Tim Whitfield > Powell Gilbert LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Powell Gilbert LLP
85 FLEET STREET
LONDON
EC4Y 1AE
England

Work Department

Intellectual property.

Position

Partner advising on contentious IP matters, with a focus on patent litigation across a wide range of technical areas, including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, medical devices, consumer and engineering products, industrial processes, electronics and telecommunications. Represents clients in cases before the English courts and the European Patent Office. Has experience of IP related damages claims, licensing disputes and IP-related arbitrations, and has particular expertise in advising clients on the coordination of international patent litigation strategy and managing multi-jurisdictional disputes.

Career

Trained Bristows; qualified Solicitor (England & Wales) 2004; Powell Gilbert LLP 2007-to date; partner 2012; solicitor-advocate 2014; Solicitor (Ireland) 2022; UPC Representative 2023.

Memberships

EPLAW, AIPPI, AIPLA, LSLA.

Education

Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe; Trinity College, Oxford (MChem Chemistry); College of Law, Guildford (PgDL; LPC); Bristol University (Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice).

Leisure

Travel, food and drink.

Lawyer Rankings

London > Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare

Powell Gilbert LLP has developed a market reputation for high-profile IP litigation and advisory work and is praised for its ‘unparalleled collective knowledge in the life sciences patent litigation field’. Penny Gilbert leads the team and has amassed considerable experience in UK and European patent litigation. Zoë Butler’s board practice extends to patent entitlement disputes. Bethan Hopewell frequently represents clients in technically complex proceedings concerning issues such as therapeutic nucleoside analogues. Tim Whitfield, who divides his practice between London and Dublin, is frequently called upon to co-ordinate multi-jurisdictional patent litigation campaigns.

London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)

Providing its clients with a ‘combination of outstanding legal, technical and strategic competence’, Powell Gilbert LLP is highly capable of advising on the full gamut of patent issues arising from a multitude of technically complex sectors, particularly the life sciences sphere. The group frequently appears before the courts on very significant and market-leading cases. Penny Gilbert, who is a pre-eminent practitioner in the spheres of pharmaceuticals and biotech litigation, and Simon Ayrton, who deploys his extensive experience to assist a panoply of clients with FRAND disputes, as well as patent infringement and validity proceedings, jointly lead the practice. Zoë Butler is recommended for her strengths in multi-jurisdictional disputes, while Alex Wilson, who is fluent in French and German, represents notable clients in a range of matters relating to pharmaceuticals, semi-conductors, medical devices, and explosives. Bethan Hopewell leverages her background in molecular biology to handle issues arising from the life sciences sector, and Ari Laakkonen contributes his particular expertise in electronic patent litigation and licensing disputes. Other recommended lawyers include Tim Whitfield, Peter Damerell, Tom Oliver, Siddharth Kusumakar, Joel Coles, Tess Waldron, Rajvinder Jagdev, and Bryce Matthewson.