Meissner Bolte strengthens Düsseldorf practice with Arnold Ruess litigator

Marina Wehler (38), who will join the Düsseldorf office of Meissner Bolte in October, is experienced in telecommunications, FRAND, and pharmaceutical litigation. Meissner Bolte’s Düsseldorf offering is still young, only opening in 2018. However, the office is already making a strong impact on the German market.

At Arnold Ruess, Wehler was involved – most recently as counsel – in the two leading proceedings concerning Sisvel versus Haier at the Federal Court of Justice (case IDs: K ZR 35/17 and K ZR 36/17). In addition, she advised InterDigital in a team led by partner Cordula Schumacher in various proceedings, including against Xiaomi.

On the pharmaceutical side, Wehler also worked for Hexal in proceedings concerning active ingredients fulvestrant and pregabalin.

Meissner Bolte gains all-rounder

Marina Wehler

Tobias Wuttke is the managing partner and head of Meissner Bolte’s litigation practice. He says, “With Marina Wehler, Meissner Bolte has gained an experienced and renowned lawyer. We are thus further expanding our litigation team in the most important patent litigation location Düsseldorf, in preparation for the start of the Unified Patent Court.”

In terms of the number of patent suits filed by parties at the city’s courts, Düsseldorf is the most important litigation location in Europe. As such, it will soon play host to one of the local divisions of the UPC.

Meissner Bolte opened an office in the city in 2018. Of the more than 70 patent lawsuits the firm is currently conducting before German courts, over 20 are taking place in Düsseldorf.

Expanding in Munich

In 2013, Marina Wehler began her career at Arnold Ruess. The firm itself is still young, starting as a spinoff from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in March 2010. At the Düsseldorf IP boutique, she was primarily involved in various high-profile patent infringement proceedings. Here, Wehler formed part of the team led by renowned partner, Cordula Schumacher.

After Marina Wehler’s departure, eleven litigators remain with Arnold Ruess, four of whom are partners.

On the other hand, Meissner Bolte’s patent practice now comprises eleven lawyers and 71 patent attorneys. Most recently, the team was active in various infringement proceedings such as for Belparts over pressure valve technology and CommScope over in-train repeaters. It has also worked for Netto in a dispute over technology for sorting returnable bottles.

The firm also has an office in Munich, which it bolstered at the end of 2021 through a merger with Munich IP firm Würtenberger. The move added Gert Würtenberger and Karin Grau-Kuntz as of counsel, while Tanja Wittmann also joined as a senior associate.

Update 5.12.2023: As of December, Marina Wehler has rejoined Arnold Ruess as counsel. The 38-year-old had previously worked for the Düsseldorf IP boutique for nine years before moving to Meissner Bolte’s Düsseldorf office a few months ago. Wehler is considered an experienced expert in FRAND proceedings. She also has a focus on pharmaceutical and telecommunications patents. It is not known why Wehler left Meissner Bolte after only two months. The firm’s Düsseldorf office is thus once again without a well-known figure in patent litigation. The office now employs six patent attorneys and four lawyers.

 JUVE Patent updated this article on 05.12.2022 to reflect the latest developments.