Powell Gilbert LLP is top ranked (Gold) in Litigation - United Kingdom.
 
Tim Powell, Penny Gilbert, Simon Ayrton, Zoe Butler, Alex Wilson and Ari Laakkonen are ranked individuals in Litigation - United Kingdom.

“In a different league”, Powell Gilbert “really is one of the best” when it comes to hard-hitting patent litigation. Unafraid to push boundaries, it recently represented Huawei in a high-profile series of suits against Unwired Planet that presented ground-breaking issues concerning competition, licensing and FRAND. Simon Ayrton and Zoë Butler took centre stage on the case: all-rounder Ayrton helps rights holders to negotiate byzantine spats in courts across Europe, while Butler’s “scientific knowledge and background is extremely helpful. She is very fast in understanding the technical aspects of any case”. The firm is also at the forefront of developments in pharmaceutical patent law, having assisted Actavis in a dispute over Warner-Lambert’s second medical use patent on its blockbuster Lyrica drug. Tim Powell was key to Actavis’ success in this case: “An extremely skilled litigator, he is focused on the details but also never lets the bigger picture out of his sight.” Also a formidable foe in pharmaceutical and biotechnology clashes, Penny Gilbert is representing Biogen against AbbVie before the High Court in a dispute relating to biosimilars, and recently defended Kymab in a patent infringement suit brought by Regeneron relating to the use of transgenic mice to produce human monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic use. Gilbert is “absolutely fantastic – extremely pleasant and highly capable of organising big cases”. Clients welcome Alex Wilson’s “free mind and pragmatic approach; he can really navigate rights owners through the difficulties of European patent litigation”. IT and electronics are Ari Laakkonen's metier; he has lately gone out to bat for Sony against SSH in a multi-jurisdictional infringement suit.