Former Carpmaels partner to lead Mewburn Ellis’ patent litigation push

Balleny worked at Carpmaels & Ransford for ten years, most recently as equity partner, before leaving in December 2024. Her next move remained unknown for several months. Now, the life sciences patent litigator has joined Mewburn Ellis. Like Carpmaels, the firm is one of the UK’s leading practices for life sciences patents with a strong focus on patent attorney work.

Unlike Balleny’s former firm, however, Mewburn Ellis has not historically maintained a large litigation practice. This appears set to change, as Balleny joined the firm on 1 May as partner and head of patent litigation.

Camilla Balleny

Balleny has represented clients across the sector at different courts, handling both patent and SPC matters. Her most recent high-profile case saw her represent Janssen and Johnson & Johnson in a dispute over a biosimilar of the blockbuster Stelara. The drug is used to treat psoriasis and Crohn’s disease, for example. As a partner at Carpmaels, she also handled cross-border litigation for Bristol-Myers Squibb. Her new firm also has good ties to the pharma company.

Litigation team expansion

Balleny joins a team of three other solicitors. Besides Balleny, one other lawyer handles patent disputes and is registered as a UPC representative. In addition to the two lawyers, around 70 patent attorneys at Mewburn Ellis are registered as UPC representatives. The firm is currently involved in two UPC cases, for Virdia and International N&H Denmark. UPM-Kymmene has challenged their patents at the UPC’s central division Munich.

Other UK outfits such as Carpmaels, Dehns, JA Kemp, Potter Clarkson, and Marks & Clerk have been involved in UPC cases since the court’s launch. Mewburn Ellis’ move towards a more mixed approach to patent disputes comes somewhat later than other UK patent attorney firms. However, the pharma industry — Mewburn Ellis’ main client base — has shown reluctance to file cases at the UPC so far.

Strong focus on life sciences

Mewburn Ellis currently employs around 100 patent attorneys across its UK offices in Bristol, Cambridge, London, and Manchester. The firm also has patent attorneys at its Munich office. According to JUVE Patent research, while the firm is particularly known for chemistry, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, it maintains a much broader technical base.

Richard Clegg, managing partner at Mewburn Ellis, says, “Camilla’s arrival represents a hugely exciting step for our international litigation offering. Litigation continues to be a growth area for us and Camilla has an outstanding reputation as a litigator in large, complex matters, leveraging her scientific training to assist a broad range of life sciences clients.”

In patent prosecution, Mewburn Ellis represents known companies such as 10x Genomics, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Danisco, and Genentech. Further examples include Hitachi, Hoffmann-La Roche, Imperial Tobacco, and the University of California.