Solicitor firms in litigation – UK 2022

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Consistency, visibility and extremely high quality define market-leading IP boutique Bristows, which continues to forge ahead of competitors in its retention of high-profile clients for pharmaceutical and telecommunications litigation. Although there has been some market speculation as to how well the firm will deal with partner succession in the event of further retirements, its bench of younger partners demonstrates between them a breadth of talent which is contributing to the firm's visibility in cases at both the High Court and the Court of...

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The many uncertainties caused by Brexit and the turbulent first 20 months of the COVID-19 pandemic have done nothing to harm Powell Gilbert’s excellent position in the UK patent litigation market. The firm remains, together with Bristows, the undisputed market leader in UK patent litigation. Penny Gilbert and Tim Powell were especially present once again in pharma and biotech cases. Penny Gilbert’s expertise here paid dividends in the pandemic with advice to BioNtech on securing its patent strategy for the first COVID vaccine. This work is like...

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A wide-ranging client list and a strong bench of partners sees the excellently-positioned patent litigation team at Allen & Overy continue to challenge the London market leaders for visibility in both life sciences and telecommunications cases. Although the partner team is among the smaller of London's important patent litigation practices, its individuals are already synonymous with some major client names in the European market, especially in the fields of biologics and originator pharmaceutical companies. For example, in life sciences highly...

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For some time, Bird & Bird’s UK patent litigation practice appeared to have fallen behind the market leaders. Competitors speculated heavily for two years as to why the telecoms practice is no longer present at the High Court for Nokia. But thanks to a spectacular comeback on the side of its regular client in a pan-European battle against Oppo/OnePlus over several mobile communications patents, Bird & Bird underpinned its ambitions to take on the two market leaders Bristows and Powell Gilbert.

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The London office of Herbert Smith Freehills continues to capitalise on excellent links to originator pharmaceutical companies, with a strong client list for work involving patent litigation and advice. What sets the highly-recommended firm apart from competitors which focus largely on drug-based pharmaceuticals is the variety of cases under the life sciences umbrella in which its partners are involved. Diagnostics are a particular strength of the firm, for example with partner Sebastian Moore leading client Ariosa Diagnostics to a settlement w...

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Although smaller in partner size than comparable firms such as Bird & Bird and Allen & Overy, the London patent team boasts a remarkable track record in cross-border cases for renowned clients and thus challenges the market leaders. The team of just four partners was once again seen before the UK courts in numerous suits in the life sciences sector. These included the dispute for Akebia and Otsuka against Fibrogen over drugs for the treatment of anaemia before the Court of Appeal. Litigation in major cross-border pharma proceedings is o...

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The well-positioned London office of Anglo-Canadian firm Gowling WLG is slowly building a reputation as a go-to firm for telecommunications clients in cases involving FRAND and licensing issues. Well-regarded and highly visible head of Gowling’s tech practice Alexandra Brodie has contributed to the firm’s prevalence in previous telecommunications cases, such as for patent holder Interdigital in the ongoing dispute against Xiaomi, which involves technical 3G and 4G technology as well as FRAND issues. As such, Gowling is now in a good position to...

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This well-positioned London patent team has carved out a solid reputation by litigating for notable generics manufacturers against innovators. Work for regular client Teva kept the team very busy, for example against Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer in a revocation action and parallel infringement proceedings over the anticoagulant drug Eliquis. In one of the first lawsuits concerning SPCs in the UK post-Brexit, Pinsent Masons was active for Teva against Janssen involving the schizophrenia drug Xeplion, a case that raises novel issues of SPC reg...

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This strongly-positioned patent team enjoys a good reputation in pharma litigation. Numerous well-known generics manufacturers, including Accord, Sandoz and Teva, traditionally rely on the UK team of the full-service firm. But like competitor Pinsent Masons, Taylor Wessing has successfully added innovators and biotech companies in recent years.

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The stand-out client for the well-positioned London team of this US firm continues to be telecommunications giant Apple. During 2021, scarcely a month has passed without WilmerHale representing the company at the UK courts against patent holder Optis – part of the Unwired Planet parent brand. And the track record, which involves multiple technical trials and FRAND aspects, is no mean feat. Led by frontman Justin Watts, vindication came in November 2021 as the Court of Appeal overturned a judgment in Optis' favour, much to the surprise of bystan...

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In 2021, the promotion of counsel Laura Whiting to the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partnership doubled the partnership capacity of this well-positioned international firm. With a core aim to develop the Freshfields tech practice, her connection to client Facebook is lending it much-needed visibility. The patent practice is also co-ordinating the case globally while handling parallel litigation in Germany. “We were impressed with Laura's handling of the Facebook case. The client was a great win for the team,” says one competitor. Undoubtedly,...

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Thanks to its strong position in life sciences patents, this mixed patent firm has seen stable development in the second year of the coronavirus pandemic. Both its prosecution and litigation arms enjoy a good reputation for their work in the pharma and medical technology sector. This not only applies to the lawyers’ work on infringement and nullity suits, but also the patent attorneys’ work in EPO proceedings. Marks & Clerk is firmly established in litigation for manufacturers of traditional pharmaceuticals. But the team covers the whole spectr...

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The well-positioned London litigation team of Osborne Clarke has become more visible in the London market since 2020's headline-grabbing work, as co-counsel with EIP, for Unwired Planet against Huawei over SEPs and FRAND. Now the patent holder's subsidiary Optis has retained Osborne Clarke’s patent team in an extensive battle against Apple involving multiple trials. The continued work from the NPE is a boon for leading partner Arty Rajendra, whose dedication to the matter and its associated competition law aspects has not gone unnoticed in the ...

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This well-positioned UK litigation team is driving growth and this year widened its client base. This was largely thanks to last year’s new addition, litigation partner Deborah Bould, who rounds off the practice with her tech patents specialty and is taking the lead for a large manufacturer of electronic devices in cross-border litigation. This instruction could substantially raise the visibility of the practice in the London market and beyond, as up to now the London team has not been involved in high-profile cross-border cases as often as com...

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Unfazed by the COVID-19 crisis, this small IP litigation boutique maintained its strong presence at the side of generics companies in some high-profile cases before the UK patent courts. This setup means that the firm is well-positioned to handle a potential rise in demand for advice on life sciences patents during the pandemic.

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The well-positioned London patent practice of Jones Day continues be active in both life sciences disputes and mechnical patent disputes, with the latter part of the firm's practice enjoying more visibility over the past few years. Although the practice is not yet as omnipresent as other international firms with a European presence, such as Allen & Overy or Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, the clout of the small team is retained through core clients such as Lufthansa. For example, the company continues to engage Jones Day in a case concerning da...

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The London patent team of this international full-service firm is especially well positioned in the UK with patent litigation for high-profile pharma clients. It generally litigates for pharmaceuticals originators, such as Sanofi and Regeneron. For its regular clients, the team is involved in a cross-border suit against Amgen over important cholesterol drugs. In cases like these, clients benefit from the close cooperation between the London team and the offices in Paris and Frankfurt. This was also the case for ViiV Healthcare, which the firm r...

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Under the careful guidance of patent partner David Rose, the well-positioned team at full-service firm Mishcon de Reya is slowly developing its patent expertise offering, while gaining visibility at the UK patent courts in some high-profile cases. A strong connection between David Rose and generic pharmaceutical companies is apparent in the firm's client list, for example in litigation for Dr Reddy's against Warner-Lambert and Pfizer over damages, following a 2018 Supreme Court decision. The case, which includes multiple parties, highlights the...