LONDON – Leading specialist IP law firm Powell Gilbert LLP celebrated the tenth anniversary of its founding this month, marking a meteoric rise to become the most active firm in the UK Patents Courts, whilst being widely recognised as a top tier firm for IP litigation in just a single decade.

Founded by five partners from Bristows in March 2007, today, the firm boasts one of the largest IP litigation teams in the UK, comprising over 50 people, with nine partners and 33 fee-earners having unmatched technical and legal expertise. Since its inception, it has represented clients in precedent-setting cases in the UK courts, including the House of Lords and Supreme Court, as well as in the CJEU and the EFTA Court.

The firm is consistently ranked in the top echelons of legal advisors in the IP arena, including top-tier rankings by Legal 500, Chambers, IAM100, WIPR, SuperLawyers and Who’s Who Legal, among many others. The firm was also recently named by The Lawyer as the most active firm in the Patents Courts in 2015-16 and in the top 16 for the overall court rankings, making it the only specialist firm in the overall list.

Powell Gilbert advises a wide variety of clients on major UK and international IP-related issues across patents, trade marks, design rights, copyright and confidential information and in sectors including FMCG, electronics, telecommunications, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and clean technology.

The firm has been at the heart of many of the most complex patent cases and has a wealth of experience in co-ordinating and devising successful strategies for pan-European litigation. Its lawyers have been actively involved in preparations for the Unified Patent Court (UPC) for centralised European patent litigation, including assistance in training of judges.

Dr Penny Gilbert, one of the founding partners of Powell Gilbert LLP, commented:

“We are tremendously proud of what we have achieved over the past decade, a testament to the hard work, dedication and excellence of our team. The last ten years have seen the firm go from strength to strength. We look forward to the next decade and to representing our clients before the UPC as the changes to the European patent litigation system come into force.”