CMS strengthens London IP practice with McCarthy Denning partner

Tom Carver officially joined CMS Cameron McKenna’s London practice on 20 April as partner. He brings experience in patents, trademarks, and design rights. In addition to law, Carver also holds a degree in genetics from the University of Nottingham. He has been involved in multi-jurisdictional litigation including the UK Supreme Court cases Conor Medsystems vs Angiotech Pharmaceuticals and Human Genome Sciences vs Eli Lilly.

At CMS he joins a UK IP team comprising 20 partners and over 100 solicitors, patent and trademark attorneys. Globally, the firm’s IP practice spans 47 jurisdictions with over 450 IP specialists. The UK practice is co-headed in the UK by Sarah Wright and Joel Vertes.

In a press release, Vertes said the hire of Carver reflects growing client demand for advisors able to combine technical IP expertise with cross-border execution, particularly in sectors such as life sciences, automotive and energy. Wright describes Carver as “a highly regarded IP litigator with an impressive track record in complex patent disputes”.

Carver says of his move: “CMS stands out from its competitors because of its genuine sector focus, its leading disputes platform and the strength of its IP team across key European jurisdictions, including a patent prosecution practice that will be invaluable in advising clients in Unified Patent Court actions.”

Chinese expertise

Carver began his legal career in 2003 at Taylor Wessing, before moving to Howrey. He subsequently joined Wragge & Co, later Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (now Gowling WLG). During his time at Wragge, Carver spent three years as chief representative officer at the firm’s Guangzhou office in China, advising on the enforcement of IP rights in the region as well as on general commercial matters.

In 2015, Carver moved to patent attorney firm J A Kemp as a partner, before joining boutique White & Black in 2021 as partner and head of IP. He left for McCarthy Denning in 2023, where he has remained partner until his current move to CMS. McCarthy Denning is a full-service law firm based in London.

One out, one in

Carver’s addition comes on the heels of Caitlin Heard’s move to US firm Perkins Coie. Heard is currently co-head of CMS’ international IP practice group and was featured on JUVE Patent’s Ones to Watch UK 2024. It is not currently known when she will officially join the US outfit. Heard was involved in several cross-border proceedings, including for clients such as Microsoft and played a role in various disputes in the life sciences sector.

CMS has recently significantly expanded its patent litigation team, particularly in Germany. In Constantin Kurtz of Klaka and Stephan Dorn of Freshfields, two experienced litigators have joined the practice who handle UPC cases for clients such as Infineon and Hisense. However, so far only the German patent practice is active at the UPC, without the involvement of patent litigators from other offices.