IPM and Lewis Silkin cement relationship

The Institute of Promotional Marketing and leading law firm Lewis Silkin are extending their long-running relationship to further enhance the support the IPM’s Legal Advisory Service (LAS) can offer brand owners, agencies and service partners who run promotions both in the UK and globally.

The new partnership will see Lewis Silkin providing specialist legal advice to the IPM LAS on a range of topics, including trademark and copyright law, media and technology law and sports and entertainment rights issues.

The IPM LAS launched nearly 20 years ago and has reviewed more than 25,000 promotions in that time. Its consultants provide expert advice on copy and other elements of promotional marketing campaigns, covering compliance with the CAP Code and with UK and European Legislation.

One significant aspect of the new partnership between the IPM and Lewis Silkin will see the law firm providing advice for international legal and compliance enquiries through a network of specialist marketing lawyers around the globe – The Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance (GALA).

Becky Munday, chairman of the IPM, says: “The IPM LAS is the UK’s leading independent source of legal and compliance advice for promotional campaigns, and is relied on by many of the country’s biggest brands and agencies. However, technology is revolutionising our industry and the IPM has to modernise to ensure it stays relevant. Furthermore, we are increasingly being asked to advise on promotions that are running in the UK and other countries, and our arrangement with Lewis Silkin and their network of specialist marketing lawyers around the globe will give us access to the latest specialist European and global legal knowledge, so that we continue to offer our members a cutting-edge service .”

Jo Farmer, Partner at Lewis Silkin and Relationship Partner for the IPM says: “We are delighted to be supporting the IPM’s Legal Advisory Service. Running international promotions in a lawful, low risk way can be a nightmare to navigate for both agencies and brands. Lewis Silkin looks forward to assisting the IPM’s LAS in providing cost effective, timely and results oriented support both for UK campaigns and globally through our network of specialist marketing lawyers, the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance”.

The extended partnership with Lewis Silkin is the latest in a number of significant changes to the IPM LAS over the past six months:

• At the start of the year, the IPM appointed its first-ever in-house lawyer, Hina Gohil;
• The organisation has also upgraded its Independent Verification service, under which it offers independent judging and promotional verification for competitions and prize draws, both of which are requirements of the CAP Code;
• It has launched the IPM Winners List, a website where brands and agencies can post lists of people who have won competitions and prize draws, so fulfilling another CAP Code requirement. This service is free to IPM members when the relevant promotion has been approved by the IPM LAS (£200 otherwise);
• The IPM Seal, the consumer-facing assurance scheme which shows that a promotion is CAP Code compliant and legal, is now free to IPM members when the relevant promotion has been approved by the IPM LAS (£200 otherwise).

Further enhancements to the services the IPM offers its members and the wider marketing industry will be introduced during the course of 2014.

For further information please contact Martin Croft, Head of Communications at IPM, phone 020 7291 7739.