Goodwin is a heavyweight international law firm that brings a broad range of skills to bear on work for world-leading companies in the tech and life sciences markets, with intellectual property high on the list of its core strengths. The team in Cambridge is led by IP commercialisation expert Malcolm Bates and  Tim Worden, who assists life sciences companies with  licensing and partnering deals, R&D agreements, clinical trials agreements, distribution agreements, and a broad array of regulatory matters. Georgia Powell is a key adviser on non-contentious intellectual property and commercial matters in the life sciences, technology and healthcare sectors. Worden recently assisted Synaffix with a $368m licensing deal for access to its clinical stage, site-specific ADC technology platform for the development of selective cancer therapies.

Mills & Reeve LLP has a large IP practice across its office network, though Cambridge is the epicentre with three partners. Mark Pearce, who works between Cambridge, Leeds and Oxford, is head of the national IP practice, which calls on the in-depth experience of James Fry, who leads the life sciences group, and newly promoted partner Stephanie Caird, who has extensive in-house experience through secondments at the MHRA and GSK. The firm handles IP matters in the core sectors of education, food and beverage, health and care, life sciences, and technology. It is well-versed in assisting with university IP policies and spinouts, and complex life sciences portfolio disposals and acquisitions, alongside IP litigation and protection. Richard Plaistowe is a key adviser on IP protection, exploitation and contentious matters, and trade mark attorney Nicola Hanglin is highly regarded.

The technology group at Mishcon de Reya LLP is ‘extremely knowledgeable, business savvy and commercially astute’. Led from London by David Rose, the firm-wide IP practice has a strong outpost in Cambridge, partly thanks to Patrick Farrant, who works between both offices and leads the firm’s international technology offering. Gareth Dickson, who has ‘a wonderful calm manner and great business common sense’, is highly regarded for international and online dispute resolution. Louisa Dixon, who has ‘a reassuring calm manner and is great with clients’, is active at all stages from IP creation and protection through commercialisation, to enforcement. David Rainford has a track record of high-value deals in technology-based life-sciences, software, AI, and quantum computing.

Stobbs IP in Cambridge is like no other firm in the region. Focused purely on brand management, it has amassed a stellar roster of clients, among them Jude Bellingham, Dua Lipa, Danone, General Mills, and Just Eat. The firm lost some of its litigators in late 2024, notably Geoff Steward and Chris Sleep, but it retains a team of 23 partners across its offices, and continues to handle the full spectrum of work regionally, nationally, and internationally. The firm ‘delivers clear legal advice that is strategic and commercial’, and its founder Julius Stobbs is ‘a natural leader with wisdom, wit and a determination to win’. Alec Cameron, who joined from Birketts LLP in late 2024, has in-depth litigation expertise, and Louise Goodsell is an expert in trade mark law and portfolio management.

IP is a core practice area for Taylor Wessing LLP globally, and that is reflected in the depth of expertise in the firm’s Cambridge office. Working closely with its highly regarded venture capital group, the IP team led by Adrian Toutoungi acts for numerous spin-outs, high-growth and multinational companies, including new ventures emerging from Cambridge University, as well as for investors. Its work encompasses cutting-edge deeptech sectors such as quantum computing, advanced semiconductor processor design, chips for large language model AI, and next generation battery technology. Toutoungi is respected for its work on life science licensing matters. Colin McCall is an IP commercialisation specialist, and Tasmina Goraya handles high-stakes litigation, regulatory and compliance issues. Charlie Adams is a rising star in our IP/patent commercialisation team.

Birketts LLP continues to bolster its IP practice with hires at junior level, which attests to the importance of this work to its corporate clients. The firm handles the full range of IP work, with Maria Peyman in Cambridge taking the lead on disputes. Her team is ‘very good at demystifying the highly technical and complex nature of patent law’. Non-contentious work is also led from Cambridge by the ‘responsive, commercially aware and supportive’ Quentin Golder, with support from Andrew Priest, who is an accredited IP specialist in Scotland. Melanie Harvey in Ipswich oversees the trade marks and branding team. Alec Cameron left in late 2024.

The national IP practice at Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP is highly visible in matters concerning patents, designs, trade marks, copyright, and rights in confidential information. Led by Rachel Bradley in Cambridge, Anna Frankum in London, and Chris Shelley in Oxford, the firm has 10 IP partners in total. The Cambridge team ‘stands out for its deep expertise, client-focused approach, and ability to handle complex legal matters with precision and efficiency’. It handles a growing volume of work for spinouts from Cambridge University, as well as research charities and large corporates. The ‘highly competent and reliable’ Bradley increasingly acts for publishers of academic journals, among The Company of Biologists Limited, which recently licensed content to institutions in China.

Evolve Intellectual Property continues to expand its niche IP practice in Cambridge with the addition of junior lawyers from in-house roles at leading pharmaceutical companies. Sole partner Steven Gurney is a European, UK and Australian patent attorney. He recently handled complex prosecution matters to protect the rights to a patent for a key asset of biopharmaceutical company Pharma Mar S.A., which develops pharmaceuticals with active substances of marine origin. Gurney’s focus on pharmaceuticals sees him involved in the IP aspects of drug development, lifecycle management, and licensing.

Fosters provides a broad spectrum of IP support through its In House retainer model, which allows clients to elicit assistance with everything from new trade mark applications to expanding and managing global portfolios. Corporate partner Jamie Arnall leads the group, which continues to act for top-flight sports and entertainment clients, while Charlotte Darkins is the key practitioner for IP-specific matters, particularly in the sports sector. Recent work includes a key trade mark application for a national restaurant and bar chain, overcoming opposition from a large international company.

Greenwoods has significantly ramped up its IP capability in London, where a four-partner team from Armstrong Teasdale joined in late 2024. The arrival of seasoned specialists shows a commitment to IP as a core offering for the firm’s corporate clients. Litigation partner Jamie McConnell in Peterborough leads the practice in East Anglia, which is predominantly focused on contentious matters, though he also works closely with the corporate and commercial group to handle on IP licensing matters.

Marks & Clerk‘s Cambridge office is an important outpost for one of the UK’s largest IP firms, which has a large national team of solicitors, patent attorneys and trade mark attorneys operating across its nine offices. Simon Portman is the key practitioner in the region, and he calls on the expertise of colleagues in London to provide a full-service IP offering that spans strategic advice, risk limitation, due diligence, brand protection, portfolio management, commercial contracts, and industry-specific regulatory issues. He acts for start-ups, universities, and large multinationals.