Simmons & Simmons’ patent practice stands out for its ‘problem ownership and professional rigour’ across litigation, prosecution, licensing, and transactional IP matters. Following Bas Berghuis van Woortman’s departure in August 2025, the practice is now led by Oscar Lamme, who specialises in international patent technology-related litigation for clients in the telecoms, electronics, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical sectors. Machteld Hiemstra is a key contact on regulated sector patents issues. Sebastien Versaevel, Johan Renes, and Diptanil Debbarma also left the firm.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Very diverse skillset, driven, solution-oriented, and competent in IP/contracts/M&A.'
- ‘I'm impressed with their problem ownership and professional rigour. They drive me as a client, not vice-versa, which is great.’
- ‘Good IP knowledge in the pharma sector, experienced partners, and good communication.’
- ‘Oscar Lamme has good IP knowledge and provides practical advice.'
Key clients
Bayer HealthCare
Samsung Bioepis
Netherlands Cancer Institute
Serenity Pharmaceuticals
UCB
uniQure
Zimmer Biomet
Pharmathen
Med-El
HP
Xiaomi
Samsung Electronics
Work highlights
Successfully represented uniQure in Europe’s first gene therapy patent dispute, securing victory against Pfizer over uniQure’s haemophilia gene therapy patent.
Initiated the first UPC proceedings in the Netherlands for Green Tech scale-up Plant-e.
Defended Pharmathen in a cross-border dispute over Novartis’ blockbuster drug Sandostatin LAR.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
Oscar Lamme
Other key lawyers
Machteld Hiemstra; Max Timmerman; Sanne Moens