Powell Gilbert is a boutique IP litigation firm that span out of Bristows in 2007, and has a very strong patent practice. It has one office, in London, with 25 lawyers. Its clients include Procter & Gamble, Human Genome Sciences and HTC, and with solid backing from the market, it makes the move to the top tier in patent contentious this year.

"I just love to see Powell Gilbert there. They are first rate. Very good. They're not fiddling around, they just do what they do very well," says one partner, while another concurs with that assessment: "Powell Gilbert should go up [to tier one] for patents."

"Powell Gilbert – it's a very good team there," adds an attorney, while another partner comments: "Powell Gilbert represents quality and quantity."

Out of its top work this year, a specific highlight is its representation of smartphone company HTC in the European aspects of its worldwide dispute with Apple. The team is led by Alex Wilson, with fellow partner Simon Ayrton also involved. Amongst other things, the team has managed to obtain expedition of proceedings in the UK that led to the fast-track revocation of three of Apple's patents, one of a very small number of these accelerated proceedings that have been successful this year.