Bird & Bird strengthens London team with Pinsent Masons partner

Life sciences and healthcare patent specialist Nicole Jadeja has joined Bird & Bird as a partner in its London office, from her previous role as partner at Pinsent Masons. With the addition of Jadeja, who is vice chair of the IP committee of the BioIndustry Association and a legal member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorney’s (CIPA) life sciences committee, the international firm now has 18 partners in the UK capital.

Robert Williams, partner and co-head of Bird & Bird’s IP group in London, says, “Nicole is a very strong addition to our team. We’re confident that her arrival is going to enhance our reputation as trusted advisors to our clients and create opportunities for us to secure significant new mandates in the future.”

Jadeja brings life sciences expertise

Prior to her move to Bird & Bird, Nicole Jadeja was a partner in the patent team at Pinsent Masons, which she joined in September 2019. The move came after spending three and a half years as a partner at Fieldfisher, which she joined from international IP litigation boutique Rouse.

Jadeja has extensive experience in patent matters concerning pharmaceuticals, including advisory work. She says, “The reputation of the global IP team at Bird & Bird speaks for itself. I’m excited to leverage the depth and breadth of knowledge within the team globally to help clients achieve their commercial goals and to shape both well-established legal systems as well as the new and, in particular, the UPC.”

Nicole Jadeja

Bird & Bird focuses on Europe

Mark Hilton, partner and co-head of the firm’s International Life Sciences & Healthcare group, says, “Nicole brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge which will complement the capabilities we already have in the team. Her expertise is going to be particularly valuable to our life sciences clients as she helps them deal with their biggest challenges.”

Jadeja is not the only partner to move from Pinsent Masons to Bird & Bird during 2023, however.

In July, Ann Henry joined the international firm’s Dublin office from the former, where she had been a partner since 2018. Pinsent Masons responded in kind with the hire of Maureen Daly from Irish full-service law firm, Beauchamps. But during 2023 in general, Bird & Bird has been in a growth phase.

In May, former De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek lawyer Carlos van Staveren joined the firm’s Dutch outfit as counsel, while it promoted Peter van Gemert to partner. Both of these developments followed respected senior partner Armand Killan leaving the partnership, with van Staveren and van Gemert especially well-versed in cases concerning mobile communication.

Furthermore, in September, Thierry Lautier joined the firm’s Paris office from Reed Smith. On the other hand, in Germany, Allen & Overy hired Anna Wolters-Höhne, a former partner at Bird & Bird. As announced at the end of November, she returned to patent litigation after a two-year break.

Pinsent Masons diversifies expertise

Jadeja’s departure from Pinsent Masons leaves twelve patent partners at the firm in London where, over the past few years, the firm has specifically focused on developing its partnership. Although the hires have predominantly been in the life sciences sector, in October the firm bolstered its telecommunication expertise through the hire of James Marshall from Taylor Wessing.

In March 2023, the London office also announced the hire of highly regarded patent attorney Kristina Cornish a partner in its life sciences team. Cornish was one of the first patent attorney partners at the firm in London, with the move coming just months before the UPC opened its doors.

On the other hand, the firm still has a smaller presence in Europe than some of its competitors. With almost no patent expertise in Germany, it also lost two partners in Amsterdam earlier this year, although it bolstered the team with a counsel hire. It also has a strong presence in Paris, where it has recently made up Jules Fabre as a partner.

Christopher Sharp, partner at Pinsents Masons in London, says, “It’s been a pleasure to work with Nicole over the last four years, and we wish her the very best in her new role. In the meantime, our patent litigation practice in the UK and across Europe continues to grow and develop, particularly in light of the hires made during the course of this year of James Marshall, Maureen Daly and Kristina Cornish, and the promotion of Tracey Roberts.”