Dylan Kennett

I'm a bit of a nomad. Growing up in Canada, I have been extremely lucky to be surrounded by a fantastic music culture. While studying for my Bachelor of Arts at McGill University, I decided to take this passion a bit further, scouting talent for various music businesses and festivals, such as the iconic Pop Montreal festival. In the course of pursuing that work, I came across a lot of entertainment lawyers and really liked the career trajectory they pursued, so I packed up and moved to the UK to study law at University College London.

Knowing DLA Piper was one of the firms at the forefront of the TMT industry globally, grabbed the opportunity to work here with both hands. The convergence of media, sports, entertainment and technology led me to gravitate toward tech. At this time, in fact, I created my own nightlife app after having difficulties finding bars that were still open past 11 pm in central London.

My corporate technology practice focuses on venture capital, M&A and assisting companies to go global. It has allowed me to work in, and across, a number of jurisdictions, but in particular, the UK, US, Canada and Australia. I really enjoy what I do and especially being privy to the tremendous growth in tech in the global financial center of London, a city that is continuously reinventing itself.

Why Startups: startups remind me of working artist-side as I did many years ago.  You can make a significant contribution to the future success of the company and I thoroughly enjoy developing a close-knit and long term relationship with my clients.

Recommended Reads: For industry reads, I'm partial to Techcrunch and Pitchbook, as well as the London publication, The Memo, a read about the broader impact of tech on our everyday lives. Any lawyers worth their salt read the Financial Times too. Otherwise, outside of work, I really only read fiction to "land the plane" at night. My favorite book is The First Man by Albert Camus.

Garage to Global: Startups no longer see traditional international borders when doing business. The benefit of working with DLA Piper is the interconnectedness of the global law firm, providing seamless service that complements the way in which startups now do business. If a company is scaling across a number of jurisdictions at an incredible rate, that's our bread and butter.

Passions: When not getting out to gigs, I'm an avid rugby fan and a bit of a politics geek. My Canadian roots still run deep, so I can be caught following the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Blue Jays.