition lawyer Tim Knight would join its group actions and competition team as a partner early this month from Travers Smith, where he was a senior associate.

In December it also hired planning partner Feroze Abbas from K&L Gates in London and technology partner Elise Dufour in Paris from Bignon Lebray, where she was a partner for six years.