JUVE Comment

This young boutique around French lawyer and British solicitor Denis Schertenleib has established itself impressively in the market. It is relatively small compared to direct competitors, but has been able to take on the role as dynamic challenger to established firms. The practice is mainly visible in the major international cases, for instance frequently litigating for regular clients from the pharma sector like Mylan and Amgen, when their important proceedings are also instituted in France. Over the past nine years,Schertenleib has mainly built up the firm by litigating for generics manufacturers. His in-depth sector expertise coupled with a wealth of litigation experience are what set him apart from other litigation boutiques. With litigation for TCL, Schertenleib played a central role in one of the year’s highest profile telecoms cases, thus demonstrating in impressive fashion that the team has long been a highly sought-after advisor beyond the pharma sector. Clients also entrusted the firm with important mechanics patents, for instance in the field of optics.

Strengths

In-depth knowledge of the pharma/generics market.

European strategy

The small outfit has good connections to boutiques and large firms in other important European markets who recommend it for high-stakes cases. Although the firm competes with other boutiques for these, it is the only outfit among the independent national boutiques to operate on an equal footing with market leaders like Hoyng ROKH Monégier Véron in a number of cases since the spinoff of Véron. Thanks to its experience in numerous major proceedings, the young, dynamic patent litigation firm makes a flexible partner for British, Dutch or German boutiques. With legal qualifications in France and the UK, the name partner personifies the firm’s understanding of the pan-European connections involved in patent litigation.

Recommended individuals

Denis Schertenleib (“really good litigator”, “impressive litigation experience for generics manufacturers”, competitors)

Team

2 partners, 2 associates

Specialties

Specialists for patent litigation in all technical fields.

Clients

Litigation: TCL (claimant) against Phillips on SEPs; Sandoz (claimant) against MSD over cholesterol-lowering drug; Sandoz (defendant) against AstraZeneca over fulvestrant; Mylan (claimant) against MSD over ezetimibe; Alpinestars (claimant) against Dainese over motorcycle vests.