Simmons & Simmons strengthens London and Amsterdam teams with patent attorneys

Lawrence King

In London, European patent attorney Lawrence King (45) is joining Simmons & Simmons this month. He was previously a partner at UK firm A.A.Thornton. Lawrence King is a specialist in life sciences, especially biotech. His prosecution work for Bial-Portela, Cipla, Chevron Phillips Chemical and Halliburton Energy Services is public knowledge.

Simmons & Simmons already has an established mixed approach in the London market. With the new addition, the London office now has two patent attorneys and four patent litigators at partner level.

Close cooperation between patent attorneys and solicitors is a distinguishing feature of the firm, although it is still not the norm in the UK. Simmons & Simmons is now filling its patent attorney gap in biotech.

In recent years, Lawrence King was also involved in building a mixed team at AA Thornton. In September 2019, for example, the firm brought in Dan Byrne, an IP barrister and deputy district judge, from Gide in Paris. Following King’s departure, 16 qualified attorneys remain at AA Thornton.

Europe-wide growth strategy

Johan Renes

The simultaneous arrival of a patent attorney for biotech in Amsterdam is also in line with the firm’s Europe-wide growth strategy.

Johan Renes (58) is a European Patent Attorney who will join the firm at the end of May. Johan was a partner at DLA Piper since May 2020. In the meantime, he worked in-house for genetic engineering company UniQure part-time. Parallel to this, Renes  was interim CEO at start-up APO-T, which he founded eight years ago.

Simmons & Simmons now has three partners in its Dutch patent practice. Simmons’ Dutch office was last given a boost in the autumn by patent litigation lawyer Oscar Lamme from De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek.

At around the same time, it lost partner Mattie de Koning to the management team of Innovations For Flooring (I4F).