Carpmaels & Ransford brings back life sciences partner from Marks & Clerk

Jonathan Stafford joins Carpmaels & Ransford from Marks & Clerk, where he had been a partner since 2017. He will strengthen the firm’s chemistry practice with a focus on life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Stafford is also a regular advocate before the UPC and the EPO.

After his chemistry studies Stafford initially worked as a process research chemist at AstraZeneca before joining Carpmaels & Ransford as a patent attorney in 2007. In the years that followed, he built up a practice covering pharmaceuticals, chemistry, life sciences and medical technologies, including small molecule pharmaceuticals, diagnostic devices, polymers, advanced materials and synthetic chemistry.

At the UPC, Stafford has been involved in several revocation actions, including at the Court of Appeal. He was part of the team in the first full merits hearing in a UPC revocation action before the Paris Central Division and acted at the Court of Appeal in the inventive step case Edwards vs Meril. He also represented Meril in the opposition proceedings at the EPO.  Alongside contentious work, he advises on European IP portfolio management, freedom-to-operate, due diligence, licensing and transactions.

Fourth partner hire this year

Stafford’s arrival marks the fourth partner hire at Carpmaels & Ransford in 2026, as the firm marks its 250th anniversary. Earlier this year, Kevin Cordina, former head of IP at Simmons & Simmons, joined the engineering and tech team. The litigation practice welcomed Niels Hölder from Hoffmann Eitle in late 2025 and Christopher Stothers from Freshfields a few weeks ago.

The hires are part of a broader expansion strategy. Carpmaels & Ransford, traditionally known as a patent attorney firm, has been building out its litigation capability in recent years. It has also moved to establish a presence in Germany. The firm was among the first UK IP outfits to set up a dedicated litigation team and has been active at the UPC since the court’s launch. At the UPC, the litigation team is acting for clients such as Sanofi in the dispute over cabazitaxil and cholesterol lowering drug Praluent as well as for Align in proceedings over dental aligners.

James Warner, senior partner at Carpmaels & Ransford, says Stafford’s focus areas will “greatly benefit our clients in life sciences and medical technologies, and will undoubtedly also add to our successes at the UPC.” Stafford himself referred to the firm as “one of the first patent firms to create a dedicated litigation team and one of the earliest to develop proven expertise and experience at the UPC.”

Stafford’s departure represents a loss for Marks & Clerk’s chemistry and life sciences practice, where he had been a partner for close to a decade. He was one of the more visible partners in patent litigation of the firm.

Simon Mounteney, managing partner of Marks & Clerk said: “We thank Jonathan Stafford for his contribution to a very busy and successful team and wish him well for the future.” After Staffords move, the UK team of Marks & Clerk counts 110 patent attorneys and nine solicitors dealing with patents over eight offices.