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Rob has over fifteen years’ experience advising a wide range of businesses, mainly in private practice, since qualifying as a solicitor in 2006.
Having originally worked for an IBM spin-out software development house, Rob has particular experience of working with innovative technology businesses, from crowdfunded start-ups to large multi-nationals. He has worked in-house for two ISPs and a leading international tech media company.
From early on in my career I’ve been advising businesses developing and working with emerging and innovative technologies where the legal, commercial and technical landscape is often new, uncertain and continually evolving.
‘As a commercial lawyer you have to be perceptive, to pro-actively ask the right questions and quickly understand what matters most to your client and what’s driving their decision making. We should be solution-driven problem-solvers, an extension to our clients’ teams, supporting growth, and genuinely adding value – and that’s what makes my job so interesting.
Rob’s work ranges from business-critical system turnkey deals, systems integration agreements and outsourcing, through to bespoke development and licensing contracts (including mobile application, gaming and platform contracts), cloud computing, SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS contracts. He also advises on complex issues around data protection and information security.
With a strong background in transactional IP, Rob has worked extensively advising clients on protecting and licensing their innovative technology and the complex commercial agreements relating to their use.
Working with innovative businesses in particular requires you to be as agile as your client, helping to balance the legal and commercial risk in any given, sometimes unexpected, challenging moment or strategic opportunity.
‘The Harper James ‘disruptive model’ allows me and my years of experience to be accessible to clients, to collaborate with them and to cultivate productive and successful relationships. It also enables me to be there to support clients large and small on their journeys, delivering value at a price that makes sense. Every day brings something new and that’s something special for me.
His particular interest in emerging technologies means that he has advised on working with and developing wearable tech, health tech, consumer tech, with AR, VR, AI and IoT technologies as well as digital infrastructure and digital commerce.
TESTIMONIALS
What our clients say
Commercial Partner, Rob Cobley, helped us do the necessary due diligence and guided us on which online age verification solution offered us the best legal protection. We needed to eliminate any reputational risk and wanted a ‘gold-standard’ solution that set us apart from any competitors. Getting it right with all the 'belts and braces' gave us comfort because there are several different providers who achieve age verification in different ways. Navigating and implementing the solution was made possible with Rob’s help.
Raj Batra
Founder,
Diistil
The advice set out in Rob’s initial IP audit has helped us create a clear road map for our IP. It has also strengthened our case to get the follow-on grant and with that now secured, I look forward to working with Harper James on the next phase of our IP strategy.
Lucy Fenn
Head of Communications,
eWATERservices
It's a great way of having an in-house lawyer but with much lower costs
Rachel Willis
Finance Manager,
Upscope Limited
Our technology lawyer, Rob Cobley, attended a key customer contract meeting with us as part of our team, which gave me enormous peace of mind when it came to agreeing a major contract.
Chris Mason
CEO,
Namos Solutions
Harper James has been the ideal law firm for Paragraf because of the flexibility that’s built into the extend subscription package. With HJ, I have all the legal expertise and answers I need at the end of an email. We have ambitious plans to fulfil, pushing our product lines overseas and bringing graphene electronics to the masses. There’s no better partner to help us get there than Harper James.
Cathy Cranton
Financial Director,
Paragraf
We often need legal advice quickly, especially during sales with new customers, and Rob is very responsive and always available for meetings. When I was looking for a law firm, I wanted that full range of services, as I knew we’d need advice outside of the tech remit. The flexibility has been really positive.
Ivan Harding
CEO and Co-Founder,
Applaud
Commercial Partner, Rob Cobley, helped us do the necessary due diligence and guided us on which online age verification solution offered us the best legal protection. We needed to eliminate any reputational risk and wanted a ‘gold-standard’ solution that set us apart from any competitors. Getting it right with all the 'belts and braces' gave us comfort because there are several different providers who achieve age verification in different ways. Navigating and implementing the solution was made possible with Rob’s help.
Raj Batra
Founder,
Diistil
The advice set out in Rob’s initial IP audit has helped us create a clear road map for our IP. It has also strengthened our case to get the follow-on grant and with that now secured, I look forward to working with Harper James on the next phase of our IP strategy.
Lucy Fenn
Head of Communications,
eWATERservices
It's a great way of having an in-house lawyer but with much lower costs
Rachel Willis
Finance Manager,
Upscope Limited
Our technology lawyer, Rob Cobley, attended a key customer contract meeting with us as part of our team, which gave me enormous peace of mind when it came to agreeing a major contract.
Chris Mason
CEO,
Namos Solutions
Harper James has been the ideal law firm for Paragraf because of the flexibility that’s built into the extend subscription package. With HJ, I have all the legal expertise and answers I need at the end of an email. We have ambitious plans to fulfil, pushing our product lines overseas and bringing graphene electronics to the masses. There’s no better partner to help us get there than Harper James.
Cathy Cranton
Financial Director,
Paragraf
We often need legal advice quickly, especially during sales with new customers, and Rob is very responsive and always available for meetings. When I was looking for a law firm, I wanted that full range of services, as I knew we’d need advice outside of the tech remit. The flexibility has been really positive.
Ivan Harding
CEO and Co-Founder,
Applaud
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