Simmons & Simmons

Simmons & Simmons has an IP team working in Milan, comprising the talents of IP partner Laura Orlando, managing associate Pietro Pouché and associate Martina Maffei. The team is supported by corporate lawyers, who assist in transactional and commercial matters.
Laura Orlando is described as "smart and efficient" in patent litigation. She is a leading figure within the firm's Italian life sciences group and dispute resolution team, known for her knowledge of patent regulations. Pietro Pouché is noted for both contentious and non-contentious experience across all fields of IP including unfair competition, patents and know-how. Professionals at the firm are experienced in advising on patent strategy, SPC validity, Italian and international regulatory issues, with an emphasis on the life sciences and TMT sectors.

Bas Berghuis van Woortman leads the Dutch IP patent practice at Simmons & Simmons. The office is integrated within the international IP group and is known for advising companies in the life sciences sector. Managing associate Mattie de Koning has extensive experience in pan-European patent litigation, while András Kupecz, who has a background in molecular biology, acts as a lawyer and patent attorney in a variety of technical fields. Clients include Allergan, Bayer HealthCare and GlaxoSmithkline.

The "pragmatic and commercial" team at Simmons & Simmons provides a high level of service in prosecution matters. Its agency in Beijing owes its rapid growth to IP Star George Chan who one commentator describes as "possibly the best IP lawyer in China". "He understands the commercial drivers of the business and navigates that in the Chinese IP context to bring the results we need," one client notes. "George has delivered such amazing results for us that he is worth his weight in gold," says another. A client describes the firm as "a safe pair of hands and trusted advisers".

Simmons & Simmons is recommended for soft IP work in the UK. Rowan Freeland is now head of IP following the departure of Marc Döring in 2016. Market commentators say David Stone, who also followed Döring, is a loss to the trade marks and designs practice, however, there are other practitioners such as Adrian Smith and Darren Meale who can service clients in this space. Vikki Leitch and Rebecca (Bex) Heard are among the junior trade mark practitioners in the firm. The firm maintains a strong IP transactions practice with Michael Gavey and Angus McLean at the helm. Patent litigator Richard Binns can also take on soft IP disputes as well as transactions, and the firm recently hired patent litigator Michael Burdon from Olswang. Meale and Lydia Torne are two rising stars.