Firm Profile > Mathys & Squire LLP > London, England

PATMA: Patent attorneys Tier 1

Mathys & Squire LLP 's life sciences and chemistry and IT, telecoms and engineering departments are among the most active and prestigious patent drafting and filing practices in the market. While the practice counts a high number of international corporations as its clients, it can also look back on a strong track record of prosecution work for start-ups and was appointed as a provider of intellectual property rights services for the North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium in 2018. Christopher Hamer and Martin MacLean direct the life sciences and chemistry group while Jane Clark and Ilya Kazi direct the IT and electronics department. Paul Cozens is the head of the engineering practice and the Cambridge-based Alan MacDougall leads the telecoms group. Hazel Ford joined as of counsel from Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP and subsequently made partner. Of counsel Victoria Strachan, who joined from Wynne-Jones IP, has headed the Oxford office since it opened in late 2018, at the same time as the new Midlands office. Of counsel Alison Haile joined from Beresford Crump. Unless otherwise stated all practitioners are based in London. The firm also has offices in Brighton, Cambridge, Manchester and York, as well as three offices in continental Europe. Harvey Adams joined Carpmaels & Ransford LLP. Peter Garrett retired.

PATMA: Trade mark attorneys Tier 2

Mathys & Squire LLP assists with the full spectrum of trade mark prosecution and since its acquisition of Coller IP in December 2017 is also able to offer a comprehensive trade mark valuation and commercialisation service. The group is experienced in assisting large multinationals and domestic start-ups alike, with an especially strong focus on the automotive sector as part of an overall diverse sector offering. The Manchester-based Gary Johnston and the London-based Margaret Arnott, who is dual-qualified as a solicitor and heads the litigation practice, direct the team. Associate Rebecca Tew joined from Marks & Clerk LLP to head up the newly opened Midlands office, which complements the firm's already wide domestic footprint. The international offices are in Paris, Munich and Luxembourg.

Diversity/Community

At Mathys & Squire we take diversity and corporate social responsibility very seriously.
We are proud to be an employer of choice, and our workplace is diverse, inclusive and welcoming. Our staff come from a wide range of nationalities, educational backgrounds and cultural heritages. A third of our partners are female while part time and flexible working is common across the firm. We offer enhanced maternity, paternity and shared parental leave pay.

Our recruitment process reaches out to a wide range of universities and our interview style is designed to allow individuals to relax and perform to their best ability. We maintain a best practice, supportive environment where all our staff can develop and reach their full potential. We are active members of IP Inclusive, a profession-wide initiative committed to making the IP profession more inclusive. Our Social Committee works hard to ensure our events calendar appeals to all ages and accommodates a range of different interests and tastes. We have run Unconscious Bias training for our partners and Diversity training for both staff and partners.  

We are also heavily committed to giving back to our local communities. In London, we work closely with St James’ Church of England Primary School in Bermondsey, working on initiatives such as National Science Week and the annual competition to design the Mathys & Squire Christmas card. Each Christmas, the London office also supports the Southwark Council Children at Risk team by providing presents for children within their care. Our ‘Charity of the Year’ in 2019 is Guide Dogs.

We are also committed to monitoring our environmental policies and carbon footprint. In this regard, we are proud to be ISO 14001 accredited, which focuses on environmental management and recognises that, as a firm, we are committed to improving our environmental performance through efficient use of resources, a reduction of waste and lessening our carbon footprint. In support of the environment more generally, we are partnered with Trees for Life, a UK-charity that works to protect the Caledonian Forest in Scotland.