Eisenführ Speiser hires Ampersand partner to rebuild Hamburg team

Philipp Neels (48), who joins the firm on 1 July, is Eisenführ Speiser’s newest salary partner in Hamburg. He is the firm’s fifth patent partner overall, and its second in the north German city. Neels joins after over five years at the patent litigation practice of Ampersand, which is based in Munich. Prior to his move to Ampersand, between 2010 and 2018 he was a partner at Wallinger Ricker Schlotter Tostmann. He began his career in 2007 as an associate at Bird & Bird in Düsseldorf.

Neels’ expertise will complement the Eisenführ Speiser team in Hamburg, a city which hosts a local division of the UPC. According to the latest figures, the court in the north German city is already scheduled to hear two litigation cases over medical devices. With renowned patent judge Sabine Klepsch at the helm, the UPC is clearly hoping to cement Hamburg as a core patent destination. In response, patent teams in the city are looking to shore up their expertise.

Speaking to JUVE Patent, Philipp Neels says, “In view of the UPC, and with Hamburg becoming an increasingly important patent destination, I am excited to join Eisenführ Speiser’s patent litigation team. It will be a new challenge, but I am looking forward to returning to a mixed practice where I can continue working for clients alongside the firm’s other talented lawyers.”

An SEP speciality

Philipp Neels

Neels is bringing clients, which are mid-sized German and British companies from the medical devices and telecommunication sector, to Eisenführ Speiser. He also works for various companies in life sciences and mechanical engineering.

Examples of previous client work include Human Care Nederland against Beka-Hospitec over standing aids, and Münster University Hospital in an entitlement action against Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals. He also worked for Wsou Investments against ZTE, Huawei, Dell, and Microsoft in cases concerning mobile communication.

Eisenführ Speiser managing director Julian Eberhardt says, “We are pleased to have gained an experienced patent litigator in Philipp Neels, who will further increase our clout in patent infringement cases before the UPC and national courts, and with whom our litigation team will continue to grow. Further reinforcements can be expected in the near future.”

Following on from this, other managing director Lars Birken says, “With the arrival of Philipp Neels, we can immediately take up the high workload at the UPC location in Hamburg.”

As Eberhardt alludes to, the firm is looking to soon expand its partnership. A new hire would take Eisenführ Speiser’s patent-only partner count to six.

Eisenführ Speiser in growth phase

The developments at Eisenführ Speiser come after two partners and one associate left the firm for Bardehle Pagenberg. In December 2023, Bardehle announced an expansion drive in Germany, bolstering its Munich office and opening an office in Hamburg, effective from spring 2023. Former Eisenführ patent lawyers Volkmar Henke and Tilman Müller, as well as an associate, thus moved to the new Hamburg office on 1 March. Both joined as equity partners.

While he has a broad patent practice, Neels has extensive experience in disputes concerning standard essential patents in telecommunication – especially on the plaintiff side. This helps address the gap created by the departure of Henke and Müller, who both worked intensively in mobile communication cases. Both are especially active in SEP and FRAND claims on the side of patent pools and other SEP holders.

For example, they advised Access Advance pool members against Xiaomi, Vestel and TCL over video coding, as well as GE and Mitsubishi against Xiaomi over patents related to the HEVC Video Codex. Previously, both lawyers have also acted for Philips and patent pool Sisvel.

UPC a push factor

As such, the move of Philipp Neels is part of the Eisenführ strategy, after the departure of Volkmar Henke and Tilman Müller, to develop the firm’s expertise across its German offices. Part of the reorganisation saw a renewed focus on both Munich and Hamburg, which the firm has recently strengthened with an associate hire apiece.

In April 2021, the firm also hired Michael Schneider, a patent litigator previously at Pinsent Masons, for the Munich team. With the firm also almost certain to strengthen its Bavarian outpost with another partner before Christmas, the mixed IP firm has set its sights on consolidating both its litigation and prosecution abilities, now the UPC has opened its doors.

Ampersand moves forward

Ampersand has also, in recent years, seen several changes. In early 2020, a lawyer from the IP boutique alongside a former partner from employment firm Wolff Schultze Kieferle, left the firm to create new boutique firm Twainscore. Then, in 2021 – a decade after the firm launched –  Ampersand decided to refocus its core practice on intellectual property, and especially soft IP, by hiring two partners from Hofstetter, Schurack & Partner.

In doing so, the firm bolstered its trademark and unfair competition practice. However, its two founding partners Morten Merx and Thomas Schafft left Ampersand to open their own practice. The departure of Neels means Ampersand now has two patent partners, including the highly visible Hosea Haag, as well as three associates.

Speaking to JUVE Patent, Haag says, “Ampersand’s patent litigation team is growing quickly, with 2023 bringing two more associates to the team. We are also constantly looking for partners to broaden our portfolio and are talking to potential candidates at the moment. However, the patent market moves slowly and we only take individuals on board that share our values. We are grateful to have worked with Philipp, appreciate his wish to go back in his hometown Hamburg, and wish him all the best for his new position in his well-reputed new firm.”