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In IT Addleshaw Goddard LLP is strong in the financial, retail and public sectors. Paul Bentham is ‘detail-conscious and eager to provide a good level of service‘, while James Whittaker is ‘a very safe pair of hands‘. On the IP side, the team represents a number of well-known brands including Argos, Gucci, and Primark, which the team assists on all contentious IP matters. New clients include the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and ITV.

DLA Piper UK LLP’s practice head Lee Brierley ‘offers advice that is not limited to pure legal documents but also understands the requirement for broader commercial input‘. The team assists a number of public sector clients such as the Department for Work and Pensions. The group has a very active financial services practice, acting for clients such as Barclays. Other clients include JJB Sports, and Carphone Warehouse. Sarah Bell is ‘durable and dependable‘.

Halliwells enjoys a good reputation for IP/IT work, with lawyers at all levels taking ‘a pragmatic, commercial, solutions-driven approach‘. Craig Chaplin ‘is the ideal client care partner, and has the uncanny knack of being able to match exactly the right lawyer to any given instruction‘. The team has advised Cable & Wireless on various contentious and non-contentious issues. New clients include Barclays, JJB, and the University of Sheffield. Jonathan Moakes leads the team.

Cobbetts LLP has recently been advising clients in the life sciences and electronics fields, and has been engaged in a number of contentious matters. Highlights include acting on a licence/royalty dispute in relation to a rigid-inflatable boat used for government purposes. Susan Hall is the lead partner on the IT side, while Robert Roper is the key partner for IP matters.

Clients appreciate Eversheds LLP’s ‘straightforward, no-nonsense style‘. The group was recently bolstered by the arrival of trade mark and design filing specialist Brian Clayton, who ‘is a safe pair of hands and doesn’t bother clients with the details‘. The team recently won Kurt Geiger as a new client, and will handle all its global trade mark work. Comet, easyJet, and Yorkshire Television are also clients. Antony Gold is ‘very easy to work with‘.

Hammonds LLP’s IP team is led by Patricia Jones, and has assisted Ultraframe, Oxonica Energy, and Scolmore in High Court and Court of Appeal cases. Tom Bridgford leads the commercial IT and IP team, and has seen a marked increase in high-value instructions from large corporate clients such as The Co-operative Bank and Jurys Doyle.

Pannone LLP’s non-contentious IP practice is led by the ‘immensely reassuring‘ Samantha Livesey, while contentious work is handled by Bill Lister, who is ‘experienced in IP and defamation‘ and is ‘personable and charming‘. On the IP side, clients include Lectus Therapeutics Limited, and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. IT clients include the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive.

In the IP arena, Beachcroft LLP has advised SIRVA INC, while on the IT side clients include Keycom, Swinton Insurance and Topps Tiles.

IT software specialist Nik White leads Brabners Chaffe Street LLP’s IT and IP practice. He is ‘approachable and professional‘, ‘has an excellent knowledge of the computer games industry‘, and ‘often points out angles you wouldn’t think of‘. Technology and biotechnology are core sectors for the group. Adidas is a client.

DWF LLP recently advised Liverpool City Council on the application by Liverpool FC to trade mark the Liver Bird. The team also advised Aintree Racecourse on outsourcing arrangements. Paul Attwood is ‘easily reached and responsive to the needs of clients‘.

At George Davies Solicitors LLP, Mark Lewis ‘brings a streetwise edge to his work which chimes well with client needs and goals‘. The ‘strong‘ team acts for a number of Premiership and international footballers on all aspects of image rights.

At Hill Dickinson LLP practice head Philip Woods is an established name in the IP field. Key clients include The Law Society, which the team advises in relation to its trade mark portfolio. On the IT side, Shelley Thomas advises a number of NHS bodies on the implications and application of data protection and freedom of information legislation.

Colin Hoffman and Ian Morris co-head Kuit Steinart Levy LLP’s IP practice. Clients include Habitat and Accurist Watches. The department is developing expertise in the biomedical arena.

Pinsent Masons LLP was recently appointed for the first time to Manchester United FC’s legal panel, as specialist data protection advisers. Rosemary Jay is the lead partner.

Taylors advises home furnishings and cosmetics industry clients among others. Tony Catterall is the key name.

Also recommended are: Berg Legal, where Stephen Foster is the lead partner; Gorvins, where Tim Dennis is recommended; JMW Solicitors LLP, whose clients include Jemella, owner of the ghd haircare brand; Lawson Coppock & Hart, which advises on copyright, trade marks and other intellectual property rights; Neil Myerson Solicitors, where Carl Newton handles IP matters; Nexus Solicitors, where Tony Brook is the lead partner; Ralli Solicitors, where Stephen Kuncewicz is the key contact; and Weightmans LLP, where John Schorah handles IP and IT matters.

Weightmans LLP’s John Schorah handles IP and IT matters.

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