Litigation

Assessing risk, setting strategy and taking the lead on some of the most complex, novel or business-critical cases around the world.

Patent litigation

Our patent litigation practice combines technical expertise covering all the major scientific and engineering disciplines, with an unrivalled depth and breadth of litigation experience.

Brands, designs & copyright

Our brands team have extensive experience in protecting brands, designs, copyrights, databases, domain names and related rights, and work closely with clients across a range of industry sectors.

Commercial & technology

Our commercial & technology disputes team are not only known for their ability to get to grips with demanding and technically difficult disputes, but have worked on some of the largest cases in technology, life sciences and intellectual property.

Competition litigation

Our competition team have long experience in disputes, whether in making or defending claims for damages, dealing with competition law defences to IP infringement claims or handling appeals from regulatory decisions.

Data breaches and cyber security

Our highly experienced data protection team can assist with the immediate response and containment of a security incident, notifying authorities, as well the longer-term impact, including any follow on litigation.

SEP/FRAND disputes

With its leading high-tech patent litigation and competition law practices, and over a decade’s experience in leading cases, we are uniquely placed to advise both patent owners and implementers alike.

Judicial review

We have long experience in representing clients in judicial review proceedings (or preliminary matters) related to decisions from virtually all regulatory bodies relevant to the life sciences sector in domestic and European contexts.

“It has particular industry sector expertise in IT, consumer products and life sciences, and has recently grown its practice in both disputes relating to the misuse of confidential information and the work it handles for financial services businesses. The team also regularly acts in cross-border Russian and CIS-related litigation and arbitration.”
Legal 500 2017

“Overall, the Bristows’ commercial litigation team working on this claim have been excellent. They are consistently responsive and the quality of their legal services has been top-drawer.”
Chambers and Partners 2017

“Anna Cook is recommended for her handling of high-value IT disputes. Her client base includes multinational digital media companies and financial services infrastructure providers.”
Chambers and Partners 2019

“Deep bench of high-calibre litigators with supreme expertise in contentious patent, trade mark, designs and copyright matters.”
Chambers and Partners 2019

“The commercial and technology disputes team promoted Angela Fouracre, who ‘impresses with the high quality of her work’.”
Legal 500 2017

Key contacts

Dominic Adair Partner

Dominic is a patent litigation specialist focusing on life sciences disputes, particularly in relation to pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Dominic has handled cases across the range of tribunals in the UK and the EPO and has coordinated litigation across the world.

Gregory Bacon Partner

Greg is an experienced IP and regulatory lawyer with a particular focus on the life sciences sector.

Gemma Barrett Partner

Gemma is a contentious intellectual property specialist with a focus on litigation in the chemical and life sciences sector. She acts for some of the world’s leading life sciences and technology companies.

Nadine Bleach Associate

Nadine advises on a range of complex patent disputes encompassing a variety of different subject matters. Her background in Physics makes her particularly suited to work in the technology, telecommunications and engineering sectors.

James Boon Partner

James specialises in contentious IP matters and has a breadth of experience in advising on patent disputes in the telecommunication, electronics, aeronautics and oil and gas fields.

Andrew Bowler Partner

Andy Bowler is an IP litigator with over 20 years experience. Andy’spractice covers the full range of intellectual property rights, with a particular emphasis on patents, trade marks, registered designs and trade secrets. Much of his recent work has involved Standard Essential Patents and FRAND disputes. In addition to UK litigation, he is commonly called upon to coordinate litigation round the world.

Robert Burrows Partner

Robert specialises in patent litigation. He has a PhD in molecular genetics and is particularly active for life science companies. Many of the patent and SPC cases he has managed in recent years have required the coordination of parallel proceedings in the UK, EPO and other jurisdictions within Europe and elsewhere in the world.

Alex Calver Associate

Alex is an Associate in the Patent Litigation team. He works on cases in the life sciences and technology sectors.

Katie Cambrook Associate

Katie works in patent and trade mark infringement matters. She also has experience of copyright matters.

Rachael Cartwright Associate

Rachael is an associate in IP litigation and works with clients in the pharmaceutical and TMT sectors.

Adrian Chew Associate

Adrian specialises in patent disputes, particularly in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors.

Liz Cohen Partner

Liz is a highly experienced and well regarded IP specialist with a focus on counselling clients in the Life Sciences sector on national and international patent strategy and litigation. She jointly heads up the firm’s Life Sciences Practice and is one of the firm’s Joint Managing Partners.

Brian Cordery Partner

Brian is the Joint Head of Patent Litigation. His practice concentrates on the resolution of patent disputes in the life sciences sector. This involves representing clients before the English Patents Courts at all levels and the coordination of multi-national disputes. In 2018 Brian was named Life Sciences Patent Litigation Lawyer of the Year and Patents Lawyer of the Year by Who’s Who Legal.

Amy Cullen Associate

Amy joined the firm in 2011 as a trainee solicitor and qualified into the IP Litigation department in 2013.

Chloe Dickson Associate

Chloe has acted in intellectual property disputes before the English Courts, including the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. Chloe also works on the coordination of international patent disputes and has experience in the enforcement of Community Plant Variety Rights.

Charlie French Senior Associate

Charlie is an experienced patent litigator with a particular focus on the life sciences and biotechnology sectors. She represents clients before the English courts and also coordinates complex global patent litigation and life-cycle management strategies.

Tim Heaps Associate

Tim's experience covers both contentious and non-contentious matters, with a focus on trade mark and copyright disputes, patents, confidential information and advertising advisory work.

Thomas Hendicott Associate

Thomas works in the IP litigation department. Whilst he primarily advises on patent matters, he also has experience working on technical arbitrations.

Olivia Henry Associate

Olivia is an associate in the IP Litigation department.

Emma Irwin Associate

Emma qualified into the Patent Litigation team in September 2018, after having completed her training contract at Bristows.

Myles Jelf Partner

Myles is joint head of the Patent Litigation department. While his practice covers the full range of intellectual property rights it has focussed in recent years upon high-tech patent litigation for multinational companies.

Alan Johnson Partner

Alan is a specialist in patent matters (litigation and freedom to operate) with more than 35 years’ experience across a broad range of industries from pharmaceuticals to telecoms.

Luke Maunder Associate

Luke specialises in intellectual property disputes in the technology sector. He has degrees in both computer science and law. His experience spans all levels of the Court system, as well as a variety of interim applications. He also frequently advises on jurisdiction disputes, particularly in FRAND litigation.

Elizabeth McAuliffe Associate

Elizabeth specialises in contentious intellectual property matters, with a particular interest in patent litigation.

Annsley Merelle Ward Senior Associate

An experienced, tenacious and strategic IP litigator, Annsley specializes in complex global life sciences and TMT disputes.

Nicholas Michelmore Associate

Nick is an associate in the Patent Litigation team. He works across a variety of sectors but has a particular interest in the life sciences field.

Ben Millson Associate

Ben works in the IP litigation team.

Rachel Mumby Senior Associate

Rachel works in patent litigation and advises clients from a variety of sectors. She has a particular interest in the life sciences sector due to her background in Chemistry.

Emma Muncey Associate

Emma is an associate in patent litigation team. Her practice focuses on pharmaceutical patent litigation. Emma has completed two six month client secondments to the patent litigation teams of two global pharmaceutical companies, one innovator and one generic.

Edward Nodder Partner

Senior Partner from 2016-2018 and until 2016, the long-serving Head of Patent Litigation. Hugely experienced, he has been responsible for more than 100 patent cases, including landmark decisions concerning validity, infringement, cross border injunctions, damages, stays pending EPO, entitlement to priority, patent amendment and cross undertakings in damages

Kate O'Sullivan Associate

Kate joined Bristows as a trainee in 2016 and qualified as an associate in the IP litigation department in 2018.

Claire Phipps-Jones Senior Associate

Claire is a Senior Associate specialising primarily in patent litigation in the life sciences sector. Her biochemistry background provides an excellent basis for the technical aspects of such disputes. She has experience in both UK litigation and in the coordination of cross-border disputes.

Richard Pinckney Partner

Richard is a partner and solicitor advocate with an engineering background. He specialises in IP disputes with a focus on patent litigation and the technology sector.

Edward Pullicino Technical Advisor

Edward is a technical advisor, advising and assisting in forming opinions on technical aspects of litigation and provides in-house technical sessions on both general and specific technical queries.

Matthew Raynor Associate

Matthew specialises in intellectual property litigation with a particular focus on patent litigation in the technology sector.

Manuel Rey-Alvite Villar Professional Support Lawyer

Manuel is a Professional Support Lawyer in our IP Litigation department. He is involved in the co-ordination of IP litigation relating to global pharmaceutical products and the management of patent litigation know-how from multiple jurisdictions.

Laura Reynolds Of Counsel

Laura specialises in patent litigation, with a particular emphasis on pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Her scientific background enables her to give comprehensive legal advice to clients whilst also understanding the technicalities of the dispute. She has particular expertise in matters relating to SPCs

Vanessa Rieu Senior Associate

Vanessa is an experienced litigator specialised in all areas of intellectual property. Due to her international background, her practice concentrates primarily on complex and cross-border patent litigation within Europe and beyond.

Nicholas Round Associate

Nicholas has experience working with a broad range of technical subject matters including mobile telecommunications and broadcast technology, magnetic resonance medical devices and the use of electromagnetic signals as an indicator for the presence of oil or gas.

Joseph Sako Associate

Joe works as an Associate in the Patent Litigation team, after joining Bristows as a trainee in 2016.

Simon Spink Senior Associate

Simon is a patent litigation specialist with a degree in chemistry from Oxford University. For the past 12 years he has predominantly represented clients in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries but he has also worked with design and mechanical engineering companies

Rowena Stent Professional Support Lawyer

Rowena is a Professional Support Lawyer in Patent Litigation.

Aida Tohala Associate

Aida has experience of litigating patents for pharmaceutical products before the English Courts, as well as experience of coordinating patent litigation in other jurisdictions in the context of global life cycle management.

Pat Treacy Partner

Pat is an experienced, effective and pragmatic competition lawyer with decades of experience of litigation, transactions and competition investigations. She is renowned for her understanding of the competition issues that affect IP rich sectors.

Claire Wilson Associate

Claire specialises in intellectual property with a particular emphasis on patent litigation in the life sciences sector. Claire’s background in Chemistry gives her a valuable understanding of the technical issues that can underlie intellectual property matters and enables her to provide clear intelligible advice.

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