Paddy Grafton Green
It is with great sadness that Simkins announces the death of our former colleague, partner and friend, Paddy Grafton Green, on 13 April 2026 at the age of 83 after a short illness.
Paddy was the doyen of music business lawyers and was dearly loved by the many clients and colleagues with whom he worked over a long and successful career.
Paddy’s career in the law began when he joined Theodore Goddard as an Articled Clerk in 1967. He honed his legal skills under the sharp eye of Mare Stacey, a formidable and respected private client lawyer. When Prince Rupert Lowenstein, a director of merchant bank, Leopold Joseph, consulted the firm on behalf of the Rolling Stones, it was Paddy who stepped in to advise and very quickly became a close confidant of the band.
Paddy’s legal practice in the entertainment business grew quickly. He soon became one of the capital’s most sought-after music lawyers.
His clients were extraordinary people at the top of their careers: the Rolling Stones, Robert Stigwood, Tina Turner, David Bowie and Joan Armatrading, to name but a few. His clients loved his diligence, discretion and incisive advice, but it was his ability to take on their problems with empathy and provide practical and pragmatic solutions that was the key. He managed to do all this while remaining unfailingly polite, even while being tough. He was always able to deliver his message with humour, warmth and humanity.
Within Theodore Goddard, he soon became one of the most respected partners, and in 1997, he became Senior Partner, leading the firm into its merger with Addleshaw Booth & Co. in 2003 to create Addleshaw Goddard.
In 2006, when many others would have started to think about retirement, Paddy lent his support to a group of partners who took the Addleshaw Goddard entertainment business to Simkins, where Paddy enjoyed many more years of practice.
Paddy’s influence stretched far beyond the walls of Theodore Goddard, Addleshaw Goddard and Simkins. Over the years, he made many friends in the music business and elsewhere. They would all testify to Paddy’s dedication, his sharp mind and his personal warmth and empathy. He will be greatly missed.
Paddy is survived by his wife, Deborah, his four children, Nicholas, Charlotte, Patrick and Lucy, and five grandchildren, Hugh, Theodore, Francis, Wilfred and Hannah.
