JUVE Comment

The London team has recently cemented its position among the UK’s leading patent litigation practices. It maintains a strong presence in key life sciences disputes for clients including Advance Bionics, Meril, Astellas, and Boehringer Ingelheim. The team has also demonstrated remarkable prominence on the implementer side in SEP proceedings, helping shape UK patent court jurisprudence through applications for Xiaomi and Lenovo regarding FRAND rates and interim licences. “With creative claims, Nicola Dagg and her team have shaken up the UK SEP market over the past 18 months,” acknowledges one competitor. Dagg has led crucial disputes for Xiaomi against Panasonic, whilst the team’s work for Lenovo against InterDigital and Ericsson has drawn significant attention.

The team rarely conducts standalone UK proceedings. Its strong market position stems from substantial involvement in global and pan-European patent battles. Another foundation for its commercially successful year has been the stable partner team around senior partner Dagg. Despite competitors’ speculation that high revenue expectations from the US firm might fragment the team, this has largely not materialised. Indeed, the young partner group continues to expand year on year.

European set-up

This enables the US firm to pursue an unconventional strategy in the crucial European market, distinguishing it from other leading European patent litigation practices. Kirkland & Ellis deliberately eschews maintaining teams in key UPC locations such as Munich or Paris. Instead, it relies solely on its excellently positioned London team, which has evolved into a central hub for global patent disputes between the US, Asia, and continental Europe. Beyond UK patent court litigation, it frequently coordinates client activities across mainland Europe. Several continental firms, including Brinkhof, Vossius & Partner, Arnold Ruess, Hoyng ROKH Monegier, and Trevisan & Cuonzo, collaborate closely with Kirkland in such matters.

Kirkland maintains a successful strategy of not acting at the UPC, but rather as coordinating counsel in major SEP litigation. For Samsung and Xiaomi, the UK solicitors appear not to act as UPC representatives even in significant UPC proceedings. This is also true of a dispute for Advanced Bionics concerning cochlear implants. The London team also regularly represents clients in pan-European pharmaceutical battles, making it one of Europe’s most active teams in cross-border proceedings.

Strengths

Litigating SEPs/FRAND for implementers from Asia and the US. High-profile medical device and pharmaceutical cases.

Recommended individuals

Steven Baldwin, Nicola Dagg (“an absolute leader in her field”, competitor), Daniel Lim (“best in pharma and SEPs”, competitor), Jin Ooi (“superb life sciences lawyer”, competitor), Peter Pereira (“highly efficient and creative”, competitor)

Team

18 lawyers

Clients

Litigation: Lenovo/Motorola in various disputes against Ericsson, InterDigital and ZTE over global FRAND rate for mobile communication portfolios; MediaTek against Huawei over FRAND licence for 4G and 5G portfolio; Intel against R2 Semiconductor over a patent for fully integrated voltage regulation; Samsung against ZTE over global cellular portfolio licence; Xiaomi against Panasonic 3G and 4G (settled 2024); Meril Life Sciences against Edwards Lifesciences over heart valves; Astellas/University of California against Accord, Sandoz and Teva regarding prostate cancer drug Xtandi; Boehringer Ingelheim against Dr Reddys over patents relating to diabetes and heart medicine Jardiance. Advice: Eli Lilly regarding collaboration with digital biology company Isomorphic; private equity house Clayton Dubilier Rice regarding partial buy-out of drug manufacturer Opella from Sanofi.