Bournemouth based Grid Law has today confirmed that it is now operating its entire business “Carbon Zero”. This announcement coincides with Grid Law’s sponsorship of Cartridge World Carbon Zero Racing, which made a highly successful debut in the opening round of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship with six top ten finishes.

The team’s two bio-ethanol SEAT Leon’s, driver’s race suits, team wear and transporter are all carrying Grid Law branding and as part of the deal, Grid Law is providing the team with its expertise in contract law, intellectual property advice and other legal matters. “The partnership between Grid Law Solicitors and Cartridge World Carbon Zero Racing is a perfect match” says Grid Law’s managing director, David Walker. “We have been working together on a number of initiatives and a racing environment is an ideal platform to raise awareness of how all companies can include carbon zero policies as part of their corporate social responsibility programmes.”

Team Principal Colin Neil said “It is fantastic having Grid Law as part of the team. They are certainly not your average law firm and having them on hand to deal with any issues that arise is a great. David and I are both motorsport fans but at times it can still be a tough industry to work in. Knowing that David is looking after our contracts and other legal issues means that I can concentrate on running the team and achieving the best results possible.”

Grid Law’s entire carbon footprint is being offset by the award winning carbon offset company, co2balance through a series of initiatives in the UK and Africa.

The British Touring Car Championship is contested over 10 rounds with the next race being at Thruxton, near Andover on 26 April 2009.

For further information please contact David Walker on 01202 961342 or via email dwalker@gridlaw.com

Photo 1: Managing Director of Grid Law Solicitors, David Walker, with Dan Eaves, driver for Cartridge World Carbon Zero Racing

Photo 2: Cartridge World Carbon Zero Racing’s 2 bio-ethanol powered SEAT Leon’s

Product Design student, John Edwards, won the Grid Law Solicitors prize for the “design with the most commercial potential” at Bournemouth University’s Festival of Design and Innovation. John’s invention of a mug cleaner beat over 150 other entries from final year students undertaking the various design courses that are available at Bournemouth University. Since winning the award, John has already attended the New Designers exhibition at London’s Business Design Centre as part of the Bournemouth University stand.

John’s mug cleaner design, which can be used at home and in the office, caught Grid Law’s attention as a product that has market place potential. Director of Grid Law, David Walker, said “John really deserved to win this prize as he had obviously put a lot of thought and effort into the project. What impressed me about John’s design was that it provided a simple solution to a problem we all face when doing the coffee run – that is to clean a tray of mugs as quickly as possible. The design also incorporates some unique intellectual property which can be licensed to manufacturers which makes it an attractive product to produce commercially.”

Grid Law works closely alongside Bournemouth University’s commercialisation team by helping to protect and enforce the intellectual property rights in the designs developed by students and then negotiating and preparing licence agreements with manufacturers. John’s design has been taken on by the commercialisation team and it is hoped that it will follow on from one of the Bournemouth University’s biggest successes to date which is the pop-up tent designed by Franziska Conrad, licensed to Gelert, a leading supplier of outdoor equipment.

This is not the first event Grid Law has sponsored in recent months. They were actively involved with Rallye Sunseeker 2008 as their official legal advisors and sponsor of a special stage. David Walker also presented a seminar at Sun Sea and Sound, a music industry event held in Bournemouth, discussing the issues surrounding illegal file sharing and the downloading of music from the internet.

For more information visit www.gridlaw.com or call 01202 961342
For further information about the festival please visit www.festival.bournemouth.ac.uk
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Freddie Hunt, son of 1976 Formula One World Champion James Hunt, has appointed Southampton based Grid Law to represent him in all of his legal affairs as he embarks on a career in motor racing.

Freddie is contesting this year’s British Formula Ford championship and it is a very significant year for Ford and for Freddie. It is the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the Formula Ford category and the 30th anniversary of his father, James, being the reigning Formula One World Champion in a Ford powered McLaren.

Freddie made his public racing debut in the championship two weeks ago at Donington Park but before turning a wheel much work was going on behind the scenes. There has been a great deal of media interest in Freddie and this is being used to help generate sponsorship to fund Freddie’s racing.

David Walker of Grid Law has been helping to negotiate Freddie’s contracts and said “Freddie is going about his career in absolutely the right way. He understands that what he does off the track is just as important as what he does on it. Grid Law’s role is to advise Freddie on all of the contracts that he enters into, for example with his team and with sponsors. We will also help protect the “Freddie Hunt” brand as it develops to ensure that he and his sponsors can obtain maximum value from it but we will also be able to clamp down on anyone who tries to take an unfair advantage of it.”

As well as being new to racing Freddie is also unfamiliar with the commercial and legal worlds which are now a necessary part of the fabric of being a professional sportsman. Of Grid Law’s appointment, Freddie said: “My Uncle Dave, who took himself right up the single seater ladder as a driver in his day, has been advising me on all aspects of getting started and he explained I should get legal representation from day one so that everything would be set up correctly from the outset. He introduced me to Grid Law, who have experience in all the right areas, and I have been very impressed with their input so far – and the confidence I now have removes any worries on the legal front and allows me to focus on raising money and driving”.

Today, approximately half of the current grid of Formula One drivers competed in Formula Ford but over the years this most successful of all junior racing categories has seen many illustrious names including Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Freddie’s father James and the most successful Formula One Driver ever, Michael Schumacher.

For more information, please contact David Walker on 01202 961342 or via email at info@gridlaw.com