Meet our team

Name: Bristows
Price range: $$$

Legal expertise joined up with science and technology backgrounds means we understand your business and can talk the same language

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Dominic AdairPartner – Patent litigation

An in-depth scientific education and love of technology underpin Dominic’s focus as a patent litigation specialist. For over 20 years he has worked at the forefront of Bristows’ practice in this area, winning recognition from all the major directories.

Tim AllenPartner - Real estate

Tim is the head of Bristows’ real estate practice. He specialises in providing strategic, commercial real estate advice that is tailored to client requirements. Tim has a broad range of transactional commercial real estate experience but specialises in corporate occupier and development work in the build to rent sector.

Oliver advises on a broad range of complex corporate transactions including cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions, equity capital raising (notably university spin-outs and venture capital transactions), corporate restructurings and reorganisations, and general corporate law advice. He focuses in particular on transactions in the TMT and life sciences sectors but works with clients operating in a variety of sectors. Oliver has experience across a range of sectors such as media, technology, life sciences, and healthcare. Some of his highlights include: <ul> <li>Advising a Parkinson’s and Dementia digital platform on its spin out and subsequent extension financing round.</li> <li>Advising a private equity fund on its acquisition of a leading independent provider of mental healthcare and adult social care in the UK, the subsequent £1bn refinancing of that provider (including a related reorganisation) and the carve out of the specialist education & childcare division from that provider.</li> <li>Advising a leading UK altnet broadband provider on various acquisitions and corporate reorganisations.</li> <li>Advising individual shareholders on their disposal of an international live broadcast and event curation media group to a US group listed on the NYSE.</li> <li>Advising a global company headquartered in Belgium (which is a leading player in steel wire transformation and coating technologies, as well as innovating in new mobility, low-carbon construction, and green energy) on its acquisition of a majority stake in a Scottish company offering mooring technology solutions, systems design and testing capabilities for the global offshore energy markets.</li> <li>Advising a self-funded medical research charity on its role in the formation of a new Medical Research Council (MRC) spin-out company that aims to reprogramme microbes to enable new materials to be produced – such as drugs and biodegradable plastics.</li> <li>Advising a Japanese headquartered AI drug discovery company on its financing rounds and reorganisations.</li> </ul> Prior to joining Bristows, Oliver trained at a leading international law firm and qualified into its private equity department in 2018. Since joining Bristows, Oliver has also provided general corporate advice to clients regarding shareholder and governance matters and has advised charities on governance and other corporate law matters.

Oliver AlsopAssociate – Corporate & financing

Oliver has advised a full spectrum of UK and international clients on a range of cross-border and domestic corporate and commercial transactions.

Emily frequently advises clients on complex <a href="/expertise/transactions/employment/">employment</a> matters, including the appointment and exit of senior individuals. Emily provides HR teams with day-to-day support, including on employee relations matters (such as grievance and disciplinary procedures), advising on employment status concerns, reviewing the enforceability of restrictive covenants, drafting key employment documentation such as employment contracts, service agreements handbooks, settlement agreements, consultancy agreements etc. Emily has successfully supported clients through large-scale redundancy and TUPE processes. She has both supported and led on numerous employment tribunal litigation matters. Emily also has immigration expertise, supporting employers in the movement of their workforce around the world. Emily often works with the <a href="/expertise/transactions/corporate-financing/">Corporate</a> and Commercial teams, in particular providing employment input on M&A deals and outsourcing agreements. Some of Emily’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Co-ordinating an international project for a multinational media company, which involved obtaining employment law advice in over 50 jurisdictions.</li> <li>Advising on the employment aspects of WPP’s acquisition of Satalia, the global leader in enterprise AI.</li> <li>Supporting on a cross-jurisdictional collective redundancy process for a retail business involving around 15 different sites.</li> <li>Advising on the employment aspects of Dutch private equity group Waterland’s acquisition and re-organisation of the Priory Group, which involved over 21,000 employees.</li> <li>Supporting a client in the tech sector to carry out a TUPE transfer of around 150 employees and a collective redundancy process, which resulted in around 50 dismissals.</li> </ul> Emily has undertaken three client secondments, the most recent involving supporting an international technology business in carrying out a TUPE transfer and collective redundancy process. Emily has an interest in the employment law implications of artificial intelligence and often writes and speaks on this topic. Emily is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and Industrial Law Society.

Emily AtkinsonAssociate - Employment & immigration

Emily advises employers on all areas of employment law, including contentious and non-contentious matters. Emily’s practice covers a variety of sectors with a particular focus on life sciences and technology. Her work frequently has an international element.

Georgia AustinTrainee Solicitor

Georgia is a Trainee Solicitor and is part of the competition team.

Hafsa BabarTrainee Solicitor

Hafsa is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the commercial IP/IT team.

Greg’s extensive scientific background gives him a valuable understanding of technical issues that can underlie IP matters, particularly in the life sciences field. For almost 20 years, he has advised and represented clients on small molecule pharmaceuticals, biologics (originators and biosimilars), biomanufacturing, medical devices (hardware and software), as well as in the chemicals, cosmetics, food, shipping and online publishing sectors. Greg has represented clients in many patent cases before both the English High Court (including Patents Court) and Court of Appeal. In addition, Greg has extensive experience of strategic multinational litigation in multiple jurisdictions, including at the EPO, through global pharmaceutical product coordination projects for many clients. He is also an Authorised Representative handling cases before the UPC. <ul> <li>In the UPC, Greg was part of team of internationally recognised lawyers that represented Novartis in the defence of a DNI action instigated in the Central Division (Milan) by Accord in relation to patents to Tasigna® (nilotinib).</li> <li>Winnow v Orbisk – representing patentee Winnow in UPC proceedings before the Local Division (The Hague) concerning commercial food waste management solutions.</li> <li>DSM v Mara Renewables & Algal Omega 3 – Patents Court litigation concerning omega-3 microbial oils, and processes for their manufacture. Mara successfully revoked 2 of the 3 patents in suit, clearing the way to continue manufacture and sale of its products.</li> <li>Novartis v Teva & Ors – Patents Court and Court of Appeal litigation concerning dosage regime patent for client’s blockbuster fingolimod product (Gilenya®), including ground-breaking application for interim injunctive relief pre-patent grant and significant decisions on the availability of Arrow declarations for use in foreign proceedings.</li> <li>Otsuka v GW Pharma – IP licence dispute relating to client’s Epidiolex®/Epidyolex® cannabidiol (CBD) treatment for epilepsy.</li> <li>Lilly v Novartis; UCB v Novartis – acting for Novartis in relation to global enforcement of IL-17AF antibody patent portfolio against IL-17 antibody products Taltz® and Bimzelx®.</li> <li>Parainen Pearl Shipping v Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi – case on exhaustion of patent rights in a pneumatic cement discharge system for a ship, including a pan-European jurisdiction challenge.</li> <li>Novartis v Focus, Actavis & Teva – Patents Court and Court of Appeal patent litigation concerning transdermal dosage regime patent for rivastigmine (Exelon®), including global coordination of parallel litigation and EPO opposition.</li> <li>Orion v SS for Health and Social Care & Ever Neuro – judicial review challenge to decision of MHRA to grant generic marketing authorisation for dexmedetomidine hydrochloride, involving question of whether pre-accession Czech MA was compatible with Directive 2001/83/EC and thus the first MA for the purposes of calculating the term of data exclusivity.</li> <li>Celltrion v Biogen, Roche & Genentech – clearing the way revocation action in the Patents Court in relation to biosimilar rituximab product (MabThera®).</li> <li>Merck Serono v AbbVie – clearing the way revocation action in the Patents Court in relation to biosimilar adalimumab product (Humira®).</li> <li>ConvaTec v Smith & Nephew – long-running case in the Patents Court and Court of Appeal concerning patents and claims to misuse of confidential information in relation to gel-forming wound dressings (Durafiber®), and subsequent damages claim under a cross-undertaking.</li> <li>Allergan v Ipsen – patent litigation in the Patents Court on second medical use patents to botulinum toxin (Dysport®).</li> <li>Servier v National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) – successful judicial review of NICE decision not to recommend a client’s osteoporosis treatment (Protelos®).</li> </ul> He has also spent time on secondment to the IP litigation department of a leading IP law firm in the Netherlands as well as the UK legal department of a global healthcare IT company, working on non-contentious IP/IT, regulatory and commercial matters. Greg is a member of AIPPI (Association for Protection of Intellectual Property) and EPLAW (European Patent Lawyers Association), and is a regular speaker at international conferences on UK and international patent litigation, including the UPC.

Gregory BaconPartner - Patent litigation

Greg is an experienced IP lawyer with a particular focus on patent litigation in the life sciences sector, handling cases both in the UK and across multiple jurisdictions.

Victoria BaronSenior Associate - Defamation & privacy disputes

Victoria specialises in contentious media and data protection matters. She primarily acts for technology and media companies in relation to disputes concerning content, with a particular emphasis on privacy, data protection and defamation.

James BatsfordAssociate – Competition and Antitrust

James completed training in September 2020 and is now working in the competition team.

Camille BeckmannTrainee Solicitor

Camille is a trainee solicitor and is currently working in the patent litigation team.

Drishi R BeeharrySenior Associate - Corporate & financing

Drishi is a Senior Associate in the corporate & tax team at Bristows and advises domestic and international clients on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and general corporate matters.

Cassie joined Bristows as an Associate in the <a href="/expertise/litigation-dispute-resolution/patent-litigation/">patent litigation</a> team in January 2024, where she works on matters in both the <a href="/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a> and <a href="/expertise/sectors/life-sciences/">life sciences</a> sectors. She has enjoyed a diverse range of UK litigation experience since joining Bristows, spanning from acting in <a href="/expertise/litigation-dispute-resolution/sep-frand-disputes/">SEP/FRAND</a> litigation on behalf of a multinational electronics company, to defending a client in a patent litigation dispute concerning omega-3 microbial oils. Cassie is a keen litigator and really enjoys working on cases with clients, and technologies, in both the life sciences and tech sectors. Cassie’s work on UK SEP/FRAND litigation to date has had a comparable licensing focus, and she has been involved in both licensing expert and factual evidence aspects of this litigation. Cassie’s work on a recent UK life sciences case has focused on refuting allegations of patent infringement and the respective counterclaims for patent invalidity. As well as UK litigation, Cassie also advises a client in the beverage industry on its freedom to operate projects for new drinking vessels. Cassie also has a keen interest in the patent litigation landscape in other jurisdictions, and regularly drafts weekly update articles for Bristows’ Irides programme. She has acted for clients spanning across a range of sectors, including telecommunications, aerospace and travel. Some of Cassie’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Panasonic v Xiaomi and OPPO – advising Panasonic in proceedings relating to LTE SEPs, FRAND, patent infringement and validity.</li> <li>DSM v Mara Renewables & Algal Omega 3 – Patents Court litigation concerning omega-3 microbial oils, and processes for their manufacture.</li> </ul> Prior to joining Bristows, Cassie trained and qualified at a leading international law firm where she worked on matters across a broad range of intellectual property rights, and has experience in copyright, trade marks and patents. During her training contract, Cassie also gained experience in a wide range of other practice areas, including commercial litigation. Cassie is passionate about inclusion and sustainability initiatives, and has had roles on the committees of inclusion networks, and has run environmental programmes for undergraduate students at her previous firm.

Cassie BlackburnAssociate – Patent litigation

Cassie is a patent litigation specialist, working on matters in both the technology and life sciences sectors. She has a diverse range of UK litigation experience, spanning from acting in SEP/FRAND litigation on behalf of a multinational electronics company, to defending a client in a patent litigation dispute concerning omega-3 microbial oils.

Nadine specialises in patent litigation and has advised on a range of complex disputes encompassing a variety of different subject matters. Nadine’s background in physics makes her particularly suited to work in the technology, telecommunications and engineering sectors. Her experience includes both patent infringement and validity work in a number of fields, ranging from consumer products to standard essential patents (SEPs), as well as FRAND and licence disputes. Nadine also has a lot of experience coordinating multi-jurisdictional actions in terms of both technical and strategic coordination for national and UPC claims. Some of Nadine’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Philips v HTC/ASUS; Philips v TCL; Philips v Xiaomi; Philips v Oppo – coordinating and preparing technical SEP cases (telecoms) and FRAND cases for trial, defending jurisdiction challenges, obtaining AASI relief, and defending a claim to a licence defence.</li> <li>Network System Technologies v Texas Instruments – acting for Texas Instruments in a patent revocation claim in the UK and coordinating on the parallel UPC action.</li> <li>Prysmian v Sterlite – acting for Prysmian in a patent infringement and validity dispute relating to fibre optic cables. The action settled before trial.</li> <li>Fisher & Paykel v ResMed – acting for ResMed in a patent infringement and validity action relating to medical devices, in particular, mechanical features of sleep apnoea masks.</li> <li>Garmin v Philips – acting for Philips to defend a patent revocation claim and counterclaim for infringement in relation to GPS activity tracking devices.</li> <li>Unwired Planet v Samsung – acting for Samsung in one of the technical SEP trials (telecoms).</li> <li>Good Technology v MobileIron – acting for MobileIron to defend an infringement action and bring a revocation counterclaim in respect of two patents relating to computer security and data management. The action settled before trial.</li> </ul> Nadine also has in-house experience, having been on secondment to the in-house legal department of a prominent internet services company where she assisted on commercial and litigation matters. Nadine has a good command of German and in 2016 spent three months on secondment at a leading IP law firm in Germany.

Nadine BleachSenior Associate – Patent litigation

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 technical fields.

Jeremy is a leading trade mark, <a href="/expertise/litigation-dispute-resolution/brands-designs-copyright/">copyright and design</a> litigator and is described as “an incredible practitioner and a brilliant litigation strategist”. He regularly leads large teams in high value IP litigation. Jeremy’s practice covers clients who are household names in all sectors ranging from luxury goods, <a href="/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a>, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and professional services. Jeremy has acted in some of the leading cases that have developed intellectual property law such as: <ul> <li>L’Oreal v eBay which concerned the liability of online e-commerce platforms and was the first case to consider injunctions against non-infringing intermediaries.</li> <li>Cadbury v Nestle which concerned the registrability of the shape of a four fingered KitKat chocolate bar.</li> <li>Glaxo v Sandoz concerning the colour and shape of an asthma inhaler for passing off.</li> <li>Swatch v Samsung (Court of Appeal) where Jeremy acted as co-counsel in the appeal relating to the scope of the e-Commerce Defence for a platform.</li> </ul> Though many of his clients are claimants, Jeremy has been part of the team that has made Bristows one of the UK’s leading IP defence firms having defended Vectura, Fidelis, Verweij Fashion, YouView and BDO Unibank in full trials before the High Court. More recently Jeremy has acted for: <ul> <li>Newmark (part of Cantor Fitzgerald) in a novel declaration of non-passing off action to ensure continued use of the name in the UK which was stayed shortly before a 12 day trial (Claim IP- 2022-0000115).</li> <li>Delvaux, the luxury leather goods company in a passing off claim against Longchamp (Claim IP- 2023- 000098).</li> <li>Glebe Farm in the widely publicised trade mark infringement and passing off claim brought by Oatly AB.</li> <li>Muzmatch in the widely publicised trade mark infringement and passing off claim brought by Match.com.</li> <li>Heineken in a claim relating to an alcohol free beer.</li> </ul> Jeremy has extensive experience in seeking or defending interim relief applications and has successfully obtained interim injunctions, seizure orders and Norwich Pharmacal orders (requiring a third party to disclose details of an alleged infringer) for luxury goods clients. Jeremy also has extensive registered design, unregistered design and copyright litigation experience for a diverse range of products ranging from tech services, luxury jewellery and fashion, pharmaceutical products and consumer goods. From acting in cases about the liability of platforms, Jeremy has a specialism in strategies to combat IP infringement in the digital world as well as advising about the potential liability of technology platforms. Jeremy was past Chair of the MARQUES Dispute Resolution committee and is a member of various INTA committees.

Jeremy BlumPartner - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Jeremy is a leading IP specialist and has advised on many high profile contentious cases involving trade marks, copyright, designs, and confidential information. He has a wealth of IP litigation experience gained during his more than 20 year career. He is dual qualified so acts before the UK courts and also EU institutions such as the EUIPO, General Court and CJEU.

Edwin BondSenior Associate – Competition and Antitrust

Edwin works with businesses in the technology, pharmaceutical and consumer goods sectors on both contentious and non-contentious matters, and has particular experience of advising on the complex issues arising where competition law and IP law intersect.

James specialises in patent litigation. He is “technically very insightful” (Chambers 2024) and leaves “a very positive impact” on clients (JUVE 2024). James’ doctorate in optoelectronics and general background in physics provides him with a firm understanding of highly technical issues. He is experienced in working with a diverse range of technical subject matter from mobile telecommunications, human computer interaction, and data storage to immunoassay techniques and pharmaceuticals. He has been at the cutting edge of standard essential patent and FRAND disputes for more than 20 years. His work in this field has spanned four generations of telecommunications technology: 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G, and has led to successful outcomes for both SEP holders and implementers. James was closely involved with preparations for the UPC and led a team in our well publicised UPC Moot designed to stress test the UPC procedures in a real-time framework. He has recently been involved in co-ordinating proceedings across the US, UK, Germany and the UPC. The cases below illustrate James’ impressive track record in achieving positive outcomes for his clients by commercial settlement or judgment of the court. <ul> <li>Texas Instruments v Network System Technologies – acting for Texas Instruments in the revocation of patents relating to network-on-a-chip technology. Co-ordinating with proceedings brought by NST in the UPC on the same patent families.</li> <li>Philips v ASUS and HTC, Philips v TCL, Philips v Xiaomi, and Philips v Oppo – acting for Philips in a series of separate patent infringement claims on standard essential telecommunications technology (3G, 4G and 5G) and FRAND related issues. Successfully defending a preliminary pass-through licence issue; upholding two standard essential telecommunications patents as valid and infringed; defending jurisdiction challenges, and obtaining anti-anti suit relief. Cross-examining the other side’s expert witness in Philips v Xiaomi. Co-ordinating with proceedings in Germany, the Netherlands, France and India. In each case, proceedings settled shortly before the FRAND determination.</li> <li>Unwired Planet v Huawei, Samsung and Google – acting for Samsung and Google on patent infringement claims for standard essential, and non-essential, telecommunications patents and FRAND issues. Both Samsung and Google settled prior to the FRAND determination.</li> <li>IPCom v HTC – acting for IPCom on standard essential patent infringement claims and FRAND issues. Successfully upholding a standard essential patent on random access as valid and infringed.</li> <li>EMGS v PGS – defending a patent infringement claim relating to electromagnetic survey techniques for oil and gas. Acting as co-counsel in parallel Norwegian proceedings, cross examining technical witnesses in the Oslo City Court and successfully invalidating the patent. The dispute settled following the trial in the English Patents Court, but prior to judgment.</li> <li>Philips v Nintendo – acting for Philips in its successful claim for patent infringement on human computer interaction and computer vision technology relating to the Wii remote.</li> <li>Philips v Garmin – acting for Philips on wearable fitness tracking technology. Defending a revocation claim on the amended form of the patent and successfully bringing an infringement counterclaim.</li> <li>Pratt & Whitney v Rolls Royce – acting for Pratt & Whitney in patent infringement proceedings on swept fan blade technology. The dispute settled prior to trial in the Patents Court.</li> <li>Aerotel v Telco – acting for Aerotel in relation to a patent infringement claim relating to a telecommunication system. Successful on appeal: reversing a first instance summary judgment decision on the grounds of lack of patentability, establishing the Aerotel test used for patentability of computer related inventions.</li> <li>Affymetrix v Multilyte – acting for Affymetrix in the successful revocation of immunoassay patents held by Multilyte.</li> </ul> James has taken on the role of advocate in the English Patents Court and in the Norwegian Oslo City Court. In addition to patent and FRAND issues, his work on standard essential patents has involved contractual disputes, issues of foreign law, jurisdiction challenges and anti-suit relief. He has successfully defended multiple jurisdiction challenges and obtained pre-emptive anti-anti suit relief on an ex parte basis. He is experienced in coordinating parallel litigation in Europe, North America and Asia. James is a qualified Solicitor-Advocate with full rights of audience before all of the UK’s civil courts. He is a member of AIPPI and CIPA. James is part of the Mindful Business Charter taskforce that drafted the MBC guidance on the conduct of litigation and dispute resolution.

James BoonPartner – Patent litigation

James specialises in patent litigation with a particular focus on high tech disputes. He has more than 20 years of experience litigating standard essential patents and dealing with issues relating to FRAND.

Xisca BorrásPartner - Life sciences regulatory

Xisca is a dual-qualified lawyer in England & Wales and Spain who specialises in all aspects of EU and UK regulatory law in the biopharmaceutical and medical technologies sectors.

Kallie BothaTrainee Solicitor

Kallie is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the Real Estate team.

“Andrew Bowler is great to work with. He is very smart and combines a comprehensive understanding of the case detail with an impressive strategic awareness. His judgement and advice on matters of strategy are invariably spot on.” (Legal 500 2025) Andy is joint head of the patent litigation department. Andy has considerable experience of representing high profile clients in patent disputes across a wide range of technologies, including complex mechanical and FMCG products, pharmaceuticals, mobile phones (including FRAND), automotives, electronics and medical devices. He has conducted several successful mediations of patent disputes and regularly provides freedom to operate and validity opinions. He is frequently asked by clients to coordinate cross-border litigation around the World. Andy has acted in many leading cases over recent years, including: <ul> <li>Conversant v ZTE in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court (acting for ZTE).</li> <li>Teva v Bayer in the High Court and Court of Appeal (acting for Teva).</li> <li>Siemens Gamesa v GE; GE v Siemens Gamesa in the High Court (acting for Siemens Gamesa).</li> <li>Unwired Planet v Samsung in the High Court (acting for Samsung).</li> <li>Heineken v Anheuser–Busch (acting for Heineken).</li> <li>Wobben v Siemens Wind Power in the High Court and Court of Appeal (acting for Siemens).</li> <li>Sandvik v Kennametal in the High Court (acting for Kennametal).</li> <li>Jushi v OCV in the Court of Appeal (acting for Jushi).</li> <li>Alcon Pharmaceuticals v Pharmathen in the High Court (acting for Alcon).</li> <li>Allergan v Ipsen (acting for Ipsen).</li> <li>BAE v Thales (acting for Thales).</li> <li>Siemens v Seagate in the Belfast High Court (acting for Siemens).</li> </ul> Andy has experience of making discovery applications to UK courts pursuant to letters of request/letters rogatory issued by foreign courts. He also has an interest in cases involving misappropriation of trade secrets, and in arbitrations. Andy is frequently asked to comment and lecture on IP issues and is a regular speaker at international conferences on strategic considerations for European and international patent litigation. He regularly provides comments to the national press on intellectual property issues. He is on the Lexis Nexis IP & IT Editorial Board.

Andrew BowlerPartner - Patent litigation

Andy Bowler is an IP litigator with 25 years’ experience. He is joint head of patent litigation. Andy acts for a range of leading companies across different sectors. In addition to UK litigation (including in the Supreme Court) and related advisory work, he is commonly called upon to coordinate patent litigation round the world.

Sean-Paul is dual English and Belgian qualified and has over 25 years of EU and UK competition law experience as both an advisor and an enforcer. His practice covers complex advisory work, merger control and competition litigation. Sean-Paul has extensive experience counselling clients in relation to the interaction between IP and competition law and issues arising in relation to potential dominance. He has been involved in contentious matters before the European Commission and UK authorities, has litigated cases before the European Community courts in Luxembourg, the UK Competition Appeals Tribunal and national courts in the UK and elsewhere. He has significant experience in a range of industry sectors including pharmaceuticals, food and FMCG, and financial services. Recent matters include: <ul> <li>Obtaining Phase 1 UK merger clearance under a fast-track procedure for the acquisition by a leading pharmacy chain of a competing business, including successfully negotiating cut-down hold separate obligations (excluding upstream wholesale activities) and multiple local divestments under UiL.</li> <li>Obtaining Phase 1 UK merger clearance for the acquisition by a manufacturer with a 90% market share of a company identified as the most likely entrant.</li> <li>Representing clients in the European Courts in relation to pay-for-delay patent settlements.</li> <li>Advising an online platform in relation to its defence of a CMA investigation involving RPM allegations, resulting in no fines being imposed.</li> <li>Advising a leading European supplier of financial services in relation to its successful defence of refusal to supply and price squeezing allegations.</li> <li>Advising the leading supplier of trading terminals across a range of licensing, pricing and supply issues.</li> <li>Advising a globally leading supplier of display technology in relation to licensing and distribution issues.</li> <li>Advising a globally leading gemstone producer on data sharing arrangements relating to a block chain technology platform.</li> </ul> Sean-Paul is a former Legal Director at the Office of Fair Trading, where he was the lead legal advisor to the mergers unit and the head of internal scrutiny.

Sean-Paul BrankinOf Counsel – Competition and Antitrust

Sean-Paul has over 25 years of experience as a competition law advisor and enforcer. His practice covers complex advisory work, merger control and competition litigation. Clients say he provides “very practical, commercial advice ” and is “very punctual and precise”.

Sophie advises clients on a range of patent litigation issues relating to the enforcement and validity of patents and supplementary protection certificates, primarily across the life sciences sector for both originators and generics. Sophie’s scientific background gives her a valuable understanding of technical issues underlying patent issues. Sophie joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in August 2019, having completed a BSc in Natural Sciences (organic chemistry and pharmacology) at UCL. Sophie has experience litigating in the UK High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as working on multi-jurisdiction coordination for pharmaceutical patent holders, providing strategic advice to clients and forming strong relationships with local counsel. More recently, Sophie has gained invaluable experience advising on a UPC case, working closely with local counsel in other European jurisdictions. In addition to active litigation, Sophie also regularly advises on freedom-to-operate projects, patent infringement and validity analysis, and offensive/defensive patent strategies. Some of Sophie’s work highlights include: <ul> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335551500":10057,"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1">Sandoz v BMS – Acting for a generic client on two cases in the UK High Court and Court of Appeal concerning the validity of the compound and formulation patents for a blockbuster anticoagulant.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335551500":10057,"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1">Otsuka v GW Pharma – IP licence dispute relating to client’s Epidiolex®/Epidyolex® cannabidiol (CBD) treatment for epilepsy.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335551500":10057,"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="3" data-aria-level="1">Coordinating multinational patent litigation strategies for blockbuster pharmaceutical products in Europe, Asia and North America.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-leveltext="" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="2" data-list-defn-props="{"335551500":10057,"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="4" data-aria-level="1">As a trainee, Sophie was involved in litigation in the High Court, including working on Alcon v Aspire & Accord (Patents Court) and assisting on a case for Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA in patent infringement and revocation proceedings in relation to its market leading inhaler formulation Fostair against several generics.</li> </ul> During her training, Sophie also spent three months in the International Litigation team at a leading internet services/technology company.

Sophie BrittonAssociate - Patent litigation

Sophie advises clients on a range of patent litigation issues relating to the enforcement and validity of patents and supplementary protection certificates, primarily across the life sciences sector for both originators and generics.

Francion has significant experience of competition litigation, including cases involving a cross-over with IP law. She has over 10 years’ experience of acting in FRAND cases for the likes of Samsung, Philips and Panasonic, with a particular focus on the competition law and economic valuation aspects of those cases. Francion also frequently advises on merger control and interactions with the CMA including investigations, market studies and third party RFIs. She has a particular interest in the new digital markets competition regime (under the DMCC Act) which establishes new powers for the CMA to regulate big tech firms in the UK. Francion’s practice also involves advising clients on complex agreements and behavioural issues across all sectors. This includes issues arising from the cross-over with IP law for which many of her clients are in high technology sectors including tech and life sciences. Francion has a background in Mathematics and Competition Economics making her well placed to advise on complex competition law issues. Some of Francion’s recent experience includes: <ul> <li>Acting for Panasonic in UK litigation seeking a FRAND licence.</li> <li>Acting for Philips in UK litigation seeking a FRAND licence.</li> <li>Advising Bestway on its acquisition of the UK pharmacy wholesale and retail business of Lexon, one of the fastest Phase 1 clearance decisions before the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).</li> <li>Leading on the competition law defence for a Japanese pharmaceutical company in an arbitration in connection with the development and subsequent commercialisation of a blockbuster monoclonal antibody therapeutic.</li> <li>Assisting an animal medicines manufacturer with the CMA’s market investigation into the veterinary sector.</li> <li>Working at the CMA (on secondment) to develop the new Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order (VABEO).</li> </ul> Francion has spent time on secondment at the CMA, Google and at the antitrust teams of two Chinese law firms. She is the resident lawyer for the British Brands Group’s competition law compliance training programme.

Francion BrooksSenior Associate – Competition and Antitrust

Francion has broad competition law experience including competition litigation, merger control (UK and multi-jurisdictional) and anti-trust investigations. She also advises companies on market dominance, and commercial arrangements such as distribution, R&D and licensing.

Mark has approaching 30 years’ experience handling complex contract and tort disputes at all levels of the English courts and in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations. Mark’s clients include corporations operating in industry sectors including <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/life-sciences/">life sciences</a>/pharma, information <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a> and digital media. He is highly experienced in both court litigation and arbitration, as well as managing and resolving commercial disputes before they reach court or an arbitral tribunal. Mark’s disputes expertise in the life sciences sector runs across a variety of sector-specific contracts relating to IP-rich assets and highly technical subject matter, ranging from licences and collaboration agreements to supply and distribution contracts. He also experienced in product liability and misuse of confidential information disputes. His clients include several household name pharmaceutical companies. Mark’s life sciences experience includes: <ul> <li>Representing a pharma company in a licence royalties claim for the development of a monoclonal antibody blockbuster drug.</li> <li>Acting for a pharma company in a contested termination of a contract for the manufacture and supply of a licensed active pharmaceutical ingredient and failure to comply with “reasonable endeavours” obligations under a licence, development and commercialisation contract.</li> <li>Representing a pharma company in a claim against a CMO for breaches of a technical quality agreement and GMP guidelines for out-of-specification API batches.</li> <li>Advising a biotech company concerning breaches of work orders under a master services agreement for the conduct of clinical trials.</li> <li>Acting for a pharma company in a claim of misuse of confidential information relating to the formula of an active pharmaceutical ingredient.</li> </ul> Mark’s tech, media and telecoms experience includes: <ul> <li>Representing global advertising and media company, WPP, in a dispute over breaches of a share purchase agreement concerning a cutting-edge programmatic platform placing £billions worth of digital advertising annually.</li> <li>Representing the UK’s telecoms regulator Ofcom to enforce regulatory fines for breaches of the Broadcasting Code.</li> <li>Acting for leading gaming developer/publisher, Activision Blizzard, in obtaining first English court injunction restraining the use of “cheats” and “bots” in the digital gaming environment.</li> <li>Acting for leading telecoms and cloud communications company in a wrongful termination contract dispute with the principal Algerian mobile network operator relating to an MSA for connecting international application-to-person messaging.</li> </ul> Mark runs Bristows’ Groupe Juridique Francophone, which provides a full range of legal services to French and Francophone companies with commercial interests in the UK. He speaks fluent French and Italian. Mark is a member of The Association for International Arbitration.

Mark BrownPartner – Commercial disputes

Mark is a partner in Bristows’ commercial disputes team. He handles complex contract and tort disputes at all levels of the English courts and in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations. He also coordinates parallel proceedings in overseas jurisdictions.

Rob is joint head of the patent litigation department. He has a PhD in molecular genetics, over 20 years of litigation experience, and is particularly active on litigation matters for clients within the life sciences sector. Such matters often require the coordination of parallel proceedings in the UK, EPO and other jurisdictions within Europe (including at the UPC) and elsewhere in the world. He therefore has in-depth knowledge of European litigation and, alongside appearing for clients in the High Court and Court of Appeal, has attended preliminary injunction and main action proceedings in multiple countries within Europe and overseen inspections of pharmaceutical manufacturing processes in India and Japan. Rob also has first-hand experience of SPC proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union. Rob’s leading cases include: <ul> <li>Teva v Bayer – Revocation proceedings in the UK, and coordination of parallel proceedings across Europe, in respect of patents for a cancer treatment.</li> <li>Teva v Janssen – Defence of SPC revocation proceedings in the UK in respect of Arts 3(c) and 3(d) SPC Regulation and a treatment for schizophrenia.</li> <li>Regeneron & Teva v Rinat – Revocation proceedings in the UK (and the EPO) in respect of patents for antibodies for the treatment of osteoarthritis.</li> <li>GSK v Vectura – Defence of patent revocation proceedings and Arrow declaratory relief in respect of drug particles for inhalation formulations.</li> <li>Sandoz v Searle (Janssen) – Defence of SPC revocation proceedings in respect of Art 3(a) SPC Regulation and a treatment for HIV. Includes a reference from the Court of Appeal to the CJEU.</li> <li>Merck Sharp & Dohme v Shionogi – Defence of patent revocation proceedings in respect of Markush claims and a treatment for HIV.</li> <li>Generics (UK) v Novartis – Defence of patent and SPC revocation proceedings in the UK, and coordination of parallel proceedings across Europe, in respect of a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.</li> <li>Actavis v Novartis – Defence of patent revocation proceedings in the UK, and coordination of parallel proceedings across Europe, in respect of a formulation patent for a cholesterol-reducing agent.</li> <li>AstraZeneca v Krka – Damages enquiry following preliminary injunction and patent infringement proceedings.</li> <li>Lundbeck v Lagap – Defence of patent infringement proceedings. Included inspection of pharmaceutical production process in India.</li> </ul> Alongside his patent litigation practice, Rob also advises on other IP rights and is one of a small number of lawyers who have acted in matters concerning plant variety rights – such experience extends to enforcement, contractual disputes and compulsory licensing. In addition, Rob regularly assists clients with freedom to operate opinions and due diligence on the intellectual property aspects of commercial transactions. Rob is one of the founding editors of Bristows’ Biotech Review publication. Rob is a member of EPLAW, CIPA and a regular participant at the IPLA.

Robert BurrowsPartner – Patent litigation

Rob is joint head of patent litigation. He has a PhD in molecular genetics and over 20 years’ experience acting for a broad range of companies in the life sciences sector.

Katie has a wealth of experience in advising on and litigating patents and supplementary protection certificates within the life sciences sector. She has worked on patent enforcement and validity matters for clients involving small molecule pharmaceuticals as well as biologics and medical devices. Katie’s litigation work has seen her advising clients on cases before the High Court and Court of Appeal as well as at the CJEU. More recently she was part of a team of internationally recognised lawyers advising on the first DNI action at the UPC. Throughout her career Katie has also assisted clients on litigation co-ordination projects, in which she manages IP litigation in a range of jurisdictions. She regularly works alongside lawyers and patent attorneys in other jurisdictions in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Katie is a key contributor to the annual review of patent cases which is published annually in the CIPA journal. She is also co-editor of the Bristows Biotech Review of the Year. Examples of Katie’s work include: <ul> <li>Dr Hill v Touchlight Genetics Limited (and others) – Acted for Touchlight in the successful defence of an entitlement challenge in the English Patents Court in relation to patents for in vitro synthesis of DNA.</li> <li>Lupin Healthcare Limited v Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA and Teva UK Limited v Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA – Acted for Chiesi in defence and enforcement of formulation and use patent rights relating to Foster, a respiratory medicine.</li> <li>Glaxo Group Ltd & Ors v Vectura Limited – Acted for Vectura in defence and enforcement of formulation patents relating to inhalable medicines.</li> <li>Teva UK Limited & another v Novartis Pharma AG & another – Acted for Novartis in relation to its patent for a second medical use. Leading in the coordination of this action with parallel actions in other European countries.</li> <li>Defending a revocation action brought against the paediatric extension to the SPC for imatinib (Teva v Novartis). Coordination of this defence with the parallel actions in other European countries.</li> <li>Acting for Smith & Nephew in disputes relating to their Durafiber and Durafiber Ag products.</li> </ul>

Katie CambrookOf Counsel - Patent litigation

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

Rachael CartwrightSenior Associate - Patent litigation

Rachael is a senior associate in IP litigation and works with clients in the pharmaceutical and technology sectors.

Miranda CassPartner - Tax

Miranda is the current Senior Partner of the firm and has been advising a broad range of clients on corporate tax issues for over 30 years.

Theresa CastleSenior Associate - Brands, design & copyright

Theresa joined our trade mark, design & copyright team as a Senior Associate (Trade Mark Attorney) on 22 April 2025.

Luca CericolaAssociate - Commercial & IP transactions

Luca is an Associate in the Commercial & IP transactions team. He advises clients on a range of non-contentious IP matters, with a particular focus on transactions in the life sciences sector that involve the development, exploitation and transfer of IP rights.

Adrian ChewPartner – Patent litigation

Adrian has over a decade of experience assisting multi-national pharmaceutical clients with patent disputes in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors.

Fariha ChowdhuryTrainee Solicitor

Fariha is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the CTC disputes team. Fariha completed her LLB in Law at Queen Mary University of London.

Simon ClarkPartner - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Simon specialises in copyright and design rights, database rights, trade marks, passing off, domain names and breach of confidence.

Julia CockroftPartner - Tax

Julia is a partner in the tax team advising on a range of corporate and real estate tax matters.

“Liz Cohen is excellent. She is incredibly commercially astute, very good at anticipating the opposing party’s plans and coming up with strategies” Liz’s background in natural sciences provides her with an excellent understanding of the technical and commercial issues facing those operating in the life sciences industry. With over 25 years’ experience, and known for her commercial savvy and technical polish, she is a sought after adviser for pharmaceutical, biotech and medical devices companies alike. Liz has represented companies in the life sciences industry in patent matters in the English Courts all the way up to the Supreme Court. With her extensive experience of coordinating cross-border litigation within Europe, and her knowledge of jurisdictional strategy and procedure, Liz is also a key member of our team of English and European qualified IP specialists regularly advising clients on their approach to, and participation in, the Unified Patent Court. She has developed her high profile and expertise by working for leading companies in the sector including: <ul> <li>Representing Les Laboratoires Servier in patent infringement and revocation proceedings where she used her Higher Rights advocacy qualification to secure an interim injunction at short notice in relation to Servier’s ACE inhibitor Perindopril market. She took this matter all the way to the Supreme Court and a subsequent damages enquiry in the UK.</li> <li>Representing Smith & Nephew Plc in patent infringement and revocation proceedings in relation to technology in its antimicrobial wound management devices resulting in several appeals including to the Supreme Court, a case recognised for its significance by The Lawyer Awards winning Liz and her team TMT team of the year.</li> <li>Representing Fresenius Kabi in patent litigation proceedings in relation to its patents for biosimilars of Adalimumab.</li> <li>Representing Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA in patent infringement and revocation proceedings in relation to its market leading inhaler formulation Fostair against several generics.</li> </ul> Liz is qualified as a solicitor advocate, a qualification that gives her full rights of audience in civil court cases enabling her to represent her clients in court without the need to instruct a barrister. Liz is a member of CIPA, EPLAW and EPLIT. She is also an established Tutor and Examiner on the Post Graduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law & Practice at Oxford University (invitation only).

Liz CohenPartner - Patent litigation

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.

Liz CohenPartner

Ben ColemanSenior Associate - Commercial disputes

Ben is a senior associate specialising in commercial dispute resolution. He advises businesses across a range of sectors in connection with disputes and litigation with contractual counterparties and other third parties, particularly in technology and related industries.

Anna has more than 25 years’ experience in commercial disputes, particularly disputes arising from technology contracts, including: <ul> <li>leading the teams in some of the largest IT and outsourcing disputes, including two leading cases, <a href="https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2010/3276.html">De Beers -v- Atos Origin</a> and <a href="https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2024/1185.html">Tata Consultancy Services v Disclosure and Barring Service</a>; </li> <li>advising both vendors and customers about managing change and how to rescue a “troubled project”, including the handling of contentious issues arising from delay, payment obligations and the availability of contractual remedies;</li> <li>addressing issues and risks relating to the licensing of technology, the enforcement of software audit rights, copyright infringement, misuse of confidential information and the availability of injunctive relief and other remedies; and</li> <li>advising technology clients about risk and commercial options, how to improve difficult relationships (especially long-term contracts), how to navigate legal structures and how to achieve negotiated solutions.</li> </ul> Anna’s expertise includes litigation in the High Court and Court of Appeal as well as mediation, expert determination and adjudication. She also has extensive experience in international arbitration. Anna’s recent experience includes: <ul> <li>Leading the large team acting for the DBS in <a href="https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2024/1185.html">Tata Consultancy Services v Disclosure and Barring Service.</a> This case was identified by The Lawyer as one of the Top 20 cases of 2023 and the judgment revolves around key issues affecting many IT projects, such as delay, limitation and exclusion clauses and other remedies.</li> <li>Acting for CityFibre in <a href="https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Comm/2024/1694.html">CityFibre Limited v GCI Network Solutions Limited</a>, a dispute about the interpretation of a contract and obligations of cooperation.</li> <li>Acting for a software vendor in respect of a portfolio of cases involving breaches of its reseller agreements and instances of software infringement, including the enforcement of audit rights.</li> <li>Advising various telecoms clients in respect of disputes about infrastructure projects, contracts for the promotion of services, rights of access and wayleave agreements and the termination of contracts for the supply of goods and services.</li> <li>Acting for publishers and advertisers in respect of various adtech disputes including claims about commissions, the reliability of algorithms and Vickrey auctions, referral marketing and affiliate programs and disputes about the quality and availability of services.</li> <li>Acting for technology vendors in two international arbitrations relating to the misuse of software and the circumvention of software/technical protections, including enforcement proceedings in various jurisdictions.</li> <li>Acting for various financial institutions in respect of claims by software vendors that legacy software was being misused, including disputes about audit, the virtualisation of hardware and “direct and indirect” usage.</li> </ul> Anna has long-standing experience in retail, logistics, supply chains and distribution contracts, both in the context of disputes, technology projects and also to advise clients about the “end-to-end” risks and commercial considerations.

Anna CookPartner – Commercial disputes

Anna Cook is the head of the commercial disputes team. She specialises in software, telecoms and technology disputes, such as disputes involving contracts for software and systems, outsourcing, software infringements, product licensing, confidentiality and the marketing and distribution of products and services.

“Brian is the best: he’s really experienced and knows the life sciences patent litigation sector inside-out.” (Chambers UK 2025) Since qualifying at Bristows in 1996, Brian’s focus has been on intellectual property dispute resolution. From the start of his career, Brian has been instructed by some of the world’s leading healthcare companies to defend and enforce the patents for their most successful products. With almost three decades of dedication to this area, there is hardly an argument or issue that Brian has not encountered. Since 2005, Brian has continuously handled the world-wide co-ordination of projects to manage the defence of patents and related rights for some of the world’s best-selling medicines ensuring that there is correctness, clarity and consistency in all countries. Brian knows that to succeed in such projects a multi-disciplinary team is required and that it is important to think globally but act locally. Brian’s work has involved numerous disease areas including immunology, oncology, endocrinology, neuroscience, dermatology and cardiology. Some of Brian’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Valsartan – Acting for Novartis in relation to its patents and SPCs for Diovan®/Co-Diovan®, a very successful anti-hypertension medicine. This was a seven year project assisting Novartis with the defence and enforcement of its patents and SPCs/PTEs in over 40 countries. As part of the UK litigation, a reference to the CJEU was made on the scope of SPCs which led to the ruling on C-442/11 which still stands as good law today.</li> <li>Imatinib – Acting for Novartis in relation to its patents and SPCs for Glivec® which revolutionised the treatment of certain types of cancer. Over the course of eight years, Brian led the team at Bristows assisting Novartis with the co-ordination of the defence and enforcement of IP rights in over 30 countries with a particular focus on challenges to the paediatric extension to the SPC for imatinib in Europe. The validity and infringement of Novartis’ second medical use patents for use of imatinib to treat GIST was also an important part of this project.</li> <li>Deferasirox – Acting for Novartis in the defence of its patents and SPCs for Exjade®. This involved UK litigation on challenges to the validity of (i) the paediatric extension granted to Novartis for deferasirox and (ii) a patent to a film-coated tablet for deferasirox as well as co-ordination across Europe including a successful application to the Dutch Court for a pan-European injunction.</li> <li>Fremanezumab – Acting for Teva in the defence of a challenge in the English Court to its patents for Ajovy® – a CGRP antibody used to treat migraine and cluster headache.</li> <li>Fasinumab – Acting for Teva and Regeneron in the English Patents Court in relation to anti-NGF antibodies being trialled for the treatment of osteoarthritis.</li> <li>Fingolimod – Acting for Novartis in relation to its patents for Gilenya® used to treat multiple sclerosis. This included seeking a preliminary injunction from the English Patents Court on a patent application and co-ordination of litigation across Europe.</li> <li>Dimethyl fumarate – Acting for Forward Pharma in litigation and EPO oppositions relating to DMF, the active ingredient in Tecfidera® used to treat multiple sclerosis. Forward concluded a settlement with Biogen in January 2017 which included a one-off payment of $1.25bn to Forward.</li> <li>Travoprost – Acting for Alcon in the defence of a challenge in the English Patents Court and Court of Appeal to its patents for Travatan® used to treat glaucoma.</li> <li>Doggybone DNA – Acting for Touchlight in the successful defence of an entitlement challenge in the English Patents Court to its patents relating to the in vitro synthesis of DNA.</li> <li>In the UPC – Brian was part of a team of internationally recognised lawyers which represented Novartis in the defence of a DNI action instigated in the Central Division (Milan) by Accord in relation to patents for Tasigna® (nilotinib).</li> </ul> Brian was named Who’s Who Legal Patent Lawyer of the Year in 2018, 2019 and 2022. Brian is the co–author of an annual review of UK patent cases which is published annually in the CIPA Journal. He also teaches patent law on the Oxford University Diploma on Intellectual Property Law and Practice and is a member of the Exam Board of this Diploma. He is the co-editor of the Kluwer Patent Blog.

Brian CorderyPartner – Patent litigation

Brian specialises in intellectual property dispute resolution with a focus on patent litigation in the life sciences sector. He has handled disputes relating to patents for small molecules, biological medicines, non-biological complex drugs and medical devices. Brian has a long-standing interest in SPCs and encouraging the research and development of additional uses for known medicines.

Adam advises on a range of life sciences transactions (often cross-border in nature), such as complex and high-value licensing deals, research collaborations, technology transfer and spin-out deals, supply chain arrangements and product acquisitions/divestments. Adam advises the full range of clients across the life sciences sector, including academic and research institutions, startups, medical device companies, CMOs/CDMOs/CROs, investors and multinational pharmaceutical/biotech companies. Adam has significant expertise in clinical research matters, including in the field of precision medicine, and regularly advises clients on all manner of agreements in this space. Adam also regularly advises on manufacturing and distribution arrangements, supporting clients across the breadth of the pharmaceutical, biotechnological and medical technology supply chain. Likewise, Adam has much experience in advising on the commercial and IP aspects of corporate and financing transactions, most notably in respect of pharmaceutical product acquisitions and divestments. Examples of Adam’s recent work highlights include advising: <ul> <li>the technology transfer offices of three world-leading universities on its innovative joint venture with three global pharmaceutical companies, under which a multi-million translational research fund has been made available for the development (and ultimate commercialisation) of a portfolio of cutting-edge biomedical projects;</li> <li>a globally-recognised pharmaceutical company on a range of business development and licensing agreements, including in respect of a strategic collaboration with a leading diagnostic company for the development and optimisation of innovative algorithms for use in the oncology field;</li> <li>a drug discovery company on its strategic pivot to becoming a specialist contract development manufacturing organisation (CDMO), including drafting, and advising on, a range of development, manufacturing and licensing agreements in connection with this strategic change; and</li> <li>a world-leading pharmaceutical company on its distribution arrangements, most notably in terms of its shift from a direct-to-pharmacy to a reduced wholesaler model.</li> </ul> Adam has held the position of Chair of the Licensing Executives Society Young Members (Great Britain & Ireland) since January 2020.

Adam CoughlinSenior Associate - Commercial & IP transactions

Adam specialises in commercial and intellectual property transactions, most notably in the life sciences sector.

Jérôme CoulonvauxSenior Associate (Trade Mark Attorney)

Jérôme is a senior associate in the brands, designs and copyright team at Bristows. His professional activities range from IP protection and portfolio management to trade mark infringement, enforcement or settlement of trade mark disputes.

Jamie assists clients on various day-to-day IT and data protection matters, including software licensing, support and maintenance, SaaS deals, data processing agreements and international data transfers. He also advises on e-commerce and consumer protection law. Jamie has worked on several outsourcing agreements relating both to business processes and IT services and support. He also advises clients through a number of ongoing retainers, building long-term relationships and working closely with the business to provide commercially focused and cost effective advice. Additionally, Jamie assists media and entertainment clients with partnership agreements and with navigating developments in consumer law, in particular with updating membership terms and conditions. On data protection matters, Jamie focuses on the international transfers of data. He works with counsel globally to better understand the risks for clients and regularly assists with drafting key documents for clients’ data transfer regimes. He also has experience in data breaches and general data protection matters before the ICO as well as individual data subject rights requests. Recently Jamie has been advising clients on their AI governance regimes. This includes developing internal mechanisms to ensure the responsible use of AI tools but also by negotiating key obligations within vendor contracts concerning the use of AI tools in the supply chain. Some of Jamie’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Advising a medical technology company on the impact of main AI vendors and the key issues from an IP, security and liability perspective.</li> <li>Reviewing, drafting and negotiating with the deal teams in relation to IT infrastructure and security outsourcing deals for an international investment management firm and a global insurer.</li> <li>Negotiating for a client in a deal for the development and integration of an AI-lead captioning tool.</li> <li>Drafting a software development agreement for a games developer to engage third party developers.</li> <li>Advising a client through the reapproval of its Binding Corporate Rules.</li> </ul> Jamie has spent time on secondment at two different multinational media and digital entertainment companies. During these full-time secondments, Jamie gained invaluable insight into the particular commercial challenges facing both media clients and multinational companies, which continues to inform his pragmatic approach. Jamie is a member of the Society for Computers and Law.

Jamie CoxAssociate – IT & Digital

Jamie assists a portfolio of technology, media and telecoms clients with a variety of commercial, IT and data protection matters, including commercial technology procurement and outsourcing deals.

Toby CrickPartner – IT & digital projects

Toby advises on and negotiates commercial, technology and outsourcing agreements. He has particular expertise in working with clients to help them manage and structure complex deals and is recognised for his work on digital transformation, software and telecoms projects.

Nicholas CrossPartner - Corporate & financing

Nick advises on a broad range of UK and international clients on a range of corporate and commercial transactions.

Hannah CrowtherPartner - Data protection & privacy

Hannah advises on all areas of data protection and privacy law, helping multinational and UK organisations navigate the changing landscape of EU and UK data protection law including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and ePrivacy.

Julian DarrallPartner – Defamation & privacy disputes

Julian has been defending national and global publishers for over 20 years - including acting for newspapers, broadcasters, entertainment platforms and media insurers.

Marc helps clients to evaluate and manage data protection and cyber risk in cross-border compliance programs, in technology projects involving the development of machine learning/artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, cloud applications, in life sciences and medical device projects covering healthcare apps, remote diagnostics, clinical trials and investigations and genomic research, and in the financial services sector across the lifecycle of product development and FinTech applications. Marc also advises on cyber security incidents, and regulatory investigations and disputes involving data protection, misuse of private information and breaches of confidentiality, and has experience of devising voluntary redress schemes for individuals affected by such misuse or breaches. In the area of digital regulation, Marc assists clients to navigate the EU’s digital services legislative framework, advising amongst others on the Data Act, the DSA, NIS2, DORA and related legislation. Some of Marc’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Defending a global advertising technology platform against proceedings brought by a leading privacy campaigner for alleged breaches of GDPR in the field of real time bidding.</li> <li>Advising on numerous cyber incidents, with a sector focus advising banks, law firms and barristers chambers on responding to incidents and on subsequent investigations and enforcement action by data protection authorities.</li> <li>Defending a leading global advisory services firm against threatened SLAPP proceedings and advising them on numerous subject access requests.</li> <li>Advising providers and deployers of AI, including a sector focus in HR, advising international leadership consulting firms on the development of AI in the field of recruitment and performance management.</li> <li>Defending a multinational data analytics and consumer credit reporting company in enforcement proceedings brought by the ICO.</li> <li> Advising firms in the life sciences and healthcare sectors on the full range of GDPR issues in their sector, including research institutions on anonymised data, pharmaceutical companies on medical research and clinical trials, medical device companies on development of devices, an NGO in the field of vaccine development against pandemics, and a global leading university on Freedom of Information and on international data transfers.</li> <li>Advising banks in the UK, EU and Middle East on data transfer impact assessments, the adoption of cloud, AI customer service operations and anti-fraud technologies.</li> <li>Advising technology suppliers on the development and supply of technologies with a particular focus on EU ePrivacy rules and their intersection with the GDPR.</li> <li>Advising a Chinese FinTech on GDPR compliance in the development of its AML solutions for banks.</li> <li>Supporting a leading global car manufacturer on its connected vehicle strategy.</li> <li>Advising a FTSE100 retailer on a range of GDPR compliance issues.</li> <li>Defending firms in several sectors against noyb complaints.</li> <li>Supporting our Corporate and Medical Regulatory teams on data protection due diligence on a range of mid-tier acquisitions and disposals.</li> <li>Advising an MVNO on its obligations under UK interception of communications legislation and on a range of GDPR issues.</li> <li>Supporting a multinational commodities company on its end-to-end GDPR compliance programme.</li> <li>Developing BCRs for a global management consulting and technology firm.</li> </ul> Marc advises on both UK and EU law, covering GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the ePrivacy Directive, the Network and Information Systems Regulations including NIS2, DORA and the Cyber Resilience Act, the Digital Services Act, the EU AI Act and the EU Data Act, the Freedom of Information Act and Environmental Information Regulations, the Investigatory Powers Act and the data protection and security aspects of financial services legislation and regulation (such as PSD2 and the SYSC rules in the FCA Handbook). Marc is a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, International Association of Privacy Professionals and ITech Law. Marc has a good working knowledge of German and Swedish.

Marc DautlichPartner – Data protection, privacy & cyber

Marc is a technology specialist with 30 years’ experience in private practice and in-house at Equifax and Microsoft. He advises clients in the technology, life sciences and financial services sectors on data protection & privacy, cyber risk and digital regulation.

Pippa DavisTrainee Solicitor

Pippa is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the brands, designs and copyright team.

Matt DennisPartner - Corporate & financing

Matt has over 30 years’ experience in advising on all aspects of corporate law in particular domestic and international M&A, equity financings and venture capital, joint ventures, IPO’s and other securities issues.

Alex DenoonPartner - Life sciences regulatory

Alex is passionate about the life sciences sector and advises about regulatory issues all day every day.

Jessica des LandesTrainee Trade Mark Attorney – Trade mark, designs & copyright

Jessica is a Trainee Trade Mark Attorney in the brands, design, and copyright team.

Krishiv DesaiTrainee Solicitor

Krishiv is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the regulatory team. He graduated in 2021 with a MSci in Physics with Theoretical Physics.

Chris DevlinSenior Associate - Corporate & financing

Chris advises clients on a variety of corporate and finance transactions including mergers and acquisitions, equity offerings, debt financing, reorganisations and joint ventures primarily across the technology and life sciences sectors.

Richard DickinsonPartner - Commercial & IP transactions

Richard heads our Commercial & IP transactions group and also co-heads the firm’s life sciences sector group. His practice focuses on agreements and advisory work that often involves the development, exploitation and protection of IP rights.

Chloe DicksonSenior Associate – Patent litigation

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

Melissa DixTrainee Solicitor

Melissa is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the commercial IP/IT team.

Jamie’s practice includes advising clients on a wide range of privacy and data protection issues, including: <ul> <li>responding to regulatory investigations and data breaches arising from security incidents;</li> <li>managing contentious data subject complaints and rights requests;</li> <li>assessing privacy risks in the context of new lines of business and the adoption of new technologies, in particular in relation to adtech and AI;</li> <li>user notification and consent issues (including implementing appropriate consent management platforms for online users);</li> <li>issues of anonymisation and pseudonymisation; and</li> <li>drafting and negotiating complex data processing and transfer agreements.</li> </ul> He has particular expertise advising clients on ad-tech compliance issues, in terms of navigating ePrivacy and GDPR requirements in the context of data collection, online tracking and profiling. Jamie also has experience in drafting Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs), both for processors and controllers, and in helping clients to navigate the complex BCR application and review process. He also helps clients respond to data breach incidents, and defend regulatory enforcement action across Europe. He has also worked on high profile data protection litigation in the English High Court. Jamie’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting for a global video sharing platform on a regulatory investigation regarding alleged unlawful processing of user data and related litigation.</li> <li>Acting for a global social media platform on legal proceedings concerning the training of a generative AI model.</li> <li>Advising a major adtech platform on a major regulatory investigation, litigation and a range of privacy compliance issues.</li> <li>Advising a major airline on a range of adtech compliance issues.</li> </ul> Jamie also has experience advising clients on issues arising from freedom of information legislation. He is a member of the Society of Computers & Law as well as the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Jamie DruckerPartner - Data protection & privacy

Jamie is a data protection and privacy expert, with a particular focus on regulatory investigations and data breach response work. He also has significant experience of adtech and AI related matters.

David DurganAssociate - Commercial disputes

David advises clients in relation to technology disputes, including distressed IT projects, copyright, cyber and media litigation.

Mike EdgarSenior Associate - Data protection & privacy

Mike specialises in commercial transactions related to information technology and data privacy. He has advised on a range of technology agreements.

Alice Esuola-GrantSenior Associate - IT & Digital

Alice specialises in commercial transactions relating to information technology and intellectual property. She has advised clients in a wide range of industries, with particular expertise in advising consumer-facing clients.

Lizzie FieldOf Counsel - Employment & immigration

Lizzie is of counsel in the employment & immigration team at Bristows. She specialises in employment and immigration law with a particular expertise in international HR matters.

Naomi FoaleAssociate - Commercial disputes

Naomi is an Associate in the commercial disputes team at Bristows. She is particularly interested in the interplay between technological developments and their corresponding impact on the law and legal practice.

Lucie FortuneSenior Associate - IP litigation and competition

Lucie is a strategic and experienced litigator with a particular focus on the enforcement and defence of intellectual property rights. Lucie has extensive experience of domestic and international patent litigation, trade mark and designs litigation and follow on damages competition law claims.

Angela FouracrePartner – Commercial disputes

Angela specialises in the resolution of commercial disputes, with particular expertise in dealing with IT, outsourcing and IP contract disputes as well as disputes arising out of data leaks and the misuse of confidential information.

“Charlie French is excellent to work with, intelligent and responsive, manages the team effectively with ease.” (Legal 500 2025) Charlie specialises in patent litigation and has a particular interest in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, stemming from her background in biochemistry and molecular biology. She has represented clients in complex patent litigation before the Patents Court (High Court) and Court of Appeal and arbitration arising from licensing disputes. She also works closely with lawyers, patent attorneys and regulatory advisors in multiple jurisdictions to coordinate multinational patent litigation strategies for clients. She has an excellent understanding of the different legal and regulatory systems within Europe and further afield and provides strategic advice that takes into account the broader global landscape. Within the life sciences sector, Charlie has advised on disputes relating to small molecule pharmaceuticals, antibodies and antibody engineering technology, gene cloning and cell-based expression systems, drug delivery systems, formulations and dosage regimens. Charlie has also acted for clients in the fields of consumer goods, shipping, software and agriculture. Some of Charlie’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Sandoz & Polpharma v Biogen – patent revocation and infringement proceedings in the Patents Court relating to anti-JCV antibody testing patents prior to launch of Tyruko®, Sandoz’s biosimilar to Biogen’s Tysabri® product for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.</li> <li>Lilly v Novartis; UCB v Novartis – European patent revocation and infringement proceedings relating to IL-17AF antibody patents.</li> <li>Advising the licensee in a contractual dispute under an arbitration clause in a licence to a cell expression system used in the manufacture of an antibody-drug conjugate for cancer therapy.</li> <li>Parainen Pearl Shipping & Ors v Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi – Patents Court case on exhaustion of patent rights, application of the Schutz v Werit test of manufacture/repair, implied licence and estoppel.</li> <li>Accord v Medac – invalidity proceedings in the Patents Court relating to a patent claiming a concentrated methotrexate formulation.</li> <li>Novartis v Focus, Actavis & Teva – litigation in the Patents Court and Court of Appeal concerning a transdermal dosage regimen patent for rivastigmine (Exelon®) and global coordination of parallel litigation and EPO opposition.</li> <li>Coordinating multinational patent litigation strategies for a number of blockbuster pharmaceutical products in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Australia and Africa, with experience ranging from obtaining a record number of preliminary injunctions against infringing generic products in India to multiple parallel section 1782 discovery proceedings in the US.</li> </ul> Charlie regularly publishes and speaks on UPC topics and co-hosts a UPC podcast (‘You, me and the UPC’). She is a previous winner of the Young EPLAW UPC Mock Trial, competing against patent litigators across Europe. She is also one of the authors of Bristows’ annual Patent Review of the Year, UPC Review and Biotech Review publications, is actively involved in Bristows’ Diversity & Inclusion group and co-heads Bristows’ Families & Carers Network. Charlie is a member of CIPA Life Sciences Committee and the IP Federation.

Charlie FrenchPartner – Patent litigation

Charlie is an experienced IP litigator, focusing predominantly on patent disputes in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. In addition to her experience in the courts of England & Wales, she coordinates multinational patent litigation strategies for clients and has a particular interest in the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

Sophie FrenchAssociate - Commercial & IP transactions

Sophie is an associate in the commercial IP, IT and data protection group at Bristows. She advises clients on a variety of matters relating to digital transformation outsourcing, cloud, SaaS, software licensing and development, and matters involving the creation and exploitation of IP. She advises clients in a range of industry sectors, including life sciences, technology, media, energy and financial services.

Naoise GaffneyOf Counsel - UPC Director

Naoise joined Bristows in February 2025 and is part of the patent litigation team.

Soraya GajraTrainee Solicitor

Soraya joined Bristows as a Trainee Solicitor in August 2024 and is currently working in the patent litigation team.

Katy GibsonSenior Associate - Commercial & IP transactions

Katy specialises in advising on IP transactions and commercial matters, drawing on her experience from client secondments and her time at Bristows to date. During this time, Katy has worked across sectors including media & entertainment, technology and R&D, luxury brands, not-for-profit, as well as retail and consumer products.

Saaira GillSenior Associate (Trade Mark Attorney) - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Saaira advises on a range of trade mark matters, both contentious and non-contentious, as well as related copyright and design issues.

Iva GobacAssociate – Competition and Antitrust

Iva is an associate in the competition team advising on all aspects of competition law with an interest in the intersection between competition and IP law.

Robert GrahamOf Counsel - Commercial disputes

Robert is a disputes lawyer, with a specific focus on the resolution of technology-related disputes, including those relating to software development, outsourcing projects, software licensing and data security.

Ian GrusellePartner - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Ian advises on all aspects of trade marks and designs including clearance searches, registration, opposition proceedings and portfolio management.

Anna HallTrainee Solicitor

Anna is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the corporate, tax and employment team. She is particularly interested in the interaction between business, science and the law.

Ellie is a dual-qualified lawyer in England & Wales and Ireland who advises on EU and UK life sciences regulatory law. Ellie focuses on pharmaceutical and medical device matters. Ellie has extensive experience working for medical technology companies and tech clients working in the software and AI space. She advises on a broad range of topics including: the qualification and classification of devices, clinical investigations, pre-market and post-market requirements, Brexit and the implications of new laws and guidance on AI. Ellie has also provided companies with advice on in vitro diagnostic medical devices. Particularly considering the issues around performance evaluations and companion diagnostics. Ellie advises on a broad range of regulatory matters for pharmaceutical companies. These include: strategies to bring products to market, regulatory exclusivities, clinical trials, orphan medicinal products, requirements and rewards for paediatric research, and manufacturing and distribution. Ellie has previously spent a number of years working at a US law firm. She has gained valuable in-house experience on secondment at a large pharmaceutical company. Some of Ellie’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Advising leading tech companies on issues around qualification of software products as medical devices and the classification rules.</li> <li>Advising medtech clients on issues under the EU’s Medical Devices Regulation (EU) 2017/745, including user error reporting requirements, transition periods and QMS requirements.</li> <li>Advising tech companies on the implications of the EU’s AI Act.</li> <li>Advising leading pharmaceutical and device companies on the application of the EU’s In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation (EU) 2017/746, including performance evaluations and companion diagnostics.</li> <li>Advising pharmaceutical companies on EMA submissions, including for duplicates and paediatric investigation plans.</li> <li>Advising pharmaceutical clients on regulatory protection periods.</li> <li>Advising pharmaceutical companies on claims and advertising rules.</li> <li>Advising pharmaceutical companies on supply chain issues involving importation and distribution.</li> </ul> Ellie undertook a legal secondment to Gilead from 2019 – 2020. She also completed University of Oxford’s Online Short Course: Artificial Intelligence: An Introduction.

Ellie HandySenior Associate – Life sciences regulatory

Ellie is a life sciences regulatory lawyer. She advises pharmaceutical and medical device clients on a broad range of regulatory issues. Ellie has advised extensively on EU and UK regulations on medicinal products. She also advises on medical devices, including in vitro diagnostic medical device, software medical devices and issues involving AI.

Faye HarrisonOf Counsel - Data protection & privacy

Faye specialises in data protection and online safety. She advises UK and international organisations on their data privacy strategies, including developing and maintaining privacy compliance programs, implementing data transfer mechanisms and navigating new product development.

Sam HarveyAssociate – Patent litigation

Sam acts in technical and SEP / FRAND disputes for a range of clients across the technology sector. His in-house experience has provided him with a unique client-focused perspective and his background in physics is a particular advantage in grappling with complex technical issues.

Laura specialises in <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/transactions/commercial-ip-transactions/">non-contentious IP and commercial matters</a>. She has broad experience of advising on, drafting and negotiating strategic and complex agreements across the full life cycle of IP rights from development to protection and exploitation. While Laura’s practice covers a range of sectors, she has particular expertise in the life sciences, luxury brands, consumer products and retail sectors. Much of her work is cross-border or global in nature, and her clients range from large multinationals to start-ups to academic institutions and not-for-profit research organisations. Within the life sciences sector, Laura advises clients on a variety of IP-focused transactions including joint ventures, research and development collaborations, consortium arrangements and licensing and option deals (with commercial and academic partners). She also assists with commercial matters such as manufacturing and distribution arrangements, research funding agreements and service agreements. Laura has a particular interest in the legal issues affecting the women’s health sector. Within the luxury and consumer products sectors, Laura supports clients with licensing and other complex arrangements relating to the exploitation and protection of their brands. She also helps clients to bring products to market by advising on supply chain and marketing arrangements, including franchise and concession agreements, as well as brand collaborations and sponsorship deals. Laura also assists our corporate and financing teams by advising on the commercial and IP aspects of corporate and investment deals, and supports our IP litigation teams by advising on agreements to resolve complex, high-value patent and trade mark disputes. Having spent time seconded to the in-house legal department of various clients, including a multinational pharmaceutical company and a global luxury goods brand, Laura recognises the importance of understanding her clients’ businesses and the industries in which they operate. Laura is actively involved in initiatives designed to expand access to the legal profession, including mentoring aspiring solicitors. Within the firm, Laura is involved in trainee recruitment and acts as a mentor to junior lawyers through the Bristows mentoring scheme.

Laura HarwoodSenior Associate - Commercial & IP transactions

Laura specialises in non-contentious IP and commercial matters. She has broad experience of advising on, drafting and negotiating strategic and complex agreements relating to the development and/or exploitation of IP, both as standalone projects and as part of corporate transactions. Her work covers a range of sectors including life sciences, technology, luxury brands, consumer products and retail.

Jamie regularly advises on all aspects of compliance with a wide range of UK and EU life sciences regulatory frameworks, in particular those concerning medicinal products, human tissue, clinical trials, medical devices and artificial intelligence. Recent areas of particular activity have included: <ul> <li>Navigating the complexity of the EU Medical Device Regulation transitional periods and tracking the pending introduction of an updated UK medical devices regulatory framework.</li> <li>Understanding the implications of Brexit, the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Windsor Framework.</li> <li>Preparing for the entry into force of the EU AI Act.</li> </ul> As well as advising on statutory regulatory requirements, Jamie advises on a variety of self-regulatory codes of conduct for the life sciences industry which govern advertising and industry interaction with the healthcare sector. He regularly represents clients in the context of complaints made under such codes of conduct to organisations such as the ABHI and PMCPA. Jamie regularly provides specialist due diligence support on a variety of corporate transactions in the life sciences sector. Some of Jamie’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Reviewing compliance of a large US tech company’s health software portfolio with UK and EU medical device laws.</li> <li>Advising an innovator pharmaceutical company on the existence and duration of Regulatory Data Protection periods for its portfolio in the UK and EU.</li> <li>Acting for a major MedTech company in relation to a complaint to the ABHI against a competitor regarding misleading comparative advertising claims.</li> <li>Specialist advice in relation to a corporate asset sale of a worldwide portfolio of Marketing Authorisations for medicinal products.</li> <li>Negotiating clinical trial-related agreements and documentation with CROs.</li> </ul> Jamie is currently on a part-time secondment at a market-leading MedTech company, advising on European medical device advertising compliance.

Jamie HatzelAssociate – Life sciences regulatory

Jamie advises across the full spectrum of UK and EU life sciences regulatory frameworks for a wide variety of organisations: multinational MedTech companies, innovator pharmaceutical companies, leading research universities, and everything in between.

Charlie HawesOf Counsel - IT & Digital

Charlie advises on a wide range of commercial and regulatory issues relating to software, data privacy and digital communications.

Naomi specialises in patent litigation. Whilst she advises on a wide range of issues and subject matters, Naomi’s technical background in physics puts her in particular demand for cases in the technology, telecommunications and engineering sectors, where her detailed understanding of complex technology puts her in a strong position. Naomi’s extensive expertise covers a broad spectrum of technical subject matter and she has also addressed cutting-edge legal issues. Her substantial expertise in SEP cases has provided her with valuable experience in advising on FRAND issues from both the SEP holder and implementer perspective. Her practice involves an international dimension, with most of her cases requiring coordination across jurisdictions, most commonly in the EU, including the UPC, and the US. Naomi became a partner in 2024 and has been described as a “leading light of the future” (Legal 500 2023). Naomi’s leadership and expertise contribute significantly to achieving positive outcomes for her clients. Naomi’s significant work highlights include: <ul> <li>Part of the team assisting Panasonic in its SEP/FRAND dispute against Xiaomi and Oppo. Naomi played a key role in the team working with Panasonic on its defence against Xiaomi’s novel claim for declarations relating to interim licence regimes and the good faith performance of the FRAND commitment.</li> <li>Acting for Siemens Gamesa in its patent dispute against GE concerning wind turbine technology.</li> <li>Naomi has been a long standing adviser to IPCom on its SEP/FRAND disputes against Nokia, HTC, Lenovo, Xiaomi and Vodafone. Most recently this included IPCom’s case against Vodafone in the Court of Appeal that concluded in a favourable judgment relating to Crown use as well as the subsequent application by Vodafone to recover its costs following a decision by the TBA to revoke the patent.</li> <li>Advising Samsung and Google in the Unwired Planet dispute.</li> <li>Acting for PGS in its dispute against EMGS.</li> </ul> Naomi has advised on numerous SEP disputes, spanning a wide range of standardised technologies from the 2G, 3G and 4G systems as well as implementation patents covering aspects of the various operating systems. As a result, Naomi has a wealth of experience dealing with issues that arise specifically in SEP litigation and FRAND disputes, as well as the complex jurisdictional aspects of these cases. Most recently, Naomi has been part of the team working with Panasonic in its dispute with Xiaomi and Oppo. Naomi previously assisted Samsung in its disputes against Apple and Unwired Planet, as well as Google in the Unwired Planet litigation and IPCom in its cases against Nokia, HTC and Vodafone. This has allowed Naomi to approach these cases from the perspective of the implementer but also from the patentee side. Outside of the field of telecommunications, Naomi has in-depth experience in cases involving engineering technology including wind energy technology, hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation and LED technology. Naomi advised Siemens Gamesa in its dispute with GE concerning several aspects of wind turbine technology. She also assisted Petroleum Geo-Services in its dispute against Electromagnetic Geoservices involving hydrocarbon surveying techniques as well as Philips Lighting/Signify in a dispute with Megaman relating to various patents in its LED licensing portfolio. Naomi is a co-author of Bristows’ Patent Review of the Year publication, which is also published in CIPA Journal. She is a contributor to the You, me and UPC and FRANDLY Chat podcasts. Naomi is a member of AIPPI and CIPA. She is a former committee member of IPSoc and she regularly attends conferences, such as IPBC.

Naomi HazenbergPartner – Patent litigation

Naomi specialises in patent litigation matters with particular focus on cases involving engineering and telecommunications technology.

Katharine HeadTrainee Solicitor

Katharine is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the competition team.

Toby is an intellectual property advisor and litigator with over 20 years of experience and is featured in Best Lawyers™ for intellectual property law. He routinely works on matters involving copyrights, database rights, design rights, trade marks, passing off, and confidential information, as well as related contractual issues. While he handles disputes in these areas, he commonly works with clients on infringement risk analysis, risk mitigation, litigation avoidance and early dispute resolution. Examples of reported cases he has worked on include: <ul> <li>BHB Ltd v William Hill Organisation Ltd, the seminal decision of the EU Court of Justice on database rights.</li> <li>Bouverie No. 1 Ltd v De Vere Hotels & Leisure Ltd, a High Court trial involving a rebranding dispute.</li> <li>NLA Ltd & Ors v Meltwater Holding BV, multiple Copyright Tribunal and High Court proceedings (including trial) relating to the use of online newspaper material by a media monitoring service.</li> <li>PRCA Ltd v NLA Ltd, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court appeals on the applicability of the ‘temporary copy’ copyright exception to web browsing.</li> <li>Cutbot Ltd v NLA Ltd, a Copyright Tribunal trial concerning the reasonableness of terms of a licensing scheme.</li> <li>Neptune (Europe) Ltd v deVOL Kitchens Ltd, a High Court trial concerning unregistered design right infringement in kitchen furniture.</li> <li>Natural Instinct Ltd v Natures Menu Ltd, an IPEC trade mark infringement trial.</li> </ul> Toby frequently supports clients in responding to government consultations to influence law and policy. He also has extensive experience of advising clients on artificial intelligence and intellectual property law (eg, concerning the use of training data, opt-out modalities, and the legal status of machine-generated outputs) and is a regular author and speaker in this field. Toby has spent time working in-house, including as the acting global head of litigation for a major television network, giving him invaluable experience of the operational and financial constraints clients are often working within. Toby is a member of the following: <ul> <li>IP Consulting Editorial Board, Lexis PSL</li> <li>Data and Copyright Committee, IP Federation</li> <li>AIPPI; BLACA; SCL; CLA</li> </ul>

Toby HeaddonOf Counsel - Brands, designs and copyright

Toby is an intellectual property advisor and litigator with over 20 years of experience and is featured in Best Lawyers™ for intellectual property law. He routinely works on matters involving copyrights, database rights, design rights, trade marks, passing off, and confidential information, as well as related contractual issues.

Tim HeapsSenior Associate - Trade mark, designs & copyright

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.

Olivia HenrySenior Associate - Patent litigation

Olivia is a senior associate in the IP litigation department.

Sean HessAssociate – Corporate & financing

Sean has experience advising on M&A transactions, early-stage investments, and providing general corporate advice to clients in the Life Science and Technology sectors.

Will HewittAssociate - Commercial & IP transactions

Will joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in August 2019. He completed training in September 2021 and is now working in the commercial IP/IT team.

Sarah is an experienced litigator with particular expertise in acting on disputes involving difficult points of contractual interpretation. Arbitration is also a key focus for Sarah. She has been instructed to act in numerous arbitral proceedings in multiple industries, including <a href="/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a>, telecoms, financial services, insurance, pharmaceuticals and retail. Sarah has significant experience in coordinating and running large teams, meeting client arrangements and dealing with the communication issues that can arise in large, complex matters, such as coordination across multiple jurisdictions. This includes leading and managing large-scale e-disclosure reviews, witness evidence preparation and technical expert instruction and management. Sarah has acted on numerous high profile IT, commercial and IP cases in the English High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. She acted for the successful parties in the following: <ul> <li> De Beers UK Ltd v Atos Origin IT Services UK Ltd [2010] EWHC 3276 (TCC) </li> <li> Blue v Ashley [2017] EWHC 1928 (Comm) </li> <li> Kabab-ji SAL (Lebanon) v Kout Food Group (Kuwait) [2020] EWCA Civ 6 and [2021] UKSC 48 </li> </ul> Examples of Sarah’s recent work include: <ul> <li>Acting for DBS in Tata Consultancy Services Ltd v Disclosure and Barring Service [2024] EWHC 1185 (TCC) (one of the Lawyer’s top 20 cases of 2023) in relation to a +£200m dispute with its IT supplier arising out of delays and other issues with an IT modernisation programme. </li> <li>Advising a major life sciences business on a US$12m contractual dispute concerning a Global Software Licence and Support Services Agreement. </li> <li>Advising a telecoms company on a £4m contractual dispute with a supplier relating to termination and breach of contract. </li> <li>Assisting a software development company in respect of numerous ongoing multi-million pound global licensing disputes, including coordination of forensic accountants and lawyers in other jurisdictions. </li> <li>Leading on multi-claim arbitrations for a telecommunications business (total value: £1m). </li> </ul> Sarah is certified and experienced in change management. She also has expertise in using automation to increase efficiencies for clients for matters involving large scale, repeatable elements of dispute resolution work. Sarah is a member of The Change Management Institute and also The Society for Computers and Law.

Sarah HillSenior Associate – Commercial disputes

Sarah has over 15 years’ experience advising on and project managing intensive commercial and technology disputes at all stages of litigation and arbitration. Sarah is also experienced in resolving disputes through ADR, including commercial negotiation and mediation.

Yen HoeAssociate - Commercial disputes

Yen joined the commercial disputes team in January 2023.

Chris HolderPartner - IT & digital projects

Chris is an experienced commercial IT lawyer who was one of the first specialist IT outsourcing lawyers in the UK and one of the first to recognise the significance of artificial intelligence and robotics for the future development of technology and the law.

Anna HoneyAssociate – Corporate & financing

Anna is an Associate in the Corporate & Financing team at Bristows. Anna advises UK and global clients on a range of corporate and commercial matters, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, group reorganizations, and general corporate matters.

Suzanne has risen through the ranks since joining Bristows as a trainee, gaining experience across the full range of transactional <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/transactions/real-estate/">real estate</a> matters. She has spent two separate stints in-house in lending institutions, and a few years working in private practice in Northern Ireland. Exposure to the demands on in-house lawyers and the intricacies of another jurisdiction have enabled her to become a versatile and commercial lawyer with a common-sense approach to transaction management. Having forged close relationships with a number of tenant representatives from the leading London agencies, she has a steady flow of instructions from corporate occupier clients relocating to new office premises. Her experience in-house means she is well placed to act on property finance matters on both borrower and lender side. In recent years, she has acted for new entrants to the UK real estate market and guided them through the jurisdictional nuances of investing in property in England. She has a wealth of experience acting for retail clients trading from out of town centres, and has advised them from the development stage of new premises through the whole life cycle to exit. Suzanne has experience advising charities on the compliance issues arising from the disposal and financing of their property interests. She also regularly forms part of a wider Bristows’ transaction team acting on the acquisition of spin out companies in the life sciences and technology sectors, and often supports these companies when they scale up their business requiring additional space. Suzanne’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting for an offshore investor acquiring a mixed-use asset in central London for £30m.</li> <li>Acting for a publishing house purchasing its first central London office premises.</li> <li>Advising a leading garden centre operator since 2012 on its acquisition and financing of several new sites around England and Wales and subsequent asset management issues.</li> <li>Advising a European bank on regearing its leasehold interest at its City HQ.</li> <li>Acting for a Middle Eastern bank on refinancing a residential portfolio in Battersea Power Station.</li> <li>Acting for a number of professional services firms securing new premises on a pre-let basis.</li> <li>Advising a pharmaceutical company on the disposal of a contaminated land site.</li> <li>Advising a research institute on the statutory compensation procedure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.</li> <li>Advising charities on compliance issues arising from property disposals.</li> </ul>

Suzanne HooksOf Counsel - Real estate

Suzanne has over 20 years’ experience in the full range of commercial real estate matters, dealing with landlord and tenant transactions, acquisitions and disposals and real estate finance for lenders and borrowers. Her client base ranges from retail operators to banks, foreign investors in the UK and corporate occupiers moving HQs.

David HornerPartner - Corporate & financing

David is a corporate lawyer who advises on a wide range of matters including mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity financings, spin-outs from universities and research institutions, international capital markets and corporate restructurings.

Amy HowlettAssociate – Patent litigation

Amy is an Associate in the patent litigation team working in both the technology and life sciences sectors.

Kyrana HulsteinAssociate – Trade mark, designs & copyright

Kyrana advises clients on a range of soft-IP matters, including portfolio management, advertising law and IP disputes.

Matthew HuntSenior Associate – Competition and Antitrust

Matthew specialises in UK and EU competition law, with a particular focus on competition litigation in the TMT and Life Sciences sectors and FRAND licensing disputes.

Sarah’s experience includes all aspects of trade mark issues. She is specialised in managing large international trade mark portfolios, both domestically and across foreign jurisdictions, representing clients in a broad range of sectors. Sarah advises on a range of trade mark matters, both contentious and non-contentious, as well as on the law of passing off. She has substantial experience with worldwide trade mark filing strategies and manages worldwide trade mark clearance search programmes. She advises on trade mark disputes and handles a number of contentious proceedings at the UK IPO and EUIPO. Sarah also gained advocacy experience in trade mark disputes before the French courts and the UKIPO. She is highly knowledgeable in devising strategies on customs recordals in the UK and EU. Sarah is experienced in negotiating settlements, drafting co-existence and assignment agreements. She also coordinates prosecution and contentious issues in a range of foreign jurisdictions by liaising with local law firms. In addition to this, she has handled a number of successful domain name disputes before WIPO. Some of Sarah’s key work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting for a computer software company and providing the full spectrum of trade mark portfolio services on a worldwide basis, including regular trade mark enforcement matters and negotiations to reach a settlement in connection with the registration/use of a brand opposed by a tech company.</li> <li>Advising a dental equipment manufacturer in relation to customs protection worldwide, coordinating litigation in various jurisdictions following seizures of counterfeit products and securing injunction as well as obtaining high damages, payment of legal fees as well as publication of the decisions in professional magazines in the relevant countries.</li> <li>Advising an automobile manufacturer in connection with their UK trade mark portfolio, as well as representation in opposition/cancellation proceedings before the UK IPO including advocacy before the Hearing Officer.</li> <li>Coordinating a worldwide trade mark clearance search and filing program for a luxury hospitality company.</li> <li>Acting for a doughnut company in relation to the protection and enforcement of its trade marks in the UK and the EU, including the compilation of extensive evidence of use in support on an enhanced distinctiveness claim.</li> <li>Devising strategies on customs recordals in the UK and EU, and managing these recordals on behalf of a video game company.</li> </ul> Prior to joining Bristows in 2017, she spent four years in a French IP law firm located in Paris, gaining valuable experience in all trade mark issues including advising on a global rebrand from both a protection and enforcement perspective. Sarah is a native French speaker and she is fluent in English. She is a member of APRAM (French Association of Trade Mark and Design Law Practitioners) and CITMA. She volunteers at the mentoring programme ran by CITMA and is a regular contributor to the CITMA Review.

Sarah HussleinSenior Associate – Trade mark, designs & copyright

Sarah is an experienced lawyer, advising on all aspects of trade marks and designs, including clearance searches, filing strategies, international portfolio management and disputes. She has particular expertise in representing clients before the United Kingdom and European Union Offices, as well as the French Courts.

Sean has been part of the Bristows team who have acted in some of the leading IP cases over the last decade. He has experience handling disputes from the pre-action stage, through trial and on to appeal. He has also acted in numerous interim applications as well as quantum proceedings. In recent years, he has acted for: <ul> <li>Samsung (as co-counsel) in trade mark infringement proceedings brought by Swatch relating to the sale of watch face apps. The dispute reached the Court of Appeal in 2023 and the dispute has now reached a damages inquiry.</li> <li>Newmark (part of Cantor Fitzgerald) in passing off proceedings, brought by our client to ensure continued use of the name in the UK. The proceedings were stayed shortly before the start of a 12-day trial.</li> <li>Vectura in passing off proceedings brought by GlaxoSmithKline concerning the shape and colour of an asthma inhaler.</li> <li>Fidelis in trade mark infringement proceedings brought by Fidelity.</li> <li>Blizzard in copyright infringement proceedings and a subsequent account of profits. Blizzard’s claim related to the sale of unauthorised ‘cheats’ and ‘bots’ for its multi-player online games including World of Warcraft.</li> <li>Thomas Pink in trade mark infringement proceedings brought against Victoria’s Secret in relation to the PINK brand.</li> </ul> Sean also has extensive experience in the operation of enforcement programmes to protect trade marks, copyright and design rights, particularly in the fashion, jewellery and consumer goods sectors, having acted for household brands such as McDonald’s. Separately, Sean also advises both brands and publishers on compliance with advertising regulations, related disputes between competitors, and investigations by the UK’s advertising regulator, the ASA and enforcement action taken by the CMA in relation to consumer protection legislation. He has advised a number of high-profile brands on their response to ASA investigations. Sean writes and speaks on his areas of interest, including for Bristows’ Brands Review of the Year, Designs and Copyright Review of the Year, the Kluwer copyright blog and LexisNexis. He has contributed to publications including Brand Protection Online and International Advertising Law. Sean also speaks regularly at conferences including the annual White Paper trade mark law conference. He has also presented a number of webinars for MBL including on copyright and trade mark law, and the protection of image rights in the UK.

Sean IbbetsonOf Counsel – Trade mark, designs & copyright

Sean specialises in litigation and other forms of dispute resolution relating to trade marks, copyrights and designs. He also advises brands and publishers on the UK’s advertising regulation regime.

Zoe IbbetsonAssociate - Real estate

Zoe is an Associate in the real estate team at Bristows and acts for a range of clients on their commercial property matters.

Stefano regularly advises on a range of <a href="/expertise/sectors/life-sciences/">life sciences</a> and <a href="/expertise/sectors/technology/">tech</a> and telecommunication transactions (often cross-border in nature), such as complex and high-value licensing agreements, research contracts, manufacturing agreements, distribution agreements, franchising, settlement agreements, technology transfer and spin-out deals, supply chain arrangements and product acquisitions/divestments, supporting pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Stefano also has experience in advising on AI, LLM models and other technologies with particular application on medical devices. He has also expertise on data protection and on the commercial and IP aspects of corporate and financing transactions. Stefano advises the full range of clients across the life sciences and tech and telecommunication sectors, including large, medium and small companies, academic and research institutions, startups, medical device companies, clinical trials organisations, investors and multinational pharmaceutical/biotech companies. Examples of Stefano’s recent work highlights include: <ul> <li>Drafting and negotiating commercial contracts (such as IP licenses, SaaS agreements, collaboration agreements, software licences, agency agreements, service agreements, sponsorships, franchising, studentship agreements, incorporation, IP charges, NDAs, settlements etc) for pharma and biotech companies.</li> <li>Advising large, medium and small companies and the UK government on IPRs (ie Patents, Trade Marks, Trade-Secrets, Design, Copyright and related rights and Know-how and Confidential Information).</li> <li>Advising companies and startups on IT, including the EU AI Act and other legislation on Artificial Intelligence, and dealing with issues posed by LLMs and Generative AI.</li> <li>Advising companies on specific topics of data protection and corporate law.</li> </ul> Stefano also has a background in EU and Italian law and he is a dual qualified lawyer (England & Wales and Italy). Stefano is passionate about legal research, and is an author of different publications in first class academic journals and law books regarding several topics, such as: commercial and legal issues posed by Artificial Intelligence, the Doctrine of Equivalence in patent infringements, the protection of well-known trade marks, online infringements, the protection of shape marks, liability of online platforms, drafting and negotiating commercial contracts, legal and commercial issues related to spin-out companies, etc. Stefano is a member of the Society for Computer & Law (SCL) and a member of IPSoc.

Stefano IncarboneAssociate - Commercial and IP transactions

Stefano is an associate in the Commercial & IP transactions team and has several years of experience on advising clients on a range of non-contentious IP and IT matters, with a particular focus on transactions in the life sciences and tech and telecommunication sectors.

Nellie is co-head of the <a href="/expertise/litigation-dispute-resolution/brands-designs-copyright/">trade mark, designs & copyright</a> team. Nellie has specialised in intellectual property since 2000. Her experience covers all aspects of trade marks and designs (both contentious and non-contentious), with particular expertise in: <ul> <li>brand clearance, protection and maintenance</li> <li> global brand launches and re-structuring</li> <li>trade mark and design portfolio management</li> <li>IP enforcement</li> <li>advertising and marketing regulation and clearance</li> </ul> Nellie also has experience in dealing with anti-counterfeiting actions and preparing commercial agreements relating to the development and exploitation of IP. Nellie acts for a broad client base including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and major brand owners in the consumer products, hospitality and leisure, food and drink, technology and media sectors. Some of her work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting for a multinational advertising, communications, PR and media technology company and providing the full spectrum of trade mark portfolio services on a worldwide basis. · Advising on the global re-brand, from both a protection and enforcement perspective, following the merger of two creative agencies to form the world’s largest creative company.</li> <li>Negotiations on behalf of a UK tech company to reach a settlement in connection with the registration and use of an integral brand opposed by a rival tech company, concerning issues of enforceability and validity.</li> <li>Negotiations on behalf of a high street fashion retailer to agree co-existence with a DJ-duo around the use of specific letter combinations as a brand.</li> <li>Advising a telecommunications company in response to the enforcement of a colour mark registration by a competitor in a few jurisdictions and filing counter actions based on invalidity and revocation for non-use.</li> <li>Acting for an American doughnut company in connection with the protection and enforcement of its house and sub-brands in the UK, including the compilation of extensive evidence of use in support on an enhanced distinctiveness claim.</li> <li>Acting for a multinational alcoholic beverage company to evaluate new brands, sub-brands and re-brands, and assist with the more complicated Intellectual Property Office disputes in collaboration with the in-house trade mark team.</li> <li>Advising a leading manufacturer of chocolate and bakery ingredients in relation to a bad faith claim in the context of the acquisition of trade marks to frustrate a non-use cancellation action.</li> <li>Co-ordinating a worldwide trade mark availability and filing program for a hospitality management group specialising in luxury hotel and retreat accommodation.</li> </ul> She has also gained valuable industry experience through in-house secondments to Diageo plc, Sara Lee and McDonald’s Europe as IP Counsel, primarily assisting with and managing the respective global and/or European trade mark portfolios. Nellie was also seconded to the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising to assist with advertising and marketing campaign clearance for member agencies. Nellie is dual qualified in England, Wales and New Zealand. She is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA), and sits on the INTA Unreal Campaign Committee.

Nellie JacksonPartner - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Nellie is the co-head of the trade mark, designs & copyright team. Her experience covers the full range of intellectual property issues, with particular expertise in relation to trade mark portfolio management, brand protection and exploitation.

Louisa specialises in complex life transactions involving the development, licensing, exploitation and transfer of intellectual property rights, particularly patents and know-how. She works for a wide range of clients, including pharmaceutical and biotech companies, universities, charities, investors, start-up companies and spin-outs. She is experienced in drafting, negotiating and advising on a wide range of commercial arrangements, including research and development collaborations, industry/academia partnerships, patent and know-how licences and options, university spin-out arrangements and research services agreements. Many of the transactions on which Louisa advises involve cutting edge technologies in the life sciences industry, including cell and gene therapies (on which she has authored a number of articles) and AI. Louisa also advises on a variety of general commercial matters, including drafting and negotiating agreements for the supply of goods and services as well as manufacturing, distribution, consultancy and other commercial agreements. Some of Louisa’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting for a global biopharmaceutical company on an AI-powered disease target discovery collaboration and licence agreement with a UK biotech.</li> <li>Acting for a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company on an IP licence and option agreement with a large biotech company relating to monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer.</li> <li>Advising a leading life sciences investor on two spin-outs from well-known academic institutions, including the foundational IP licences and associated research collaborations.</li> <li>Acting for the commercialisation arm of one of the UK’s leading universities on a range of spin-out licences relating to a wide range of technologies including cell and gene therapies.</li> </ul> While at Bristows, Louisa has spent time seconded to pharmaceutical clients, working closely with their in-house legal and commercial teams. This has given her valuable experience of the pressures faced by in-house legal teams and allowed her to tailor her approach closely to the needs of her clients.

Louisa JacobsOf Counsel – Commercial & IP transactions

Louisa specialises in transactional and non-contentious intellectual property matters with a particular focus on the life sciences industry, advising on R&D collaborations, IP licences and a range of other commercial arrangements.

“Myles is a go-to for particularly difficult disputes. He thinks outside of the box to deliver a best-in-class service when dealing with technically and legally complex matters.” IAM Patent 1000 2024 “Myles is very experienced and absolutely exceptional.” Chambers and Partners 2024 Myles practice has focused in recent years upon high-tech disputes for multinational companies and his clients include Samsung, Google, Panasonic and Collins Aerospace. Myles is also part of Bristows’ competition department with experience of handling competition disputes before the UK courts and the European Commission. His work within this department has given him considerable experience in the interface between IPRs and anti-trust issues, particularly in the telecoms sector where he has acted in a number of leading UK cases including Samsung v Apple, IPCom v Nokia/HTC, Unwired Planet v Samsung, Conversant v ZTE and Panasonic v Xiaomi. This experience has meant Myles is at the front of the developing legal area of FRAND dispute resolution. Myles’ post-doctoral level engineering training particularly suits him to the more technically demanding cases within his patent practice. Recent cases within this practice have focused on the computing and telecoms sectors. Myles also, however, acts for clients in the aerospace and robotic technology sectors. Myles also works closely with Bristows’ Commercial Disputes team in relation to commercial disputes relating to the operation of complex technologies. Myles is a qualified Solicitor-Advocate with rights of audience before all the UK’s civil courts and is a qualified Irish Solicitor with full rights to practice before the Irish courts. Myles is also a registered representative with rights to practice before the European Unified Patent Court and is presently running a patent dispute before the Hague local division of the UPC. Some of Myles’ work highlights include: <ul> <li>Winnow Solutions v Orbisk – patent infringement before Hague local division of UPC relating to food waste management technologies.</li> <li>Panasonic v Xiaomi and Oppo – patent infringement and FRAND rate determination in relation to 4G cellular technology.</li> <li>Orderly Mind Ltd v Queue-it SA – patent infringement relating to online queuing systems.</li> <li>Unwired Planet v Samsung & Google – patent infringement and FRAND defences in relation to 3G and 4G cellular technology.</li> <li>Conversant v ZTE – patent infringement and FRAND defences in relation to 3G and 4G cellular technology.</li> <li>IPCom v RIM / Nokia / HTC / Xiaomi / Vodafone – a number of disputes before the UK Courts concerning patent infringement and FRAND defences in relation to 3G and 4G cellular technology.</li> <li>Samsung v Ericsson – patent infringement and FRAND disputes concerning 3G and 4G cellular technologies.</li> <li>Goldschmidt v EOC – patent infringement concerning surfactant chemical manufacture.</li> <li>Texas Instruments v Hyundai – patent dispute concerning computer memory lithographic processes.</li> <li>Intel v VIA – compulsory licensing of essential x86 bus interface patents.</li> </ul> His practice is international nature, with the vast majority of cases in the last 25 years including the co-ordination of parallel cases in jurisdictions throughout the EU and the US. He has closely followed the development of the pan-European Unified Patent Court (UPC) throughout its gestation, regularly attending and speaking at the EPO and EPLAW organised Venice Patent Judges Congress. Myles is a member of AIPPI and was President of the European Patent Lawyers Association (EPLAW), the leading association of European patent lawyers, from 2020-2022.

Myles JelfPartner – Patent litigation

Myles specialises in patent litigation primarily in the tech sector where his practice spans a range of industries from telecommunications to aerospace and beyond.

James JohnstonTrainee Solicitor

James joined Bristows as a Trainee Solicitor in August 2023 and is currently working in the corporate, tax and employment team.

Paul JordanPartner - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Paul specialises in advertising and marketing law and brand protection matters generally. His wide range of clients includes major brand owners, car manufacturers, retailers, airlines, financial service providers and media companies.

With over 30 years’ experience in the <a href="/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a> field, Andrew is a leading free and open-source software lawyer. He regularly advises clients on technology law, computer software licensing and distribution, open source licensing, business structures and compliance, open hardware licensing, open data, the legal aspects of AI, and particularly <a href="/expertise/transactions/commercial-ip-transactions/">IP</a> and regulatory aspects of large language models. Andrew’s clients range across the spectrum of startups to multinationals and he also advises foundations, public sector bodies, academic institutions and trans-national bodies. Andrew is a Fellow of both the Free Software Foundation Europe and the Open Forum Academy, and for seven years held the post of visiting lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, where he taught postgraduates free and open source software law. He is co-author of Open Source Law, Policy and Practice published by Oxford University Press in 2022, as well as a number of other books and papers on open source law and technology law. He is currently a visiting researcher on standards and open source at the University of Skövde, Sweden. He has also recently launched an initiative to manage risk in the open source and AI software supply chains, through the structures of process, procedure and insurance. Andrew’s previous clients include: <ul> <li>Canonical Limited (Ubuntu)</li> <li>The Linux Foundation</li> <li>The Eclipse Foundation</li> </ul> Recent work includes: <ul> <li>Negotiating the business transfer of the CentOS project to Red Hat.</li> <li>Drafting the widely-used Solderpad Open Hardware License and is on the core legal team which drafted the CERN Open Hardware Licence.</li> <li>Leading the Open Hardware section of the European Commission’s Impact Study on Open Source Software and Hardware which was published in 2021. The study is frequently cited by MEPs and the European Commission in relation to EU law and policy.</li> </ul> Andrew has been a board member of the Telecommunications Industry Association, the MariaDB Foundation, Public Software CIC, and general counsel of OpenUK. In 2019, he founded and became CEO of Orcro Limited, a company which provides advice and consultancy on Open Source compliance and supply chain management. Orcro is an accredited partner of the Linux Foundation’s OpenChain project. He is project lead of the Eclipse Foundation’s Corinthian Project, a multi-national project to manage risk in the software supply chain by publishing template documents legal documents intended for use in technology transactions. Andrew is heavily involved in the Linux Foundation’s OpenChain project, where he chairs the UK WorkGroup and the Education Work Group, and is currently working on the OpenChain Capability Maturity Model. Additional affiliations include: <ul> <li>Founding Editor of the International Free and Open Source Law Review, JOLTS (Journal of Open Law, Technology and Society)</li> <li>Advisory panel (formerly editor): Journal of Open Hardware</li> <li>Advisor: Low RISC Foundation. Technical</li> <li>Advisory Board Advisor: OpenHW Group</li> <li>Licensing Panel: FOSSi Foundation</li> <li>United Nations Technology Innovation Labs: advisory panel</li> <li>SurgHub (UN initiative for dissemination of clinical learning): advisory panel</li> </ul>

Andrew KatzConsultant

Andrew has over 30 years’ experience in the technology field and is a leading free and open-source software lawyer.

Alex KeenlysidePartner – Defamation & privacy disputes

Alex is an experienced litigator specialising in contentious media and data protection matters. He acts for many of the leading global tech companies as well as some of the most highly regarded international media organisations.

Antonia KendrickAssociate – Competition and Antitrust

Antonia specialises in competition law. Her practice covers all aspects of competition law, including merger control, investigations, litigation and competition law aspects arising out of commercial agreements.

Hugo advises on a broad range of regulatory matters impacting the life sciences sector in the UK and the EU. In particular, he advises on issues affecting medicines and medical devices throughout the entire product-lifecycle, including clinical research, authorisations and certification, regulatory exclusivities, manufacturing, supply chain structures and market access. Hugo also has experience advising life sciences clients on a variety of self-regulatory codes of conduct for the life sciences industry which govern advertising and industry interaction with the healthcare sector, such as the EFPIA, ABPI and ABHI Codes. Hugo regularly provides specialist due diligence support in the context of corporate life sciences transactions. Recent areas of particular activity have included: <ul> <li>Navigating the complexity of the 2024 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG).</li> <li>Advising relation to the requirements of the ABPI Code, including assisting clients in relation to complaint administered by the PMCPA.</li> <li>Providing specialist regulatory due diligence support for a various corporate transactions in the life sciences sector.</li> </ul> Some of Hugo’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Advising several leading pharmaceutical companies on the implications of the new repayment mechanism introduced under VPAG, including in relation to product classification.</li> <li>Assisting an innovator pharmaceutical company in responding to several PMCPA complaints in relation to alleged breaches of the ABPI Code.</li> <li>Conducting specialist due diligence in relation to the corporate sale of a large company providing healthcare products and services with a portfolio including products classified as medicines, medical devices, cosmetics and food supplements.</li> <li>A project to implement global internal standard operating procedures in relation to the use of software as a medical device (SaMD) in a large pharmaceutical company.</li> </ul> Hugo joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in 2019 and gained experience in a range of practice areas, including transactional intellectual property, patent litigation and data protection. During his training, Hugo spent three months on secondment at a leading clinical artificial intelligence company, where he gained valuable medical device regulatory and commercial contract experience. After qualifying into the life sciences regulatory team, Hugo completed a full-time secondment at a leading global pharmaceutical company, assisting the company with an internal compliance audit. Prior to joining Bristows, Hugo worked as a chemistry teacher in a secondary school in London.

Hugo Kent-EganAssociate – Life sciences regulatory

Hugo advises clients on how to comply with the UK and EU life sciences regulatory frameworks, particularly those relevant to medicines and medical devices.

Vik specialises in all aspects of commercial technology law. He regularly leads complex and strategic technology projects, including: <ul> <li>digital transformation</li> <li>IT outsourcing</li> <li>business process outsourcing</li> <li>cloud implementations</li> <li>technology platform roll-outs</li> <li>application design and build</li> <li>other projects involving the use or exploitation of IP, data and technology</li> </ul> Vik regularly advises clients on <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/artificial-intelligence/">artificial intelligence</a> and machine learning, ranging from some of the world’s leading developers on their AI product launches, through to sophisticated users in life sciences, financial services and the public sector seeking to implement AI in a responsible and compliant way. He is also the co-lead of our digital health business, co-ordinating teams of Bristows specialists to help growing healthtech businesses as well as large pharma, medical device and public health organisations leverage new technologies to deliver better health outcomes. In addition, Vik is the host of our popular technology law podcast, <a href="https://bristowstheroadmap.buzzsprout.com/">The Roadmap</a>, each month diving into the digital transformation trends that are re-shaping modern businesses. Recent projects Vik has led include: <ul> <li>The launch of an artificial intelligence product designed to transform scientific research and result in significant medical breakthroughs in coming years.</li> <li>Two of the UK’s biggest fintech infrastructure programmes, including new payments networks and digital currencies.</li> <li>A £1bn global customer operations outsourcing involving cutting-edge robotic process automation technology.</li> <li>An agile software development project relating to critical national infrastructure.</li> <li>A core banking platform design, build and implementation project.</li> <li>A collaboration to roll-out a carbon emissions tracking platform to help the energy industry reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet sustainability goals.</li> </ul> Vik is an Officer of the Technology Committee at the International Bar Association, and is the Vice-Chair of the Technology Transactions Group at the Society for Computers & Law.

Vik KhuranaPartner - IT & digital projects

Vik is a technology law expert, regularly leading complex tech transactions, digital transformations, outsourcing, cloud, AI, digital health and fintech projects. He co-leads our AI and digital health businesses and leads our fintech business. He is regularly asked to speak about tech law trends and issues at global conferences.

Rebecca KirtleyAssociate - Defamation & privacy disputes

Rebecca joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in August 2020.

Alex KtoridesHead of Risk and Compliance

As Head of Risk and Compliance at Bristows, Alex is responsible for the programs and processes that support the firm's compliance framework.

Subhalakshmi KumarAssociate - Data protection & privacy

Subha advises on a wide variety of data protection, privacy and cyber related issues – her practice encompasses advisory and product counselling work across a range of sectors, data protection enforcement cases, and data protection advice in the context of mergers and acquisitions.

Sze-Von LamTrainee Solicitor

Sze-Von joined Bristows as a Trainee Solicitor in August 2024 and is part of the competition team.

Ellen has broad IP experience and specialises in advising clients on non-contentious IP matters with a focus on transactions that involve the development, exploitation, and transfer of IP rights. She advises clients across a range of sectors, with a particular focus on the life sciences sector. Her clients range from large multinational companies, investors, start-ups and growing companies, to spin-outs and academic and non-profit research organisations. Ellen frequently advises on high value research and development collaborations and licensing and option deals. She also advises on a range of other commercial agreements including research funding agreements, manufacturing and supply arrangements, clinical trial agreements, service agreements, material transfer agreements, confidentiality agreements, IP assignments, joint ownership and revenue share agreements. Ellen also frequently advises on the IP aspects of academic spin outs and her breadth of experience gives her valuable insight into the aims and motivations of all the parties involved in these complex transactions. Ellen also supports our IP litigation practice by advising on settlement agreements for high value patent and trade mark litigation, and supports our corporate and financing teams advising on IP issues arising in the context of corporate transactions (including M&A and investment deals). Some of Ellen’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting for a global pharmaceutical company on an AI enabled target discovery research collaboration and option agreement with a UK based biotech company with expertise in machine learning.</li> <li>Acting for a global biopharma company on an AI enabled antibody discovery collaboration with a UK based AI enabled drug discovery company.</li> <li>Acting for a world leading research organisation on the licensing of technology to a company focused on machine learning and high-throughput drug discovery.</li> <li>Advising a leading medical research charity on its membership of a world leading health research partnership.</li> <li>Acting for a global pharmaceutical company on the settlement of a large number of EPO patent oppositions relating to a blockbuster drug.</li> <li>Advising a leading UK research university in connection with a licence agreement entered into by a portfolio spin-out company with a large global pharmaceutical company.</li> <li>Acting for a world leading research organisation on a worldwide patent licence to an RNA therapeutics spin-out company.</li> <li>Advising a global non-profit organisation focused on accelerating the development of vaccines on various aspects of its framework agreements with commercial and academic partners.</li> <li>Advising a global mid-sized pharmaceutical company on a number of academic research collaborations relating to an alternative formulation of the company’s key commercial product.</li> <li>Advising a leading UK research university on the establishment of new clinical research facilities in collaboration with an NHS Trust.</li> <li>Advising on GMP manufacturing agreement for the manufacture of IMP for a Phase 1 clinical trial of a novel oncology product.</li> <li>Advising a global pharmaceutical company on an R&D collaboration and option agreement relating to the use of organ on chip technology for development of CAR-T therapies.</li> <li>Advising a world leading university on the licensing of its vaccine platform technology to a global pharmaceutical company for the research, development and commercialisation of a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2.</li> </ul> Ellen has benefited from time in-house at two multinational companies and has a clear understanding of what her clients need when working with external counsel. Ellen regularly speaks and presents on a variety of legal topics and is one of the facilitators of the transactional IP workshop as part of the University of Oxford Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice. Ellen regularly participates in events aimed at broadening access to the legal profession, including mentoring aspiring solicitors. She also acts as a mentor to a number of junior lawyers inside the firm as part of the Bristows mentoring scheme. Ellen is a member of the Licensing Executives Society. Additionally, Ellen is a member of the Bristows Trainee Committee (responsible for recruitment and training of our trainee solicitors) and the Bristows Inclusion Group (which oversees the firm’s DE&I initiatives). Ellen is also a member of the firm’s Environmental and Sustainability Reporting Committee.

Ellen LambrixPartner - Commercial & IP transactions

Ellen specialises in advising on commercial and IP transactions, particularly in the life sciences sector. Her clients range from multinational companies to start-ups and research organisations. She has significant experience advising on high value transactions including IP licensing, R&D collaborations and IP settlements.

Ben LamminAssociate - Corporate & financing

Ben advises UK and global clients on corporate and commercial matters in life sciences, technology and fintech sectors, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, venture capital, UK and transatlantic public takeovers, corporate governance and general corporate matters.

Sophie specialises in EU and UK competition law and litigation. She is a trusted advisor to businesses in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors in particular, and in relation to the competition issues that arise in connection with standardised technology. Her practice spans all competition issues, but has a particular focus on litigation and investigations, alongside antitrust advisory work. Sophie has significant experience of competition litigation in the UK courts and the Competition Appeal Tribunal, including appeals up to Supreme Court level. She has been involved both in pure competition law actions, acting for both claimants and defendants, and in numerous patent and other intellectual property claims in which competition issues have been raised. Sophie has market-leading experience of cases involving FRAND licensing obligations, acting for both implementers and patentees. Sophie’s case load to date has also included defending applications for interim injunctive relief, handling mixed stand-alone/follow-on damages claims, advising on collective actions, raising and defending competition issues arising from the seeking of remedies in IP cases and claims arising from IP licences. Some of Sophie’s recent experience includes: <ul> <li>Acting for Google in long-running private damages litigation.</li> <li>Acting for Panasonic in UK litigation on FRAND licensing terms.</li> <li>Successfully defended Morningside Pharmaceuticals from the dawn raid onwards in a four-year CMA investigation.</li> </ul> Alongside her litigation case-load, Sophie handles competition authority investigations at both EU and national level. Her experience spans the full timespan of investigations, from dawn raids to final appeals. Issues on which she has advised in this context include both substantive competition law and procedural issues, such as legal professional privilege, as well as dealing with competition director disqualification cases which are now a focus for the UK competition regulator. Sophie is Vice Chair (Competition) of the Competition Law Association (CLA) Committee and is co-editor of the ‘IP and Competition’ chapter in the latest edition of Bellamy and Child, the leading competition law text book (publication forthcoming). She also teaches the competition law module on the University of Oxford Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice course.

Sophie LawrancePartner – Competition and Antitrust

Sophie specialises in EU and UK competition law and litigation. She has a particular interest in working with businesses in technology and pharmaceutical sectors, and in relation to the competition issues that arise in connection with standardised technology.

Janna advises on transactional matters for the <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/life-sciences/">life sciences</a> and <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a> sectors. Her experience includes advising on intellectual property licences, research collaborations, university spin-out arrangements, database exploitation agreements and litigation settlements. Valuable and innovative intellectual property is central to the work that she does at Bristows, which often involves cutting-edge developments in life sciences or healthcare. This work complements Janna’s background in biochemistry and her previous career in science journalism. Matters that sit at the intersection between life sciences and technology also form a key part of her practice, such as agreements for the development of mobile apps for the healthcare sector and AI algorithms for the diagnosis of disease. She has worked with clients including large multinational biopharmaceutical companies, universities, scientist-founders and medical publishing organisations. Janna also has experience advising on data protection issues, pure IT matters and general commercial services and sale of goods agreements for a cross-section of clients. Some of Janna’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting for a medical publisher on the licencing of its drug database for development into a mobile app for use by healthcare professionals.</li> <li>Acting for a life sciences research charity on a patent and know-how licence for the development of its cutting-edge genetic analysis technology in the context of a spin-out arrangement with a US private equity fund.</li> <li>Advising a leading research university on the commercialisation of its data for the development of AI algorithms to aid diagnosis of lung disease.</li> <li>Providing detailed advice to a scientist-founder on the interpretation and application of the licence and option agreement with a global pharmaceutical company in respect of an investigational drug candidate for alzheimers.</li> </ul> While at Bristows, Janna has been seconded to a global video game and entertainment company and a multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device company. These experiences have given Janna valuable understanding of the pressures and challenges faced day-to-day by clients. Janna is a member of IPSoc.

Janna LawrenceAssociate - Commercial & IP transactions

Janna advises on transactional matters for the life sciences and technology sectors. Her experience includes advising on intellectual property licences, research collaborations, university spin-out arrangements, database exploitation agreements and litigation settlements. Valuable and innovative intellectual property is central to the work that she does at Bristows.

Elisa LindemannAssociate - IT & digital projects

Elisa joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in August 2019. She completed training in September 2021 and is now working in the commercial IP/IT team.

Marc is a Senior Associate in the <a href="/expertise/litigation-dispute-resolution/brands-designs-copyright/">trade mark, designs and copyright</a> team, having joined Bristows as a trainee in 2016. Marc advises on contentious and non-contentious matters relating to all “soft” IP rights, including trade marks, copyright and design rights, as well as advertising regulations. Marc specialises in complex intellectual property disputes and has broad litigation experience, handling significant cases before the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, High Court and Court of Appeal, alongside trade mark registry proceedings before the UK Intellectual Property Office. Highlights of Marc’s recent litigation experience include: <ul> <li>Walton v Verweij Fashion – Acting for the defendant in High Court trade mark infringement and passing off proceedings concerning a menswear brand.</li> <li>Glaxo v Sandoz & Vectura – Representing Vectura in passing off proceedings brought by GlaxoSmithKline concerning the shape and colour of an asthma inhaler.</li> <li>Natural Instinct Ltd v Natures Menu Ltd – Acting for the defendant in IPEC proceedings relating to sales of pet food in the UK and Europe.</li> <li>Match Group v Muzmatch – Acting for the defendant in high profile and widely publicised trade mark infringement and passing off claims before the IPEC and Court of Appeal.</li> <li>Virgin Enterprises v Heineken – Representing Heineken in a High Court trade mark infringement claim relating to alcohol free beer.</li> <li>Chaos Boxing v Eriksson Bros – Acting for the defendant in IPEC proceedings relating to trade mark infringement and passing off claims concerning Playtech and e-sports equipment.</li> <li>Newmark Real Estate & Co v Newmark Property Consultants – Acting for the claimant in High Court proceedings relating to a complex passing off claim seeking a declaration of non-passing off in connection with the provision of real estate services in the UK.</li> </ul> In addition to his litigation experience, Marc’s work includes handling alternative forms of dispute resolution, including acting for a global consumer electronics manufacturer in an ICC arbitration seated in London in connection with alleged breaches of a licensing agreement for the supply of semiconductor chips. Marc has broad experience advising a diverse range of clients on contentious IP matters and pre-litigation strategy. Examples of Marc’s recent advisory work include: <ul> <li>Assisting a global confectionary company with the enforcement of registered trade mark rights against virtual goods featuring in the gameplay of an RPG on the Roblox platform.</li> <li>Advising a leading Web3 digital media company regarding possible claims of trade mark and copyright infringement relating to the reproduction of a high-profile NFT collection.</li> <li>Assisting a global fashion chain in connection with an international copyright dispute concerning the design of women’s lingerie.</li> <li>Assisting a global fashion retailer with a cross-border registered design dispute relating to the shape and design of make-up sponges.</li> </ul> Marc also has experience assisting household brands with enforcement programmes to protect registered trade marks, copyright and design rights across a range of sectors, including media, fashion, and fast moving consumers goods. Additionally, Marc routinely advises advertisers and publishers regarding compliance with advertising regulations. Marc regularly writes articles on key issues and developments within his practice area, including for Bristows’ Brands Review of the Year and Designs and Copyright Review of the Year plus contributions for several publications, including the European Intellectual Property Journal, The Licensing Journal, Kluwer Copyright Blog and World Intellectual Property Review, amongst others. He also presents on topics of interest, including webinars on the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the metaverse for Practical Law and the Society of Computers and Law, alongside presenting copyright and AI seminars for MBL.

Marc LinsnerSenior Associate - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Marc works in the trade mark, designs and copyright team.

Rose LynchAssociate – Defamation & privacy disputes

Rose is a litigator with substantial experience advising clients on complex disputes, with a particular focus on the technology and media sectors.

Emma Macalister HallSenior Associate - Data protection & privacy

Emma specialises in data protection and privacy law, including advising clients on contentious and regulatory data protection matters.

Ewan MacAulayAssociate – Patent litigation

Ewan works on dispute resolution relating to patents across the life sciences and tech sectors.

Mac MacmillanOf Counsel - Data protection & privacy

Mac advises UK and multi-national organisations on UK and EU data protection and privacy issues.

Nischay MallAssociate - Patent Litigation

Nischay is an associate in the patent litigation team at Bristows working across the technology and life sciences sectors. He has a background in chemical engineering.

Angelica MartellatoTrade Mark Attorney - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Angelica has worked in intellectual property since 2016 and previously worked in London at an international law firm.

Jamie MaySenior Associate - Corporate & financing

Jamie advises clients on a range of domestic and international corporate transactions including mergers and acquisitions, investments and reorganisations, as well as general corporate matters.

Simon McDougall is the Chief Strategist for Privacy and AI at ZoomInfo, where he leads the company’s strategy on privacy and artificial intelligence, advising both the company and its clients on regulatory compliance, risk management, and government relations. He was previously ZoomInfo’s Chief Compliance Officer. Simon brings over 20 years of experience in privacy law and data governance, having worked with clients across the UK, Europe, the US, and Asia. Prior to joining ZoomInfo, he served as Deputy Commissioner at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent authority for information rights. During his time at the ICO, Simon played a leading role in shaping the ICO’s response to emerging technologies such as AI and adtech, as well as leading innovation policy. He is a Senior Adviser to Bristows, a UK law firm, and an International Fellow at Yale’s Digital Ethics Center. Simon is a thought leader in privacy and AI governance, contributing to industry discussions and advising on best practices for managing AI risks in compliance with data protection law and regulation. Some of Simon’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting as Chief Strategist for Privacy and AI at ZoomInfo, advising on global regulatory compliance and risk management for AI technologies, and previously serving as their Chief Compliance Officer. Built their Compliance, Policy and Risk Management functions and initiated their Responsible AI Program.</li> <li>Establishing the Technology, Innovation and AI functions at the ICO, and leading for them in the establishment of the Digital Regulation Cooperation Oorum.</li> <li>Leading the ICO’s response to data use during the COVID-19 pandemic, including managing issues related to AI and data ethics.</li> <li>Consulting for leading technology companies across Europe, the US, and Asia on privacy governance and regulatory compliance at Promontory, an IBM company, and Deloitte.</li> </ul> Simon’s additional expertise includes: <ul> <li>Privacy regulation in the context of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies</li> <li>Government and regulatory relations</li> <li>Enterprise and Operational risk management in data governance</li> <li>AI ethics and responsible AI practices</li> <li>Cybersecurity and adtech policy</li> </ul> Simon is a Chartered Accountant at ICAEW he is also an International Fellow of Yale Digital Ethics Center, and a Board Member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

Simon McDougallSenior Adviser

Simon has over 20 years’ experience in data privacy, AI governance, and risk management, advising clients on regulatory compliance, privacy, and data protection, with a focus on emerging technologies and artificial intelligence.

Jerry MertonPartner/Chief Financial Officer

Jerry is a Partner and Bristows’ Chief Financial Officer, and works with the Joint Managing Partners in devising and implementing the firm’s strategy.

Christopher MillardSenior Counsel - Data protection & privacy

Christopher has over 35 years' experience in technology law, both in academia and legal practice.

Timothy MintonTrainee Solicitor

Timothy is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the patent litigation team.

Alex MocanuAssociate

Alex is an associate and is part of the patent litigation team. During his training and since qualifying, he has been involved in coordinating UK and cross-border patent disputes.

Over the last 15 years, Rachel has advised clients on global patent litigation matters across a broad range of topics, from pharma, biotech and medical devices cases to glass fibres and beer-dispensing machines. She has a particular interest in the chemical and life sciences sectors due to her background in chemistry. Rachel’s work encompasses working on pre-litigation strategic issues as well as active litigation before the courts in the UK and elsewhere and playing a pivotal role in the coordination of multi-jurisdictional patent litigation. As part of this work she has gained experience in a range of issues such as obtaining interim injunctions, conducting litigation experiments, working with a wide range of technical experts and advising on patent entitlement issues. For much of her career, Rachel has worked with leading pharmaceutical companies, helping them to develop strategies for the defence and enforcement of patents relating to blockbuster medicines and medical devices. Her work therefore involves working closely with lawyers and patent attorneys across the globe to ensure careful technical and legal alignment of litigation and prosecution matters. Rachel’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Celltrion v Genentech & Novartis – litigation in the High Court relating to XOLAIR (omalizumab) formulation.</li> <li>Teva and Samsung Bioepis v Novartis – litigation in the High Court relating to LUCENTIS (ranibizumab) pre-filled syringes, also multi-jurisdictional coordination.</li> <li>Heineken v Anheuser Busch Inbev v Heineken – litigation in the High Court relating to polymer chemistry of kegs used in beer dispensing machines.</li> <li>OCV v Jushi – Appeal before the Court of Appeal relating to composition of glass fibres (guidance on anticipation relating to numerical ranges).</li> <li>Fisher & Paykel v Resmed – litigation in the High Court relating to CPAP masks.</li> <li>Good Technology Corporation v MobileIron – litigation in the High Court relating to software application.</li> <li>Hospira v Novartis – litigation in the High Court and Court of Appeal relating to a dosage regimen relating to ACLASTA, also multijurisdictional coordination. Includes notable preliminary injunction (PI) decision from the Court of Appeal on the availability of PIs when a patent has been held to be invalid at first instance.</li> <li>Top 5 pharmaceutical company v multiple generics/biosimilar companies (coordination of litigation and pre-litigation strategies relating to additional blockbuster medicines).</li> </ul> Rachel spent seven months on secondment to the patent litigation team of a US biopharmaceutical company where she gained a first-hand appreciation of life as “the client” and a valuable insight into how best to provide good client service and useful, commercial advice. Rachel is a co-editor of the Kluwer Patent Blog.

Rachel MumbyPartner – Patent litigation

Rachel is an experienced patent litigator who enjoys working with clients on cases before the courts in the UK and elsewhere as well as on strategic pre-litigation matters. She has a particular interest in the chemical and life sciences sectors due to her background in chemistry.

Samuel MundaySenior Associate - Corporate & financing

Samuel advises on a broad range of corporate transactional matters, as well as providing general corporate advice to clients.

Erik advises clients on a range of non-contentious matters where intellectual property is at the heart of the transaction. His experience includes drafting and negotiating complex IP licences and options, R&D collaboration agreements, sponsored research agreements, strategic alliances, contract development and manufacturing arrangements and litigation settlement agreements. In addition, Erik works on general commercial matters including the supply of goods and services, distribution arrangements and consultancy agreements. Erik advises regularly on the formation of spin-outs from universities and research institutes and provides IP support on corporate transactions. Erik’s work spans a number of industries, with a particular focus on the life sciences sector where his clients range from newly established biotechs, multi-national pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to investment funds and world-class academic institutions. Erik’s commitment to providing pragmatic commercial advice to players in the life sciences ecosystem is complemented by his background in biochemistry and biophysics. Some of Erik’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Advising a world-leading UK research university on the licensing of its COVID-19 vaccine to a global biopharma company for further development, manufacture and commercialisation.</li> <li>Acting for a Spanish pharmaceutical company in out-licensing its small cell lung cancer therapy for commercialisation in Japan by a globally-recognised pharmaceutical company.</li> <li>Advising a multinational biopharmaceutical company on the acquisition of data and samples from one of the largest tumor evolution studies for lung cancer.</li> <li>Advising a renowned UK university on a long-term strategic alliance with a global institute aiming to use advanced technology to solve humanity’s most challenging problems, including commitments of over £100m for collaborative research programmes.</li> <li>Acting for academic and research institutions, investors and founders on the establishment of a number of spin-outs leveraging cutting-edge technologies, including AI-powered drug discovery, advanced RNA medicines and cell and gene therapies.</li> </ul> During his time at Bristows, Erik has gained valuable experience working alongside in-house counsel as part of client secondments to a global biopharmaceutical company, a world-leading genomics research institute and the technology transfer office of a renowned London university.

Erik MüürseppSenior Associate - Commercial & IP transactions

Erik is a commercial lawyer with a background in life sciences who advises a range of clients in innovative industries on the effective commercialisation of intellectual property and technology assets.

Gabriela NeculaAssociate – Corporate & financing

Gabriela has experience across various sectors, including technology, life sciences and consumer products. She advises clients on a range of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganisations and other general corporate matters.

Patrick NewlandsTrainee Solicitor

Patrick is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the CTC disputes team. Patrick competed his MEng Aerospace Engineering at the University of Bath.

Jennifer NoelOf Counsel - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Jennifer deals with all trade mark issues. She has many years’ experience in dealing with UK, International and European Union Trade Marks and in managing international portfolios.

Luke’s practice focuses on advising clients on their contentious patent matters across a wide spectrum of technologies. With experience in both the <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/life-sciences/">life sciences</a> and <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a> sectors, Luke is able to quickly gain an understanding of the complex technology which underpins his clients’ businesses. Luke’s understanding of both the legal issues and commercial context of his advice means that he becomes a trusted advisor to his clients. Prior to joining Bristows, Luke trained and qualified at a leading international law firm. Luke’s focus once he qualified was (and still is) complex <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/litigation-disputeresolution/patent-litigation/">patent litigation</a> disputes. However, he also draws on his past experience advising on varied intellectual property rights including copyright disputes relating to AI software, and negotiating licensing and supply agreements for life sciences clients. Some of Luke’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting as the leading junior associate in multiple patent litigation matters before the UK High Court, both for and against patentees.</li> <li>Supporting and advising local counsel in novel disputes relating to the SPC Waiver Regulation, including attending hearings at the Dutch Court of Appeal and across other European jurisdictions.</li> <li>Co-ordinating parallel litigation in 10+ countries, instructing and managing local counsel on behalf of his client.</li> </ul> Luke places great emphasis on pro-bono work. As a student he worked on capital punishment appeals in Washington DC, and as a qualified solicitor has advised pro-bono clients on wide ranging subjects including copyright infringement and disability discrimination. Luke is passionate about inclusion and social mobility, and was on the Social Mobility Committee at his previous firm.

Luke NortonAssociate - Patent Litigation

Luke advices clients on complex patent litigation matters across both the life sciences and technology sectors.

Kate O’SullivanSenior Associate - Patent litigation

Kate specialises in patent litigation in the life sciences sector, with a particular interest in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Her background in biochemistry provides excellent basis for the technical aspects of such disputes. She has experience of both UK litigation and in the coordination of cross-border disputes.

Nicola OkerekeAssociate - IT & Digital

Nicola is an Associate and is part of the commercial IP/IT team.

Freya specialises in advising on technically complex disputes arising out of commercial contracts. Freya’s clients range from international outsourcing providers, multi-national PLCs and government departments to SMEs. In addition to formal disputes, Freya also provides clients with strategic and risk-management advice in relation to distressed technology projects. This advice helps to facilitate settlements or renegotiations on favourable terms, often avoiding litigation altogether. Freya has excellent project and case management skills having worked on a number of the largest IT cases in recent years. This has involved working effectively with forensic, delay and technology experts, as well as handling the latest document management technologies and leading online trial software. Some of Freya’s recent work examples include: <ul> <li>Acting for DBS in <a href="https://inquisitiveminds.bristows.com/post/102j7q2/judgment-in-delay-case-tata-consultancy-services-limited-v-disclosure-and-barrin">TCS v DBS [2024] EWHC 1185 (TCC)</a> (one of the Lawyer’s top 20 cases of 2023) in relation to a +£200m dispute with its IT supplier arising out of delays and other issues with an IT modernisation programme.</li> <li>Acting for a global tech company in arbitration in one of the largest IT disputes in the UK involving the termination of a £1bn government IT project.</li> <li>Acting for a leading technology insurer in relation to a number of ongoing claims brought against its insureds, including: a claim against a website designer for defects/SEO issues with an e-commerce website; a claim against an IT services provider arising from the deletion of client data; and a claim against an IT integrator for delays to the design and implementation of a back-office system</li> <li>Advising a global digital transformation provider at the pre action stage in connection with a claim arising from accuracy issues relating to an AI modelling programme, including providing formal advice on the merits of the client’s position to inform settlement discussions.</li> <li>Advising a software development company in respect of a portfolio of licensing claims it had against long-standing resellers of its software, including working with the client to ensure that it maintained its future relationships and revenue stream from these resellers.</li> </ul> Prior to joining Bristows, Freya spent several years as part of a Tier 1 IT disputes practice at an international firm. Although the focus of her work is principally in the technology sector, Freya also has experience in the life sciences sector, advising pharmaceutical companies in relation to contractual disputes arising out of licence agreements. Freya is a member of the Society for Computers and Law.

Freya OllerearnshawSenior Associate – Commercial disputes

Freya is a technology disputes lawyer with experience in advising both suppliers and customers at all stages of a dispute: from pre-action through to formal proceedings, both in front of the courts and arbitral tribunals.

Gaby OmoleAssociate – Real estate

Gaby has experience working with a broad range of clients including landowners, developers, landlords and corporate occupiers on commercial property transactions.

Max PalmerSenior Associate - Commercial disputes

Max is a commercial disputes lawyer with experience advising clients at all stages of a dispute.

Jake works on contentious and advisory matters relating to soft-IP: in particular <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/litigation-disputeresolution/trade-mark-designs-copyright/">trade marks, copyright, design</a> rights, and passing off. Jake has experience working on soft IP cases in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. Much of Jake’s experience is in brand enforcement and soft-IP disputes. At the pre-litigation stage, Jake advises clients on enforcement strategies, advises on the merits of potential infringements and prepares pre-action correspondence. Jake’s litigation experience includes working for claimants and defendants as the lead Associate on cases in the High Court and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court. Jake also has experience supporting a team in a case in the Court of Appeal. In terms of advisory work, Jake advises on a variety of soft-IP matters, including: the IP implications of web scraping and data collection of third party online data, look-a-like infringement advice and advertising advice. Some of Jake’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Codeplan v Compliance Health – Acting for the defendant in a High Court copyright claim relating to template documents.</li> <li>Chaos Boxing v Eriksson Bros – Acting for the defendant in an Intellectual Property Enterprise Court case relating to trade mark infringement and passing off claims concerning e-sport equipment.</li> <li>Delvaux v Longchamp – Acting for the claimant in an Intellectual Property Enterprise Court case relating to a passing off claim concerning high-end fashion items.</li> <li>Toluna v Stagwell – Acting for the claimants in a High Court claim relating to a trade mark and passing off claim concerning market research services.</li> <li>Glaxo v Sandoz – Supporting the team in a passing off High Court trial concerning the colour and shape of asthma inhalers.</li> <li>Supporting the team as co-counsel in Swatch v Samsung (Court of Appeal).</li> <li>Advising various clients on the implications of collecting publicly available data online and the use of web crawling bots.</li> </ul> Jake has assisted in advising clients on advertising matters and contributed to UK Chapter of the first edition of International Advertising Law.

Jake PalmerAssociate – Trade mark, designs & copyright

Jake works on contentious and advisory matters relating to soft-IP: in particular trade marks, copyright, design rights, and passing off. Jake has experience working on soft IP cases in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.

Naina’s experience ranges from negotiating agreements, considering and advising on <a href="/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a> projects for clients (including SaaS and software licensing), and working on cross-border transactions. Having advised on multiple long term retainers for clients, Naina understands the importance of practical legal advice, particularly for clients working with technology providers. On the <a href="/expertise/transactions/commercial-ip-transactions/">IP</a> side, Naina has a particular interest in media and entertainment, having worked on agreements related to the acquisition and production of films and tv programmes. She also works on franchising, licensing and talent arrangements for consumer-facing brands. In addition, she considers the IP implications of software and products, including those created in collaboration between partners, being used more widely in developing technology. In relation to data privacy matters, Naina focuses primarily on ongoing data protection compliance for clients. She has an interest in the impact of new product technology on both consumer and data protection rights. Some of Naina’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting for an international licensee on the licensing arrangements of a well-known UK bar chain for franchising of the chain in Asia.</li> <li>Advising on the acquisitions of businesses by various clients including, software providers, media and advertising businesses and retail companies.</li> <li>Assisting with our client’s sale of its multimillion pound UK-wide retail chain.</li> <li>Negotiating for clients in their use of SaaS and subscription licences. Advising clients on their plans for long-term technology products.</li> <li>Acting for an independent director and producer on a short film project conducting the production legal work for the film. Also assisting with its acquisition by Disney and distribution on Disney+.</li> <li>Updating all trade mark licensing arrangements as part of a global telecommunications company’s restructuring.</li> </ul> Naina has previously been seconded to both a global technology company, and, more recently, a leading US-headquartered entertainment group. In this latter role, she worked closely with the business to negotiate and draft commercial agreements with various organisations, including event agencies, software companies and consultants. She also advised on adjacent considerations such as advertising and consumer law, and worked closely with the company’s specialist intellectual property and data protection teams. Prior to joining Bristows, Naina worked for a multinational group assisting with the creation and development of their loyalty scheme. She is a member of the Society for Computers & Law as well as IPSoc.

Naina PatelAssociate – Commercial & IP transactions

Naina advises on commercial IP, IT and data privacy issues, with a particular focus on the media and technology sectors.

Marek PeteckiPartner - Corporate & financing

Marek is a partner in the corporate practice. He advises companies and investors who are active in IP-rich sectors; in particular the life sciences, technology and consumer products sectors.

Claire is a contentious IP specialist. She works in a variety of sectors including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, chemicals and consumer electronics. Claire is regularly engaged in patent infringement and revocation actions in the UK High Court and Court of Appeal, including preliminary injunction applications. She also has experience in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, has assisted with judicial review on regulatory matters, complex damages actions, applications for interim and summary relief, pre-action and third party disclosure and permission to appeal in a number of courts, including the Supreme Court. Alongside her UK practice, Claire has embraced the global coordination of patent litigation since qualifying in 2011, including developing strategies involving regulatory/competition law aspects. Some of Claire’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Sandoz, Teva & others v Bayer – acting for Teva in a multi-party dispute concerning the validity of Bayer’s patent protection for the dosing regime of rivaroxaban (Xarelto®) at first instance and in the Court of Appeal; including assisting in multiple preliminary injunction applications at first instance and on appeal.</li> <li>Teva v Grunenthal – acting for Teva in a patent infringement and validity action concerning the formulation patent covering Grunenthal’s testosterone undecanoate product, Nebido®.</li> <li>Teva v Novartis – acting for Novartis in patent litigation concerning a patent protecting deferasirox (Exjade®) in the UK High Court.</li> <li>Regeneron & Teva v Rinat – acting for Teva/Regeneron in patent litigation before the English Patents Court concerning anti-NGF an antibody (fasinumab) being trialled for the treatment of osteoarthritis.</li> <li>Eli Lilly v Teva – acting for Teva in patent litigation relating to patents for an anti-CGRP antibody, fremanezumab (Ajovy®) used to treat migraine and cluster headache.</li> <li>Novartis v Hospira & others – acting for Novartis in patent litigation relating to zoledronic acid (Aclasta®), including in achieving the seminal Court of Appeal decision on preliminary injunctions that confirms that parties must clear the way to the Court of Appeal or risk being injuncted.</li> <li>Orion v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Ever Neuro – acting for Ever Neuro in judicial review proceedings concerning an MHRA decision to grant a generic MA for dexmedetomidine hydrochloride.</li> <li>Smith & Nephew v Convatec – assisting Smith & Nephew in proceedings against Convatex in relation to gel-forming wound dressings (Durafiber®), including a damages claim under a cross-undertaking.</li> <li>Assisting multiple large pharmaceutical companies in global coordination relating to patent rights covering treatments (including small molecules, antibodies, non-biological complex drugs) for a diverse range of disorders, including alignment on regulatory matters and competition aspects.</li> </ul> Claire has a particular interest in the <a href="/expertise/sectors/life-sciences/">life sciences</a> sector. Her biochemical background lends itself to the technical aspects of <a href="/expertise/transactions/commercial-ip-transactions/">intellectual property</a> matters, particularly in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields. She regularly works alongside lawyers and patent attorneys in various jurisdictions within Europe, Asia, Australasia and the US to coordinate global litigation strategies. Claire is actively involved in Bristows’ <a href="/about-us/corporate-responsibility/">corporate responsibility</a> efforts and chairs the CR Charities Committee.

Claire Phipps-JonesPartner - Patent litigation

Claire’s primary practice involves all things patent litigation in the life sciences sector. With a biochemistry Masters and experience in the pharmaceutical industry, she is well-placed to understand the complex and technical aspects of such disputes. Claire has extensive experience in UK litigation and in global coordination of cross-border disputes.

“Richard is super bright, a strategic thinker and knows everything there is to know about technology.” (Chambers UK 2025) Richard is a litigator focused on patents and the technology sector. Richard has acted in some of the largest and most significant patent disputes before the UK courts. His qualifications as a solicitor advocate allow him to appear before all courts in England and Wales and he is a UPC representative. Richard handles both patent infringement and validity and has extensive experience in enforcement and defence. Richard’s background in engineering gives him a unique edge, enabling him to navigate technical patent litigation in diverse sectors with ease. Richard has extensive experience advising clients on FRAND and SEP matters and he has been at the forefront of the legal developments in this area throughout his career, including on the intersection with competition law. Richard also advises on licensing disputes where patents are a focus, particularly in relation to patent licensing programs. On nearly all of Richard’s cases he coordinates multi-jurisdictional litigation. Richard also has experience advising clients in proceedings before the EPO. Highlights of Richard’s cases include the following: Panasonic v Xiaomi and OPPO – advising Panasonic in proceedings relating to LTE SEPs, FRAND, patent infringement and validity, coordinating multijurisdictional litigation in the UK, Germany, the UPC and China. Philips v OPPO, TCL, HTC and Asus – several cases advising Philips in proceedings relating to FRAND, LTE and HSDPA SEPs, patent infringement and validity, including anti-suit relief. Vestel v Access Advance and Philips – advising Philips in proceedings brought by Vestel for a standalone RAND declaration. IPCom v HTC and Nokia v IPCom – advising IPCom in proceedings relating to SEPs and FRAND, including damages issues and an injunction. Philips Lighting v Megaman – advising Philips Lighting in proceedings against Megaman to enforce patents relating to LED lighting technology as part of Philips Lighting’s LED licensing program. Unwired Planet v Samsung and Google – advising Samsung and Google in patent infringement, validity and FRAND proceedings. Good Technology v AirWatch and MobileIron – advising MobileIron in patent infringement and validity proceedings relating to enterprise mobility management. Philips v Nintendo – advising Philips in patent infringement and validity proceedings relating to human computer interface hardware. Sandvik v Kennametal – advising Kennametal in proceedings relating to machine cutting tools, patent infringement and validity Siemens v Seagate Technology – advising Siemens in patent infringement proceedings relating to magnetic hard disk drives. Richard is a member of AIPPI (Association for Protection of Intellectual Property), EPLAW (European Patent Lawyers Association) and LES (Licensing Executive Society) and is a regular speaker at international conferences on UK patent litigation and FRAND.

Richard PinckneyPartner - Patent litigation

Richard is an intellectual property lawyer specialising in patent and technology litigation. With an engineering background, he excels in technical cases, FRAND and licensing disputes. He is known for his meticulous attention to detail and high standards.

Utilising her background in biochemistry, Florence has worked on a variety of UK patent infringement and invalidity proceedings across the life sciences sector for both originators and generics. These cases have pertained to an array of pharmaceutical products including antibodies, small molecules and non-biological complex drugs. Florence also has experience assisting clients with patent proceedings outside of the life sciences sector, having worked on infringement and invalidity proceedings in relation to standard essential patents, engineering and sport technology. Florence has gained vast experience coordinating patent infringement and invalidity proceedings across multiple jurisdictions within Europe, Asia and Central and South America, providing strategic advice to clients and forming strong relationships with local counsel. She has experience advising originators on how best to maintain exclusivity and has assisted generics in navigating the patent landscape to bring products to market. As an Authorised Representative before the UPC, Florence regularly advises clients on strategy in relation to potential enforcement of patents in the UPC, and has formed part of teams at Bristows working as sole counsel on various actions proceeding before the UPC. In addition to her work on patent litigation matters, Florence has experience advising clients in relation to copyright, trade marks and design rights. She advises clients on the most appropriate way to utilise and protect these rights and assists in enforcement actions related to these rights. Some of Florence’s recent work includes: <ul> <li>Assisting an international pharmaceutical company with global coordination of disputes relating to a suite of patents protecting a blockbuster drug.</li> <li>Acting for a multinational electronics corporation in FRAND proceedings before the UK High Court.</li> <li>Running an extensive anti-lookalike enforcement programme for several well-known luxury goods companies.</li> <li>Acting as part of a team at Bristows as sole counsel on infringement and invalidity proceedings before the UPC relating to a waste management patent.</li> <li>Assisting a client in successfully defending a patent entitlement dispute in the IPEC relating to a patent for the manufacture of biodiesel.</li> </ul> During her training contract, Florence gained experience in other practice areas at Bristows with an IP focus including brands, designs & copyright and commercial IP/IT & data protection. Florence has also been on secondment to Capgemini, a global consulting and technology services company, and Trevisan & Cuonzo, a boutique IP firm based in Milan. Florence is an active member of IPSoc and ChIPs.

Florence PlisnerAssociate – Patent litigation and brands designs & copyright

Florence is an experienced intellectual property litigator whose practice spans the range of IP rights for clients in various industries.

Anneke PolAssociate - IT & digital projects

Anneke is an Associate in the commercial IP/IT team at Bristows. She has experience developing bespoke agreements that intelligently reflect legal and commercial arrangements. Anneke has a reputation for working on innovative and unorthodox technology transactions.

Rob specialises in transactional intellectual property, supporting clients to utilise, exploit and protect their valuable IP assets. He has particular expertise advising on major brand partnerships – including global sponsorship deals, brand collaborations, talent endorsements and influencer marketing across the entertainment, fashion, luxury goods and sports sectors. His daily practice also incorporates advising across a wide range of general commercial and technology deals of all sizes, including a particular specialism in adtech and marketing. Rob’s recent experience in this area includes: <ul> <li>Acting for Kraft Heinz on their collaboration with global music superstar Ed Sheeran for the creation and launch of Ed’s Tingly Ted’s hot sauce – as well as supporting on the deal for Ed to act as a brand ambassador for Heinz Ketchup.</li> <li>Advising a major household name brand on all aspects of its groundbreaking, long-term, global partnership agreement with Formula 1.</li> <li>Advising on a long-term sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League & UEFA Super Cup properties.</li> <li>Acting for global drinks company Diageo on the innovative sponsorship of the internationally popular Eurovision Song Contest by household brand Baileys.</li> <li>Acting on a major multi-year global sponsorship deal for a brand client to become an ‘Official Partner’ of one of the most well-known sports teams in the world, Manchester United Football Club. Acting on similar partnership deals for clients with a host of other Premier League football clubs.</li> <li>Supporting global tech company Dropbox, Inc. on its groundbreaking sponsorship of the McLaren Formula 1 racing team – a deal which saw a long-term collaboration between the parties to implement Dropbox’s solutions across the McLaren team as well as offering an outstanding opportunity to promote the brand.</li> </ul> Rob has significant experience advising clients on the interpretation, negotiation and drafting of a wide range of technology contracts of all sizes and complexities. He has supported clients on all aspects of their digital transformations: from major IT or business process outsourcings to the procurement of simple SaaS tools. From the bespoke development, licensing and commercialisation of innovative software products, to the provision, support and maintenance of business-critical core platforms. He brings technical knowledge, as well as experience working on both the customer and supplier side of deals, to help clients navigate their tech contracts, pragmatically, efficiently and effectively. In the past, Rob has also spent significant periods of time on secondment with clients across various industries. He has worked closely with their legal and commercial teams, built long-lasting relationships and gained invaluable experience and understanding of how their businesses operate. This pragmatic, commercially focused experience and understanding from a client perspective helps to inform Rob’s everyday practice. Rob is a passionate champion of Diversity and Inclusion and has worked for over a decade on various initiatives to widen access to the profession and provide opportunities, mentoring and support for those from underrepresented socio-economic backgrounds.

Rob PowellSenior Associate – Commercial & IP transactions

Rob operates across the firm’s commercial IP & tech practice areas, offering practical and commercially focused advice and assistance in each area to clients of all sizes, primarily in the media, entertainment and sport sectors.

Charles PurdieSenior Associate - IT disputes

Charlie specialises in dispute resolution with a particular focus on disputes arising out of IP and technology contracts, including copyright licensing.

Manon advises on contentious and non-contentious matters, including day-to-day advisory work, providing support on various HR and employee relations issues and advising on litigation both in the employment tribunal and employment appeal tribunal. She is experienced in drafting key employment documents such as employment contracts, consultancy agreements and settlement agreements as well as advising on employee handbooks and policies. Manon regularly supports employers with employee relations issues such as performance improvement plans and grievances, as well as employee exits including redundancies. Manon often works alongside the <a href="/expertise/transactions/corporate-financing/">Corporate</a> team, in particular providing employment input on M&A deals as well as TUPE analysis and transfers of <a href="/expertise/transactions/employment-immigration/">employment</a>. Manon also has immigration experience, assisting clients with sponsor licence applications and end-to-end support through the visa application process to facilitate the recruitment of talent worldwide. Some of Manon’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Managing and leading on complex and time-pressured international coordination and integration projects across 15 jurisdictions for an industry-leading computer software company.</li> <li>Advising and supporting on a long-standing and high value employment tribunal dispute pertaining to complaints of sex discrimination and harassment, including a technical legal appeal of a remedy judgment to the Employment Appeal Tribunal and collaborating with tax counsel on a complex and nuanced grossing-up exercise.</li> <li>Providing employment support in relation to multiple and ongoing large-scale garden centre acquisitions (both share and asset deals) including conducting thorough due diligence and inputting into M&A transaction and ancillary documents.</li> <li>Advising on sensitive employee relations matters, such as one involving allegations of sexual harassment culminating in a parallel criminal investigation.</li> </ul> Manon’s clients span a variety of sectors, with a particular focus on life sciences and technology. Including, a US market-leading computer software company, a rapidly growing and successful biotech start-up, a large and prestigious garden centre group, an Indian multinational technology company, and a financial software company. Manon trained at Bristows before joining the Employment team as an associate in September 2023. As a trainee, Manon spent three months in the Corporate, Tax and Employment team. Manon also spent three months working in the in-house Employment Legal team at a leading information technology company. Prior to joining the firm, Manon studied Biology at the University of Bath and worked at a leading multinational pharmaceutical company for three years. Manon is a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and Immigration Law Practitioners Society.

Manon RattleAssociate - Employment & immigration

Manon advises on contentious and non-contentious matters, including day-to-day advisory work, providing support on various HR and employee relations issues and advising on litigation both in the employment tribunal and employment appeal tribunal. Manon’s clients span a variety of sectors, with a particular focus on life sciences and technology.

Matthew is a highly experienced IP lawyer with a particular interest in <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/litigation-dispute-resolution/patent-litigation/">patent litigation</a> in the <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a>, telecommunications and engineering sectors. He advises clients on UK and UPC proceedings and coordinates litigation with parallel actions in other jurisdictions. Matthew’s scientific education and enthusiasm for technology underpin his focus as a patent litigation specialist. Throughout his career, he has been involved in some of the largest and most significant patent disputes before the UK courts. With a strong technical background, Matthew is adept at navigating complex patent disputes across a wide range of technologies. Examples of highly technical subject matter underpinning his cases include Hadamard coding in cellular communications, switched-mode power converters in dimmable LED bulbs, inertial navigation systems used in military equipment, and cloud computing and infrastructure. His experience in technology is notably diverse, however, covering fields including consumer and automotive products, electronics, video games and GPS technology. Matthew has extensive experience in SEP and FRAND matters, having represented both patent holders and implementers in landmark cases, including Unwired Planet v Huawei, Conversant v Huawei & ZTE, Philips v Asus and Panasonic v Xiaomi & OPPO. In addition to UK litigation, Matthew frequently coordinates UK court proceedings with parallel actions in other jurisdictions including Europe (and the UPC), the USA, China and international patent offices. His expertise also includes patent risk assessment, freedom-to-operate advice, licensing strategy and guiding clients through the evolving Unified Patent Court. As a qualified Solicitor Advocate, Matthew is authorized to appear before all courts in England and Wales. Some of Matthew’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Panasonic v Xiaomi & OPPO – advising Panasonic in proceedings against Xiaomi and OPPO regarding 3G and 4G Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) and global FRAND licensing terms.</li> <li>Advising an online queueing solutions provider in a patent dispute regarding methods for managing online traffic during high-demand periods.</li> <li>Conversant v Huawei & ZTE – advising ZTE in proceedings brought by Conversant regarding SEPs and global FRAND licensing terms.</li> <li>Philips v Garmin – advising Philips in a patent infringement dispute with Garmin, involving motion-sensing and activity monitoring technology used in Garmin’s wearable devices.</li> <li>Philips v Megaman – advising Philips lighting in a patent infringement dispute with Megaman UK concerning electronic lighting technology used in dimmable LED bulbs.</li> <li>BAE v Thales – advising Thales in defending a UK patent revocation claim brought by BAE systems. The dispute centred on the validity of a patent held by Thales relating to head tracking technology used in fighter pilot helmets.</li> <li>Unwired Planet v Huawei, Samsung and Google – advising Samsung and Google in proceedings brought by Unwired Planet, addressing critical issues around SEPs and FRAND licensing. This high-profile dispute, ultimately resolved by the UK Supreme Court, established significant precedents on global FRAND licences and the enforcement rights of SEP holders, reshaping patent litigation in the telecoms industry.</li> <li>Philips v Nintendo – advising Philips in a patent infringement dispute with Nintendo, involving motion control technology used in Nintendo’s Wii gaming consoles.</li> </ul> Matthew is co-editor of the EPO and SEP case law reports published monthly by the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA). He also writes articles for respected IP Journals and blogs (including IAM, Managing IP, Kluwer and Patent Lawyer Monthly). Within Bristows, Matthew sits on the <a href="https://www.bristows.com/careers/trainees/">trainee</a> recruitment and <a href="https://www.bristows.com/careers/diversity-equality-inclusion/">diversity</a> committees and is one of the firm’s coordinators with IP Inclusive.

Matthew RaynorOf Counsel - Patent litigation

Matthew is a highly experienced IP lawyer with a particular interest in patent litigation in the technology, telecommunications and engineering sectors. He advises clients on UK and UPC proceedings and coordinates litigation with parallel actions in other jurisdictions. Matthew’s scientific education and enthusiasm for technology underpin his focus as a patent litigation specialist.

Dhara joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in August 2021 and is currently working in the <a href="/expertise/litigation-dispute-resolution/brands-designs-copyright/">trade mark, designs and copyright</a> team as an associate where she qualified in September 2023. Dhara has represented clients across a wide array of sectors, including luxury goods, fashion, retail, <a href="/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a>, alcoholic beverages and confectionery. Much of her contentious experience includes drafting and responding to cease and desist letters and providing infringement opinions on trade mark and copyright related issues. More recently, Dhara’s litigation experience includes supporting the team in a High Court passing off dispute between two large real estate companies where she was predominantly involved in an extensive disclosure review. Dhara has also assisted in an ongoing UK enforcement program tackling anti-counterfeiting for a large luxury goods client. In addition, Dhara has experience in other advisory and contentious trade mark matters including conducting clearance searches and assisting in trade mark disputes before the UK IPO. Some of Dhara’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Assisting on a High Court passing off dispute for a large real estate company.</li> <li>Advising on the exhaustion of IP rights for a luxury cosmetics brand.</li> <li>Working on a project focussed on tackling counterfeit goods for a global luxury goods client.</li> <li>Acting for a well-known soft toy company in a trade mark dispute.</li> <li>Providing infringement opinions for a multinational confectionery company.</li> </ul> During her training contract she completed seats in patent litigation, commercial, technology and copyright disputes as well as commercial IP/IT and data protection. During this time, she also undertook a secondment at a global technology company in their IP litigation team. Dhara is a member of IPSoc.

Dhara ReddyAssociate – Trade mark, designs & copyright

Dhara advises on a range of brand and IP related disputes across trade marks, copyright and designs. Her practice is both contentious and advisory. Dhara has provided advice to a range of clients on their brand protection strategies and has aided in implementing brand enforcement programmes.

Iain RedfordPartner - Corporate & financing

Iain has extensive experience of mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, debt and equity financings, joint ventures and private equity transactions. His clients include UK and international corporates, institutional investors and technology growth companies.

Tabitha ReedAssociate - Tax

Tabitha is a tax specialist, her practice covers all aspects of corporate taxation, including tax efficient employees share incentive arrangements.

Sophie has a broad corporate practice and advises on all forms of M&A and disposals, venture capital and private equity investment, reorganisations and joint ventures. Sophie has particular experience in the TMT, consumer and <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/life-sciences/">life sciences</a> sectors and with cross-border work. In addition to her transactional practice, Sophie regularly provides advice on shareholder, governance and Companies Act matters. Sophie’s experience includes: <ul> <li>Acting for CityFibre on its acquisition of Lit Fibre from Newlight Partners. </li> <li>Advising a European private equity house on cross-border carve-out and combination matters following a major acquisition. </li> <li>AviadoBio’s seed investors on their participation in its series A financing.</li> </ul> Sophie has completed a secondment with a UK-headquartered global biopharmaceutical company, which provided invaluable insight into the commercial operations of a major FTSE 100 corporation and the pharmaceuticals sector.

Sophie ReesSenior Associate - Corporate & financing

Sophie is a senior corporate lawyer who advises clients that innovate on the full range of their corporate and investment activities.

Ben ReevesAssociate – Patent litigation

Ben has recent experience in High Court patent litigation proceedings, having acted for a multinational pharmaceutical company in relation to one of their biologic products.

Manuel ReyAssociate - Commercial IP & transactions

Prior to becoming a trainee solicitor as of August 2019, Manuel worked as a Professional Support Lawyer in our IP litigation department.

Hannah RigbyAssociate – Patent litigation

Hannah qualified as a solicitor in 2021 and has represented various life sciences clients in active patent litigation matters in addition to conducting initial invalidity and freedom to operate analyses. Hannah joined Bristows in July 2024.

Victoria RodriguezSenior Associate - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Victoria is a dual-qualified solicitor specialised in all aspects of brand protection and trade marks including portfolio management, clearance searches and trade mark disputes.

Jonathan RossAssociate - Patent litigation

Jonathan has extensive experience handling patent matters in the life sciences and technology sectors, including proceedings before the English Patents Court and Court of Appeal, as well as managing multi-jurisdiction coordination projects.

Nicholas RoundSenior Associate – Patent litigation

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.

Maria advises on a diverse range of <a href="/expertise/litigation-dispute-resolution/patent-litigation/">patent litigation</a> issues in both the <a href="/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a> and <a href="/expertise/sectors/life-sciences/">life science</a> sectors. In addition to UK litigation in both the High Court and Court of Appeal, Maria is experienced in working on multi-jurisdiction coordination for both telecommunications and pharmaceutical patent holders. Prior to joining Bristows, Maria completed a masters in bio‑inorganic chemistry during which she developed multi-enzymatic cascade reactions with the aim to promote the use of ‘green’ catalysts in chemical manufacturing. She enjoys bringing her technical background to a range of projects and complex issues. Maria has worked on a number of patent litigation cases in both the life sciences and technology sectors. Some of her work highlights include: <ul> <li>Panasonic v Xiaomi and OPPO – Patents Court and Court of Appeal litigation relating to novel interim licence declarations, UK FRAND litigation and multijurisdictional coordination of litigation in the UK, Germany and the UPC.</li> <li>Sandoz & Polpharma v Biogen – patent revocation and infringement proceedings in the Patents Court relating to anti-JCV antibody testing patents prior to launch of Tyruko®, Sandoz’s biosimilar to Biogen’s Tysabri® product for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.</li> <li>Novartis v Teva & Ors – Patents Court and Court of Appeal litigation concerning the availability of Arrow declarations for use in foreign proceedings.</li> </ul> She also has experience in competition law matters and continues to work closely with Bristows’ Competition team. During her training, Maria spent three months on secondment in the legal team of a leading medical technology company where she worked on contract negotiations, regulatory advice and provided corporate support to the Company Secretary. Maria is passionate about sustainability and is heavily involved with internal environmental initiatives as well as being a member of the Greener Litigation Pledge’s Court Engagement Working Group.

Maria RyanAssociate – Patent litigation

Maria is a patent litigator who works on disputes in both the technology and life science sectors. She has a background in chemistry.

Alan SansomTrainee Solicitor

Alan joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in September 2023 and is currently working in the commercial IP/IT team.

Miriam SchröderTrainee Solicitor

Miriam joined Bristows as a Trainee Solicitor in August 2023 and is currently working in the CTC disputes team.

Shereen SemnaniAssociate - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Shereen joined Bristows in January 2022 and is an associate in the trade mark, designs and copyright team. She works on advisory and contentious trade mark matters, including portfolio management and filing strategies, clearance searches, registration and trade mark disputes.

Lucy SewterLitigation Technology and Knowledge Manager

Lucy has extensive experience supporting intellectual property litigation teams. Lucy has a passion for the procedural aspects of litigation and a deep knowledge of complex areas such as service, jurisdiction and enforcement.

Farhad ShahidiSenior Associate - Tax

Farhad is a tax specialist with experience of transactional and advisory work as well as tax disputes.

Kiran SidhuAssociate - Data protection & privacy

Kiran joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in August 2021 and qualified in 2023. She advises primarily on data protection and privacy matters across various sectors, including technology and life sciences. Kiran has previously been seconded to the in-house legal team of a major American technology company.

Adrian currently serves as one of the firm’s Joint Managing Partners and is an information technology specialist who has market-leading experience advising clients on technology, cloud and digital transformation transactions. Adrian’s practice spans a range of sectors including technology, financial services, life sciences and consumer products. He regularly leads and negotiates high profile IT procurement, outsourcing, cloud and complex systems development and integration projects on both the customer and supplier side. In addition, Adrian counsels organisations developing and deploying AI systems and implementing AI governance frameworks. Recent projects Adrian has led include: <ul> <li>Advising a global airline on its IT infrastructure and mainframe operations, including cloud migration and data centre colocation projects.</li> <li>Leading negotiations for a global supermarket on its enterprise-wide business critical SaaS and on-premises software licences, payment gateway services and cloud infrastructure arrangements.</li> <li>Advising a leading energy company on its digital transformation projects and AI contracting and governance approach.</li> <li>Product counselling for a technology services organisation on the launch of its client AI system.</li> <li>Advising a public sector, genomic medicine body on its commercialising strategy and implementation of world-leading sequencing, data and technology arrangements.</li> <li>The digital transformation of a global life sciences company’s IT, network and online systems, including a multi-million pound IT outsourcing transaction.</li> <li>Advising a Premier League football club on its technology arrangements across its business operations from content and digital media management platforms to payment processing systems.</li> </ul> Having spent considerable time seconded to various clients such as a global IT services provider, a telecommunications company and an international digital services organisation, Adrian always delivers practical and business-focused solutions to deliver technology projects in the most effective and efficient way.

Adrian SimPartner - IT & digital projects

Adrian currently serves as one of the firm’s Joint Managing Partners and is a leading technology transactional lawyer with recognised expertise in negotiating and advising on business-critical technology deals. He always brings a pragmatic and highly effective approach gained from his market knowledge of customer and supplier side transactions.

Claire specialises in advising clients on transactions that involve the development and commercialisation of IP rights, and on the commercial and IP aspects of corporate and investment deals. She has over 22 years’ experience working with a wide variety of clients (from start-ups, SMEs and investors, through to large multinationals) across a range of industries, in particular those in the life sciences sector. Examples of Claire’s experience include advising: <ul> <li>clients of all types on an extensive range of collaboration, option and licensing deals (including in-licensing and out-licensing transactions) with industry and academic partners. These span a wide spectrum of modalities from small molecules and biologics through to advanced therapies – including next generation biologics such as multi-specific antibodies and antibody drug conjugates, and cell and gene therapies;</li> <li>leading pharmaceutical companies on acquisitions and disposals of rights in medicinal products and the sale of manufacturing and packaging facilities, including related supply arrangements;</li> <li>pharmaceutical and biotech companies on a variety of agreements in the field of precision medicine, including collaborations in relation to genomics research, biomarker discovery, the development of algorithms to aid patient selection, and the development and commercialisation of companion diagnostics;</li> <li>biotech companies on clinical collaborations with global pharma for the trialling of combination therapies;</li> <li>spin-out licences from academic and research institutions, including advising a specialist investor and its portfolio company in relation to the licensing of AI and next-generation genetic tools, tumour models and data sets from a world leading research institute, to enable the company to discover new disease targets, novel drugs and novel combinations of existing drugs;</li> <li>drug sponsors on the full suite of clinical trial arrangements, including contracts with CROs, trial sites and other parties, and agreements with academic organisations in respect of investigator-initiated studies;</li> <li>SMEs and international organisations on manufacturing and supply agreements extending across the whole supply chain, including arrangements with CMOs and CDMOs for process and formulation development, and for the procurement of API, excipients and drug product and other manufacturing services (including in relation to cell therapies); and</li> <li>global pharmaceutical companies on logistics and distribution agreements, including clients seeking to move to a reduced wholesale model.</li> </ul> Before becoming a lawyer, Claire spent a number of years working for Abbott Laboratories’ medical device business, in quality assurance and operational roles. Since being at Bristows, Claire has also spent time seconded to the in-house legal team of a leading global pharmaceutical company. Claire regularly speaks on a variety of topics, such as negotiating licensing agreements, trends in AI drug discovery deals, cell and gene therapy deal-making and issues in clinical trial agreements. She is also a member of the UK BioIndustry Association’s (BIA’s) Intellectual Property Advisory Committee, and chairs their sub-committee on IP policy in relation to AI & Data.

Claire SmithPartner - Commercial & IP transactions

Claire specialises in advising clients on transactions that involve the development and commercialisation of IP rights, and on the commercial and IP aspects of corporate and investment deals. She has over 22 years’ experience working with a wide variety of clients (from start-ups, SMEs and investors, through to large multinationals) across a range of industries, in particular those in the life sciences sector.

With over 20 years’ experience, Stephen has a very broad practice with experience across a range of EU and UK competition law matters. His practice includes advising on the competition law aspects arising from distribution and other commercial agreements, to merger control (UK and multi-jurisdictional) as well as cartels and anti-trust investigations. Another area of focus is advice in respect of the laws on abuse of dominance, both for companies who enjoy such positions of strength and for those who may be affected by an abuse of dominance. Finally, Stephen has significant experience of competition litigation, from advising clients on judicial review of regulatory decisions, to advising in respect of follow-on and standalone competition litigation actions. Some of Stephen’s recent experience includes: <ul> <li>Advising Bestway on its acquisition of the UK pharmacy wholesale and retail business of Lexon, one of the fastest Phase 1 clearance decisions before the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).</li> <li>Advising Dutch listed home furnishings group Hunter Douglas in respect of the CMA’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 reviews of the completed acquisition of 247 Home Furnishings</li> <li>Acting for Eurotunnel’s MyFerryLink business, in the first ever jurisdictional challenge under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act to reach the Supreme Court in the UK. The case encompassed two lengthy merger proceedings before the CMA, two appeals at the Competition Appeals Tribunal and one at the Court of Appeal before reaching the Supreme Court.</li> <li>Advising on the owners of the Evening Standard and the Independent in the Competition Appeals Tribunal on their successful jurisdictional challenge against the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Support.</li> <li>Advising national fibre network challenger CityFibre on various aspects of the regulatory fixed broadband network before Ofcom and on appeal at the Competition Appeals Tribunal</li> <li>Acted for Denon & Marantz on a European Commission investigation into resale price maintenance.</li> <li>Assisting an animal medicines manufacturer with the CMA’s market investigation into the veterinary sector</li> <li>Advising a UK housebuilder on various aspects of the CMA’s investigation into alleged information exchange in the UK housebuilding sector.</li> <li>Worked with numerous clients on the national security aspects of various deals under the UK National Security and Investments Act.</li> </ul> Stephen is recognised by his clients as adept at providing pragmatic, commercial advice and his experience spans diverse sectors including telecommunications and technology, life sciences, financial services, retail, manufacturing, and fmcg services generally. Stephen is fluent in French and is a former Chair of the Law Society’s Competition Section.

Stephen SmithJoint Managing Partner – Competition and Antitrust

Stephen currently serves as one of the firm's Joint Managing Partners and has 20 years’ experience advising across a broad range of EU and UK competition law matters.

Trecina SookhooAssociate (Trade Mark Attorney) - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Trecina joined Bristows in March 2019 and is part of the brands group.

Ben SteeleTrainee Solicitor

Ben is a trainee solicitor and is currently working in the commercial IP/IT team.

Sebastian has experience advising on a range of <a href="/expertise/sectors/technology/">technology</a> and general commercial matters for clients across a variety of industries including <a href="/expertise/sectors/artificial-intelligence/">AI</a>, <a href="/expertise/transactions/it-digital/">IT</a> outsourcing, digital transformation, BPO, SaaS, software licensing transactions and sponsorships. Sebastian also has experience in assisting and advising clients on the interpretation, negotiation and drafting of a wide range of complex commercial contracts. He enjoys the challenge of developing bespoke and tailored commercial agreements which distil complex IT and IP requirements into digestible commercial arrangements that protect a client’s interests, especially its IT and IP assets. Some of Sebastian’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Advising a sports body on use of AI, retail ticketing agreements and ticketing platform software agreements.</li> <li>Projects on implementing external AI tools, including advising on AI governance and contracting for AI.</li> <li>Advising on a large-scale data centre colocation and connectivity agreement.</li> <li>Negotiating a complex licence agreement for a technology tool in the energy sector.</li> <li>Commercial due diligence on large corporate acquisitions in the telecoms sector.</li> </ul> Before training at Bristows, Sebastian worked for a global foreign exchange company, advising on a variety of matters including supplier contracts, global IT projects and cloud migration. During his training, Sebastian went on secondment to a global IT Services and Consulting company, where he assisted with day-to-day IT-related matters, advising on complex IT transactions. Most recently, he completed a long-term secondment working in-house with one of the world’s leading AI businesses, advising on a range of complex contractual and regulatory matters relating to AI. Working on secondment has given Sebastian a crucial understanding of the need to provide clear, succinct and pragmatic advice to clients. Sebastian also contributed to the Society of Computers and Law EU AI Act Contractual Clauses, which gives high-level guidance around the impact of the EU AI Act on contracts. He is a member of the Society for Computers and Law, Law in Sport and has written for the Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Sebastian StewartAssociate - IT & digital projects

Sebastian advises on complex commercial information technology and intellectual property transactions for clients in a variety of industries, particularly the technology sector.

Richard SwaineOf Counsel - Corporate & financing

Richard has a broad range of experience advising both UK and international clients, including both listed and private companies as well as high net-worth individuals, on corporate and commercial issues.

Gabriela SwiderskaTrainee Solicitor

Gabriela is a trainee solicitor and is currently working in the patent litigation team.

Stephanie TaylorOf Counsel (Trade Mark Attorney) – Trade mark, designs & copyright

Stephanie is Chartered Trade Mark Attorney with over 15 years’ private practice experience in assisting clients with all aspects of brand clearance and trade mark prosecution, as well as trade mark enforcement strategies.

Rebekka ThomasAssociate – Patent litigation

Rebekka is a patent litigator specialising in disputes in the life sciences sector. In particular, Rebekka’s practice involves coordinating UK and cross-border patent disputes for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Hedley TiptonSenior Associate - Real estate

Hedley is a Senior Associate in the real estate team at Bristows and is experienced in advising on a wide range of commercial property matters with an emphasis on corporate occupier, acquisitions and disposals and corporate support work.

Aida is a <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/litigation-dispute-resolution/patent-litigation/">patent</a> dispute specialist, working predominantly in the <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/life-sciences/">life sciences</a> sector as well as other areas like consumer products. Aida has experience in patent disputes before the English Courts. She also has many years’ experience coordinating litigation in numerous jurisdictions, including across Europe, Brazil, India and China. This relates to inventions involving small-molecules, antibody pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Aida enjoys assisting clients with the development and application of cross-border litigation strategy. She often works closely with local counsel and patent attorneys in various jurisdictions to ensure a cohesive litigation approach. As well as her disputes practice, Aida is also experienced in patent advisory work, providing freedom to operate advice. Aida’s experience includes: <ul> <li>Coordinating litigation across Europe, Brazil, India and China in relation to a small molecule medicine for diabetes.</li> <li>Devising litigation strategy across Europe and Japan in relation to an antibody medicine for wet AMD.</li> <li>Coordinating litigation across Europe and China in relation to a small molecule medicine in the neurology field.</li> <li>Merck Sharp & Dohme v Shionogi – Defence of patent revocation proceedings in respect of Markush claims and a treatment for HIV.</li> </ul> Aida also has in-house insight through a secondment to a global pharmaceutical company working on a range of patent litigation matters across the world. Aida is passionate about inclusion and is a founding committee member of Bristows’ Lyda Network, which is dedicated to celebrating race, ethnicity and culture in the firm. In this role, she has spearheaded several internal initiatives, including Bristows’ “My Name Is” campaign which promoted awareness of the importance of correct name pronunciation.

Aida TohalaSenior Associate – Patent litigation

Aida specialises in patent litigation particularly in the life sciences sector. As well as UK litigation experience, she has many years' experience coordinating litigation across multiple jurisdictions across the world.

Lucy UrwinSenior Associate - Tax

Lucy is a corporate tax specialist advising clients on UK and cross-border tax matters. Her clients range from early stage tech and life sciences companies to large multinational groups.

With over 25 years’ experience, Robert really enjoys helping clients resolve competition law and consumer investigations, disputes, merger control and UK national security issues. Robert has advised on multiple sectors, such as sports and construction, but is particularly recognised for his expertise in life sciences, technology and consumer products. He has advised on numerous competition law litigation cases from both a defendant and claimant perspective with a focus on abuse of dominance and the interplay between competition law and IP. Robert has advised on both EU and UK merger control and has an outstanding track record in terms of securing approval from regulators in difficult cases including securing approval of a monopoly in the Defence sector. He has attended numerous “dawn raids” by both the European Commission and the CMA in multiple sectors including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, construction, recruitment services and chemicals. Some of Robert’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Acting for Sun Pharma on its appeal to the Court of Justice for the European Union on “pay for delay” agreements and the defence of a Department of Health damages standalone and follow on claim relating to citalopram.</li> <li>Representing a construction company in relation to one of the first European Commission investigations into non-poaching arrangements.</li> <li>Acting for Teva in its defence of a Department of Health damages standalone and follow on claim relating to perindopril.</li> <li>Successfully defended a claim against a medical device manufacturer for abuse of a dominant position.</li> <li>Representing Sandoz in its follow on damages claim in relation to Gaviscon and a product hopping abuse.</li> <li>Secured approval of a monopoly merger in the Defence sector using the “Exiting Firm” exemption.</li> <li>Secured merger control approval from the CMA for the sale of Pfizer’s compounding business to Baxter International.</li> <li>Submitted the first ever successful appeal to the Competition Appeals Tribunal under the Competition Act 1998 overturning an adverse OFT Decision.</li> <li>Advised Ricoh on its successful defence of a £49m claim defining the application of competition law to non-compete restrictions.</li> <li>CMA/EC merger control: Acquisition of talkSPORT by News Corp for £220.3m (included media plurality).</li> <li>Submitted the first ever successful leniency application to the OFT under the Competition Law Act 1998.</li> </ul> Robert spent a year on secondment with Reckitt Benckiser where he advised on competition law. Robert is a member of the Competition Law Association, ABA, and the Law Society Competition Section.

Robert VidalPartner - Competition & Antitrust

Robert has over 25 years’ experience in the life sciences, technology and consumer products sector and regularly advises clients on investigations, disputes, merger control and the UK national security regime.

Gareth is a partner and head of the Bristows <a href="/expertise/transactions/employment/">employment and immigration</a> team. He joined Bristows in November 2021. Gareth’s practice covers all aspects of employment law, including Tribunal and High Court litigation. The primary focus of Gareth’s work is on non-contentious employment matters: employment contracts and bonus arrangements; senior executive appointments and terminations; international assignments; complex investigations; reorganisations and redundancies; the people issues arising from outsourcing arrangements and corporate transactions; and international HR projects. Gareth also specialises in immigration law and leads the Bristows’ global mobility practice. He supports businesses with the movement of their workforce around the world and the recruitment and retention of international talent. Gareth’s dual employment and immigration expertise gives his practice a natural international focus. He advises clients across a variety of sectors but has particular experience of acting for businesses within the financial services, technology and life sciences sectors. Gareth’s clients include large multi-national companies. However, he also has a real passion for working with innovative, rapid growth companies, helping them to set up, and grow, in new territories. Gareth’s recent work includes: <ul> <li>supporting a fintech business on the roll-out of new contracts to senior managers and certified persons prior to the award of its banking licence;</li> <li>advising a global technology business on the employment aspects of an acquisition across 15 jurisdictions;</li> <li>designing an investigations training course for an international technology business and delivering it across multiple jurisdictions;</li> <li>advising a financial institution on the resolution of a sensitive and high-value whistleblowing claim;</li> <li>advising a number of clients on workforce planning strategies and the implications of the new immigration system following the end of EU free movement into the UK.</li> </ul> Gareth speaks publicly on a broad range of employment and immigration topics and regularly hosts thought leadership discussions on evolving employment laws and practices. He has considerable experience of designing and delivering bespoke in-house training programmes for clients. Gareth has spent time in-house at a leading insurance broker and a financial services regulator.

Gareth WadleyPartner - Employment & immigration

Gareth is the head of Bristows’ employment team. He specialises in both employment and immigration and has particular expertise in advising clients with an international workforce, supporting them with the design and implementation of their global people strategies.

Wes is an English-qualified lawyer specialising in complex commercial disputes. He has deep experience across the full range of dispute resolution mechanisms and has a particular focus on clients operating in the <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/life-sciences/">life sciences</a> sectors. He regularly advises clients on pre-litigation strategy and has handled large-scale commercial litigation before the High Court and the Court of Appeal in the UK as well as in arbitrations under various institutional rules. As well as regular advisory mandates for biotech and pharmaceutical companies, Wes’ recent representative experience includes: <ul> <li>Acting for the Touchlight group of companies in the defence of entitlement claims before the Patents Court concerning their core synthetic DNA manufacturing technology, dbDNA, securing a complete dismissal of all claims following a three-week trial.</li> <li>Acting for a global aerospace business in connection with claims for breach of a call option agreement and breaches of an exclusivity arrangement for the supply of complex parts. Successful in recovering ca. $120m following a four-week trial in the Commercial Court.</li> <li>Defending a Japanese pharmaceutical company in an ad hoc arbitration seated in London in connection with the development and subsequent commercialisation of a blockbuster monoclonal antibody therapeutic.</li> <li>Acting for the world’s largest advertising group in defence of a claim concerning the meaning and effect of an earn-out provision in a sale and purchase agreement for complex software responsible for administering programmatic advertising campaigns. Trial in the Commercial Court.</li> <li>Acting for a global technology brand providing specialised mining systems and equipment in an ICC arbitration seated in London in connection with alleged breaches of contract and intellectual property infringement.</li> <li>Acting for a major global electronics manufacturer in an ICC arbitration seated in London in connection with alleged breaches of a licensing agreement for the supply of chips.</li> <li>Defending a South African sales and merchandising company in an arbitration concerning the meaning and effect of various commercial contracts.</li> <li>Acting for a life sciences business in dispute with its CRO over the running of Phase II clinical trials.</li> <li>Advising an aerospace manufacturer in connection with a series of disputes with airlines over the supply of parts.</li> <li>Acting for an IT services provider against HM Government in connection with historic claims of significant overcharging (ca. £70,000,000) under a long-term IT services contract.</li> <li>Acting for an IT services provider faced with complaints of producing allegedly faulty code during the implementation of a complex IT system.</li> <li>Advising an app developer in connection with claims for indemnification arising out of alleged breaches of third-party intellectual property rights.</li> <li>Advising an IT services provider in connection with quality complaints arising out of the development of a bespoke IT system.</li> </ul> Wes trained and practised at a magic circle firm and at a leading US firm before joining Bristows in 2017. Wes speaks English, German and Welsh.

Wes WalkerPartner - Commercial disputes

Wes is a dispute resolution lawyer with deep experience across the full range of dispute resolution mechanisms. He has a particular focus on clients operating in the life sciences sectors and cases involving complex technical subject matter.

Haydn WalkerTrainee Solicitor

Haydn is a Trainee Solicitor and is currently working in the patent litigation team.

Matthew WarrenPartner - Commercial & IP transactions

Matthew advises on transactions involving the development, exploitation and transfer of intellectual property rights.

Mark WattsPartner - Data protection & privacy

Mark is a technology specialist with over 20 years’ experience. He advises companies on technology issues such as cloud computing, machine learning, apps and facial recognition.

William WhiteAssociate - IT & Digital

William joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in August 2020.

Molly WhitehallSenior Associate - Corporate & financing

Molly is a Senior Associate in the corporate & tax team at Bristows. She advises clients on corporate transactional matters including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, investments and reorganisations. She has experience in a range of sectors including life sciences and technology.

Milly WicksonAssociate - Patent litigation

Milly is an associate in the patent litigation team at Bristows working across the life sciences and technology sectors. Milly has recent experience in pharmaceutical and telecoms litigation in the UK Patents Court.

Claire specialises in intellectual property with a particular emphasis on patent litigation in the life sciences sector. Claire has a Master’s degree in Chemistry, which gives her a valuable understanding of the technical issues that can underlie intellectual property matters and enables her to provide clear intelligible advice. Claire has extensive experience of assisting high profile clients in revocation and infringement proceedings before the English High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. She has also assisted clients in connection with other contentious IP matters, including the UK’s first damages enquiry following a cross-undertaking given on an interim injunction and the first ever successful claim by employee inventors under the Patents Act 1977. Claire also has widespread experience of working on lifecycle management projects for one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, which requires the co-ordination and management of parallel proceedings in multiple jurisdictions within Europe and elsewhere in the world. Some of Claire’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>DSM v Mara Renewables & Algal Omega 3 – advising in connection with litigation before the English Patents Court concerning omega-3 single cell oils, and their production.</li> <li>Novartis v Teva & Ors – patent litigation before the High Court and Court of Appeal concerning patent for blockbuster fingolimod product (Gilenya®), including application for interim injunctive relief pre-patent grant and issues relating to the availability of Arrow declarations for use in foreign proceedings.</li> <li>Regeneron & Teva v Rinat– revocation proceedings in the UK (and the EPO) in respect of patents for anti-NGF antibodies for the treatment of osteoarthritis and related symptoms. Coordinating with proceedings in Germany and at the EPO.</li> <li>Samsung Bioepis & Biogen Idec v Fresenius – defence and enforcement of patents relating to adalimumab formulations. Coordinating the defence and enforcement of equivalent rights in countries across Europe, Australia and Canada</li> <li>Les Laboratoires Servier v Apotex – patent infringement and revocation proceedings concerning Servier’s ACE inhibitor Perindopril. Advising in connection with the subsequent damages enquiry brought under a cross-undertaking before the High Court, Court of Appeal and ultimately the Supreme Court.</li> <li>Sandvik v Kennametal – patent infringement and revocation proceeding before the High Court concerning oxide coated cutting tools.</li> <li>Actavis v Novartis – defence of patent revocation proceedings in the UK, and coordination of parallel proceedings across Europe, in respect of a formulation patent for a cholesterol-reducing agent.</li> <li>AstraZeneca v Krka– assisting in connection with a damages enquiry following a preliminary injunction and patent infringement proceedings.</li> <li>Kelly v GE Healthcare – claim brought for employee compensation under the Patents Act 1977.</li> </ul> Claire has also spent time on secondment to the UK legal department of a global healthcare IT company, working on non-contentious IP/IT, regulatory and commercial matters. In addition, Claire has represented clients in the EPO and contributes regularly to the monthly EPO reports which Bristows produces for the CIPA Journal. Claire also co-ordinates a team of writers at Bristows for the EPLAW patent blog and is a member of AIPPI.

Claire WilsonSenior Associate – Patent litigation

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.

Eden has experience in representing clients in litigation before the English Courts and also as an Authorised Representative before the UPC. A particularly active area of Eden’s work in litigation is <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/litigation-dispute-resolution/sep-frand-disputes/">SEP/FRAND</a> cases in the <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/transactions/telecommunications/">telecoms</a> space. In addition to active litigation, Eden also regularly advises on freedom-to-operate projects, patent infringement and validity analysis, and offensive/defensive patent strategies. Technology areas of his previous work are wide-ranging and, in addition to telecoms, include voice coding, medical devices, consumer goods, AI and blockchain, oil and gas technology, aerospace engineering, process engineering, refrigeration systems, security systems, robotics and biometric analysis. Eden also has a keen interest in patent law issues arising in the field of <a href="https://www.bristows.com/expertise/sectors/technology/artificial-intelligence/">artificial intelligence</a>, attending conferences focused on this topic to keep abreast of issues as well as giving talks on the subject. Having previously trained as a patent attorney, Eden has experience across the full life cycle of patents, including drafting and prosecuting applications through to grant before both the UK Intellectual Property Office and European Patent Office (EPO). His previous work has also included opposition and appeal proceedings before the EPO, managing international patent portfolios and carrying out freedom-to-operate analysis. Eden now leverages this comprehensive experience of patents in patent litigation. Some of Eden’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Panasonic v Xiaomi and OPPO – advising Panasonic in proceedings relating to LTE SEPs, FRAND, patent infringement and validity, coordinating multijurisdictional litigation in the UK, Germany, the UPC and China.</li> <li>Philips v OPPO – advising Philips in proceedings relating to FRAND, LTE and HSDPA SEPs, patent infringement and validity, including anti-suit relief.</li> <li>Winnow v Orbisk – representing Winnow in one of the first infringement actions at the Hague Local Division of the UPC.</li> <li>Advising a leading manufacturer of medical devices on patent freedom-to-operate, both offensive and defensive.</li> <li>Advising a large multinational in the consumer goods space on product launch and risk minimisation strategy.</li> </ul> Eden writes regularly on reported patent cases in the UK, EPO and UPC on behalf of CIPA, Kluwer and EPLAW patent blogs and contributes to Bristows’ annual review of patent cases. Prior to joining Bristows Eden trained as a patent attorney, qualifying in both Europe and the UK. Eden is a tutor for the ‘How to Pass FD2’ course, helping trainee patent attorneys pass the UK patent drafting examination by providing feedback and live sessions on FD2 past paper attempts. Eden is a fellow of the Chartered Instituted of Patent Attorneys and is also a member of the European Patent Institute.

Eden WinlowAssociate - Patent litigation

Eden is a qualified European Patent Attorney, Chartered (UK) Patent attorney and UPC representative with experience across the full life cycle of patents. He works predominately in patent litigation within the tech sector, where he utilises his knowledge of mechanical/electrical engineering and physics to navigate complex technologies with ease.

Sara WittonSenior Associate - Trade mark, designs & copyright

Sara is a Senior Associate in the brands, designs and copyright team, advising on matters relating to all ‘soft’ IP rights including trade marks, designs, copyright and passing off as well as advertising compliance.

Harry advises on non-contentious intellectual property (IP) and technology matters across a wide range of sectors including pharmaceuticals, biotech, video gaming, film and other fields for which IP is of prime importance. He has a specific focus on transactions involving the development, transfer or exploitation of IP rights. He also regularly drafts settlement agreements. Harry works with clients at the cutting edge of research, development and technology, leveraging his scientific background in chemistry, including a master’s degree in inorganic catalysis. Harry also advises on the IP and technology aspects of corporate transactions including carve-outs, acquisitions, spin-outs and joint ventures. Media and entertainment, particularly video games and film, forms another key focus of Harry’s practice. He has a keen interest in the video gaming industry and utilises decades of experience passionately pursuing a hobby in the sector to supplement his legal experience for his media and entertainment clients. Some of Harry’s work highlights include: <ul> <li>Advising a global pharmaceutical company on an exclusive in-licence agreement for worldwide rights to a drug candidate worth over $400m.</li> <li>Negotiating agreements governing the use and ownership of IP rights in video games and film, including a licence with a video game studio for the exploitation of IP rights within a virtual reality world.</li> <li>Acting for leading pharmaceutical companies on licences and collaborations with biotechnology or techbio companies.</li> <li>Drafting agreements on transactions involving the use of AI platforms in drug discovery and development pipeline, including a $200m+ collaboration for AI-assisted target validation.</li> <li>Supporting on the acquisitions of numerous biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device and digital health companies, in particular advising on the IP aspects of the deals.</li> </ul> Harry recently spent six-months in-house at a leading medical research charity. He supported their technology transfer work for numerous world-leading research institutions, including drafting IP licences, research collaborations and evaluation agreements. In addition, Harry also supported the charity’s grant-funding activities and their procurement team. Harry developed his experience in the media, entertainment and technology sector while working in the legal team of a global technology company. Harry assisted their video streaming platform with a range of takedown requests and worked on a $1bn litigation relating to their video gaming/ app store. Last year, Harry also completed a secondment to a major pharmaceutical company where he advised on life sciences transactions including a high-value license and supply agreement involving controlled drugs. While seconded, Harry worked closely with their in-house legal, commercial, and brands teams. Harry is a member of the Intellectual Property Society (IPSoc).

Harry WoodcockAssociate – Commercial & IP transactions

Harry is an associate in the Commercial IP team at Bristows. He advises on transactions involving the development, transfer and exploitation of IP rights across the life sciences, gaming and media sectors.

Victoria YuanSenior Associate – Competition and Antitrust

Victoria joined Bristows as a Senior Associate in April 2023 and is part of the competition team.

Vivien ZhuAssociate – Data protection & privacy

Vivien joined Bristows as a trainee solicitor in August 2021. She qualified into the data protection team in September 2023.