Powell Gilbert LLP is top ranked (Gold) in the IAM 1000 awards for Litigation, with partners Tim Powell, Penny Gilbert, Simon Ayrton, Zoë Butler, Alex Wilson and Ari Laakkonen all listed ranked individuals.

IAM 1000 described the firm as:

The “exemplary” Powell Gilbert is a “go-to patent litigation firm and established market leader”, with “a depth of expertise that few others can match”. “Every member of its team displays a keen intellect, sophisticated judgment and pragmatism, so opposing counsel routinely find themselves being out lawyered and out manoeuvred. Even when digging into the most complex legal and technical points, they remain fun to work with.” 

Established by former Bristows life sciences specialists, it is still best known for its dazzling performances in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology arenas. 

Penny Gilbert is “at the forefront of just about every important life sciences patent case in Europe”. She and the “insightful and user-friendly” Timothy D Powell “know the industry back to front and are clever, tactical litigators”. Powell has a quality that is all too rare to find in elite lawyers: “Though assured, he is willing to listen and be guided.” 

Former Nokia man Ari Laakkonen plies a busy trade in telecommunications and IT sectors. The “imaginative advocate” “thinks difficult problems through methodically”. 

“Brilliant litigator” Zoë Butler can effortlessly switch gears between different technical areas and ascends to the silver tier on the recommendation of peers. 

“Very strong on patent and unfair competition issues”, Simon Ayrton also has a flair for diverse technologies. He [is] widely tipped for artful coordination of cases with parallel actions taking place on foreign soil. 

Alex Wilson is another “extremely intelligent” operator. He has had a busy year, teaming up with Gilbert to enforce patents for OxyContin against generic competitors and acting for members of the Fresenius group to defend a revocation action brought by Baxter Healthcare.