An exclusive report from The Lawyer has revealed that Allen & Overy is preparing to develop an intellectual property litigation presence in the United States. A&O does not currently have any IP litigation partners in the US, as has not specified whether it will look to build a presence through a bolt-on team hire or a merger with a local outfit.

Life sciences boom

According to IP litigation practice head Nicola Dagg, the decision to expand A&O’s capabilities in the field comes in response to greater demand for patent litigation among life science companies over the last four to five years: ‘It makes complete sense for us to invest in IP litigation in the US,’ said Ms Daag. ‘A lot of our very treasured life science clients are US corporates.’ News of the planned US push comes alongside efforts to bolster A&O’s London-based IP litigation practice which has seen the firm pick up four partners from Simmons & Simmons this year, including the latter’s former IP practice head Marc Döring.