Thomas Keane is a member of the business and property group and practises across the following areas:
⁃ Commercial Litigation
⁃ Company and Partnership
⁃ Inheritance Disputes, Wills, Trusts and Estates
⁃ Insolvency
⁃ Insurance
⁃ Real Estate
⁃ Sports and Media Law
Thomas appears regularly in the County Court and High Court on interlocutory applications, CMC, CCMC, Winders List, Bankruptcy List, possession hearings and in small claim, fast track and multi-track trials.
In-house experience
Prior to coming to the Bar, Thomas worked in the legal teams at Formula 1, Warner Bros Entertainment UK, Time Inc. UK and Convex Insurance.
Thomas has extensive commercial law experience, both transactional and contentious, within the Media, Entertainment and Sports sectors. Much of his work was IP / brand related. He has analysed, drafted, negotiated and advised on a broad range of commercial contracts, including licensing, sponsorship, distribution, advertising (including AdTech) and IT agreements.
At Formula 1, Thomas conducted extensive analysis of F1’s commercial and legal rights across its racing territories. This has given Thomas a sound understanding of the commercial and legal issues affecting sporting events and how they interact within a sport’s regulatory framework.
At Convex he assisted in drafting (re)insurance wordings and Convex’s application to establish its European entity in Luxembourg.
He has a particular interest in corporate social responsibility work, specifically partnerships between commercial organisations and charities. At Time Inc UK, Thomas drafted and negotiated the charity partnership agreement between Decanter magazine and WaterAid. He has worked for and served on the boards of national charities.
Pro Bono
From 2016, Thomas has assisted at CO.IN – the Company Insolvency Pro Bono Scheme, which provides free legal advice and representation to assist litigants in person using the Winding Up Court at the Rolls Building, London.
Career prior to law
Prior to changing career to law, Thomas worked for twelve years as a professional clarinettist and freelance arts producer. He played with a range of ensembles, including Britten Sinfonia, and taught and lectured at several educational institutions, including the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Goldsmiths University and Manchester Metropolitan University.
He has worked with over seventy organisations across the UK and internationally on collaborative arts projects and commissions, including BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, the New York Philharmonic, Rambert Dance, Faber Press, the Morgan Library & Museum, the Royal Philharmonic Society and the British Film Institute.
Thomas has served as a director and trustee of the National Children’s Orchestras of Great Britain, a trustee of the Hargreaves and Ball Trust, and a music judge for the Sky Academy Arts Scholarships and the PRS Foundation.
Awards
• Major Scholarship (Inner Temple)
• Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Award (Inner Temple)
• Company Law Prize (Open University)
• Postgraduate Scholarship (The Wolfson Foundation)
• Postgraduate Scholarship (Musicians Benevolent Fund)
• Sir John Barbirolli Memorial Scholarship (The Royal Philharmonic Society)
Memberships
• BACFI
• Chancery Bar Association
• The Honourable Society of Inner Temple
Qualifications
• BPTC - The City Law School
• GDL - The University of Law
• BMus (hons) - Guildhall School of Music & Drama
