To know (patent litigators in) Paris is to know a great deal

Many ambitious law firms would like nothing more than to boost their teams with a patent practice in the City of Light. But setting up a patent litigation team in the French capital has long been considered a major, nigh on impossible, task.

Hogan Lovells is still considered the paragon of a successful market entrant. The firm brought in the well-trained Stanislav Roux-Vallaird from the then-leading patent litigation boutique Véron and built up its practice with pan-European proceedings, particularly for life sciences clients such as Eli Lilly. Even in the current phase of upheaval with the growing importance of the UPC, this strategy is proving to be a well-functioning model.

Clifford’s second chance

Clifford Chance tried something similar years ago with a lateral hire from August Debouzy, but the firm’s core client base was not enough to make the story a success. The arrival of Tobias Hessel and Stefan Richter, however, elevated the German practice to a different plane and it landed arguably the biggest coup of the year in Paris when it brought in the experienced and established A&O Shearman partner David Por.

On the other hand, Por had to give up his client relationship with Google for the move and is currently without any major national proceedings in France. Although this is part of the firm’s strategy focussing on UPC litigation, Clifford’s Paris development makes for an interesting story.

Taylor Wessing’s turbulent path

Taylor Wessing faces a more turbulent state of affairs. The arrival of Jules Fabre’s team in May was an excellent start for its Paris patent practice. Fabre leads multiple major cases in France, for example for Accord and Formycon.

However, the spin-off of part of Taylor Wessing’s German patent practice as well as the merger plans of its British office and the resulting reshaping of the entire firm have recently caused unrest.

Taylor Wessing’s patent practice made a strong start at the UPC. It remains to be seen which clients will still consider it the first port of call for UPC cases. Nonetheless, Fabre has a solid client base in national proceedings. The pan-European practice must now integrate and reorganise.

A new start for Simmons & Simmons

Simmons & Simmons has made a fresh start in some respects with Abdelaziz Khatab. He brought with him some of his own client relationships, but is now expected to shine in both national and UPC proceedings. It is still early days but, like David Por at Clifford Chance, he has yet to make waves.

Meanwhile, Dentons has been building up a European patent practice for years, but mainly lands instructions for background advice and rarely for patent litigation. Furthermore, the team has not yet managed to utilise the UPC to ignite a new dynamic. This shows once again that it is not easy to translate a good US client base into European proceedings. The fact that Dentons does not have any high-profile patent litigators in its German offices is undoubtedly an obstacle, particularly for UPC cases.

Bardehle Pagenberg with UPC focus

Bardehle Pagenberg made a strong start at the UPC. However, the French team in particular, despite some growth, has little visibility at the pan-European court and even in French proceedings.

While its most extensive work for Intellectual Ventures is still ongoing, the role of the French practice within the firm as whole is relegated to background work.

Competition from Germany

In general, it is becoming increasingly apparent that many law firms, from Bardehle Pagenberg to Bird & Bird, boast confident German partners that have no problem pleading at the Paris divisions, only occasionally calling on local partners. This development makes entering the French market less attractive for international law firms.

Nevertheless, more international firms than ever before are trying their luck in Paris, but with an uncertain outcome. Tout est possible.

JUVE Patent’s latest France ranking provides a current overview of the French market.