Harbottle & Lewis has announced the appointment of Hannah Wylie as a partner in the firm’s Film & TV practice.
Hannah joins Harbottle & Lewis from her own business affairs consultancy, where she acted for Paramount+, together with Avalon and Raw TV (ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in Televisual’s 'Production 100'). She has a particular skillset for building and scaling legal and business affairs frameworks for fast-growth media companies, both in the UK and internationally.
Hannah trained in a top-tier asset finance practice in the City, then moving to a commercial media law firm (which included a secondment to BBC Studios) before making the transition in-house.
Previous roles have included Head of Business Affairs at Bad Wolf (recently sold to Sony Pictures Television) overseeing its ambitious production slate (including His Dark Materials and I Hate Suzie) and managing legal operations.
Hannah was Lead Counsel for Amazon Studios in Europe, implementing the legal roll out of its EU Originals division and overseeing shows such as Clarkson’s Farm. Before that, she was Vice President, Legal & Business Affairs at Focus Features (a division of NBCUniversal), specialising in international acquisitions and co-productions, including Manchester by the Sea and American Honey.
Hannah is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion and keen supporter of social mobility initiatives. She co-chaired the Women’s Network for NBCUniversal International where, amongst other things, she spearheaded the company’s first maternity mentoring scheme. Hannah is a full member of BAFTA.
Charles Leveque, managing partner at Harbottle & Lewis, said: 'I extend a warm welcome to Hannah from everyone at Harbottle & Lewis. Hannah has an unparalleled range of industry experience, having worked extensively across film and television development, financing, production, commissioning and distribution, for both Hollywood Studios and UK Indies. We’re thrilled that she has decided to take the next step on her professional journey with us, adding further strength in depth to our renowned Film & TV practice.'
Hannah Wylie, partner at Harbottle & Lewis, added: 'I am delighted to be joining Harbottle & Lewis at this exciting time for the industry and to bolster the firm’s already-brilliant Film & TV practice. I’m looking forward to bringing my experience to bear to provide strategic and commercial advice to our clients. At the same time, I look forward to supporting the firm’s efforts to promote wider access to opportunities within the entertainment industry.'
Hannah joins Harbottle & Lewis’ now 18-strong Film & TV team with effect from 5 December 2022, bringing the total number of partners at the firm to 47.
