When fashion super-lawyer Hugh Devlin died suddenly in 2023, the news sent shockwaves through the industry. Besides the outpouring of grief and sympathy for his wife, Sarah Polden, and his family, swathes of creative people he’d advised over 30 years were left bereft of his advice.
The Scottish lawyer was one of the smartest, most formidable specialists in the luxury business, with a reputation that carried internationally and a vast roll call of clients. As a partner in London at Withers Worldwide, and then with his own company Delightfull, generations of independent designers, creative directors at international houses, milliners, jewelers, accessory CEOs, brand team members, beauty entrepreneurs, fashion consultants and journalists, product designers, and artists had depended on Devlin’s experience and deft mentorship.
Countless among them had never received a bill. The renowned, often feared lawyer dedicated years of pro-bono time to saving emerging designers from their troubles and steering their careers upward. This month, Polden, alongside a group of friends and former clients (including Christopher and Tammy Kane, Anya Hindmarch, Charlotte Tilbury, and Sam McKnight), is launching The Hugh Devlin Foundation to continue that work, bringing together a roster of high-level lawyers and accountants who’ve signed up to provide legal and financial advice free of charge.
Devlin’s wife remembers him uttering what might as well have been Devlin’s motto into his mobile at home: “Don’t sign it!” Christopher Kane’s sister, Tammy, remembers, “Hugh was unique in every way, a polymath who could in one phone call resolve and appease complex legal issues, while simultaneously finding you the best bespoke solution to another. His straight-talking and dry wit could make your anguish turn to laughter.”
Foundation member Suzi Sendama at Level Law elaborates: “The danger comes in the decision to go without advice or to rely on ChatGPT’s ‘view’. I know relatively well-known names in fashion who regularly wing it with contracts, because they don’t feel that their business can absorb the level of legal fees that would be incurred if they instruct someone. It’s one of the many reasons why the foundation has been established, to provide access to the advice needed without the potentially otherwise inaccessible price tag.”
“Creative businesses often won’t bother engaging a lawyer until things start to go wrong, but the best client relationships I have built aren’t sporadic,” she adds. “They’re the ones where I’ve managed to step into a trusted advisor role, where a founder has let me have a greater, more ongoing insight into their business.” This is very much the style in which Devlin operated — he was the best champion to have on your side with a fire-fighting issue, but also someone with a 360-view of the market and the long game.
“Creatives can sometimes have a fear that a lawyer is intimidating, or wouldn’t be able to level with them and understand the world they operate in,” observes Tahir Basheer at Sheridans. He knew Devlin — on the other side of cases — and admired him. “Hugh was very well known in fashion law circles and was second to none in that specialism. Often, other designers would reference him, helping them out.”
The foundation will give time to develop a bigger picture for a brand, removing their fear of being on the clock. “Giving advice that is just 100% legal isn’t ever going to help a client in reality. Understanding the nuance and mechanics of an industry, the nature of the work as well as the people involved is crucial in providing meaningful support to a client and helping them navigate any situation,” Basheer observes. “Anyone can have access to information and what the law is, but it’s our ability to translate that with the sector specialist context that will make the advice meaningful and helpful.”
In fashion, the seasonal cycle designers are caught up in can cause potentially catastrophic short-term decision-making, and a lack of awareness of designers’ potential. Sendama says, “Sometimes, part of my role is explaining to clients the tangible value of their work product and helping them to understand their worth.” Advice at an early stage is key, she adds. “In the creative sectors, IP is everything. Your brand, your unique voice and identity, is your leverage and your value. I’ve seen deals where an agent has signed off on their client entering into a collaboration arrangement, which involved a complete assignment of IP for a fixed fee, and then the project has morphed over time, enabling huge returns for the other party while the designer is left with something fairly negligible in the grand scheme of things.”
It’s fundamental that the designer understands what they are agreeing to throughout their career. “This will ensure they understand how and what they can protect in relation to their ideas, work, or even self,” says Basheer. “The lack of understanding of how the mechanics of IP law work, what rights you have, and what rights you can protect, can lead to a huge range of problems for designers, both short and long term. Whether it be a lack of clarity on who owns the designs on a collaboration project with a friend, or commercial bargaining with bigger partners in relation to your work, name, or idea. There are many ways these things manifest.”
All of the professionals who’ve signed up to volunteer for the foundation are in it because they share the enthusiasm for nurturing young creative people and their ideas that motivated Devlin all his life. In a constantly shifting landscape, it’s also a way of anticipating and supporting the future from ground level. “It’s also a great opportunity for us to understand the types of concerns younger creatives are having,” says Basheer. “As the world and technology change so quickly, we come up against new problems every day for our clients.”
The Hugh Devlin Foundation opens for applications online to UK-based applicants at the end of June. Those eligible (in fashion, art, hair and beauty, and design, reflecting the breadth of Devlin’s interests) will be triaged for their problems and matched with expert volunteers. The foundation welcomes further volunteers from the legal and financial luxury sectors who are interested in joining its work.
