Pinsent Masons hires senior patent partner from Taylor Wessing

Pinsent Masons has once again bolstered its ranks in London, this time with the hire of James Marshall from Taylor Wessing. The addition of Marshall means the firm’s UK-based IP partnership is now 13-strong, which includes both litigators and one patent attorney in a move towards a mixed-firm model.

As well as a track record in patent cases, Marshall also has experience in cases involving trade secrets and licensing. Speaking to JUVE Patent, he says, “I am very excited to be joining Pinsent Masons’ IP team and much look forward to working for clients alongside the firm’s highly regarded lawyers, both in the UK and across Europe.”

A mixed practice

Marshall joins from the London office of international firm Taylor Wessing, where he worked in the IP practice for 26 years. He began his legal career at the firm. Previous work for clients includes Lilly Icos vs. Pfizer over a patent for an erectile dysfunction drug, the high-profile case between Generics and Lundbeck over anti-depressant citalopram which reached the Supreme Court – then House of Lords – and later, in the important Huawei vs. Unwired Planet dispute.

For the latter case, Marshall represented Ericsson as a co-litigant at the Supreme Court. He also led the team for Ericsson against Apple, before the two companies announced that they had settled all global litigation in December 2022.

In a press release, Clare Tunstall, head of IP and life sciences at Pinsent Masons, says, “Having worked with and opposite James over the years, we have always been impressed by his ability to use patent litigation as a business enabler for clients.

James will bring invaluable experience to the team, not only in life sciences but also in relation to SEPs and FRAND. We have long held the view that he would make an excellent addition to our team and are delighted to welcome him to the firm.”

Pinsent Masons expands in the UK

In March 2023, the London office also announced that highly regarded patent attorney Kristina Cornish had moved to the firm. She is a partner in its life sciences team, which it has focused on expanding over the past few years. Cornish is one of the first patent attorney partners at the firm in London, with the move coming just months before the UPC opened its doors.

Prior to Cornish, the firm’s last major coup in London came in November 2021, with the addition of former CMS partner Gareth Morgan and a team of five associates who joined him shortly thereafter. In September 2021, the firm also hired Gina Bicknell from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Variation across Europe

Over the past few years, Pinsent Masons has been pursuing an aggressive growth plan in Europe, especially in its UK and Dutch offices.

However, in Amsterdam, the firm recently lost András Kupecz, who on 1 June 2023 became a full-time legally qualified UPC judge. Previously, the UPC had appointed him as a part-time technical judge.

At the same time, life sciences and regulatory partner Machteld Hiemstra also returned to her previous firm, Simmons & Simmons. Sole patent partner Judith Krens remains head of life sciences at the firm’s Amsterdam office. She joined in early 2022, helping launch the firm’s Dutch outfit alongside two other partners.

Elsewhere, the firm’s German office is still lacking solid patent expertise. On the other hand, the French team is gaining some visibility among competitors by increasing its number of cross-border instructions, especially for generic or biosimilar drug companies.