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.”
With fees typically set north of £500 per hour, legal advice feels like a privilege most independents in startup mode fear they can’t afford — even as they’re confronting today’s constantly changing minefield of wholesale, retail, e-commerce, and commercial showrooms, difficult-to-read contracts, and the complex implications of the essential collaborations that underpin most creative business models.
Foundation member Graham Webster, a colleague and former mentee of Devlin’s at Withers, says he signed up because “accessibility is a real issue. It pushes people to cheaper options.” The much-vaunted shortcut of AI-generated legal advice is risky, he warns. It takes granular knowledge to navigate such specific fields. “The key advice that young designers need is around IP and brand protection, closely followed by commercial contract advice and employment advice. For our industry, so much still runs on personality and learned experience. Hugh believed that the law is a tool. We are here to translate how it works, to give it context, to fight, and to give creative talent the tools they need to make an informed decision.”
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