Six IP lawyers including two partners have left A&O Shearman to join White & Case and Clifford Chance across London and Paris. 

Partner David Stone, the former global head of IP at legacy Allen & Overy, has joined White & Case in London alongside Karla Hughes and Adrian Dykes, both of whom make partner on the move. Meantime, partner David Por has moved over to Clifford Chance in Paris alongside a senior associate and an associate. 

White & Case partner Yar Chaikovsky, head of the firm’s global IP practice, commented: “The largest intellectual property disputes are often fought in parallel in the US and EMEA, so the addition of a team of intellectual property litigators in London led by David Stone will be of huge benefit to our global clients. 

“Coupled with our intellectual property litigation practice in the US, our enhanced cross-Atlantic capability will strengthen White & Case as the go-to firm for international intellectual property litigation.”

Stone, who brings nearly 30 years of experience, is an IP litigator and solicitor advocate who advises clients on trademarks, registered and unregistered designs and copyright law issues before the High Court of England and Wales and the Court of Justice of the European Union. He also sits part-time as a Deputy High Court Judge, hearing cases in the Chancery Division of the High Court, including the Patents Court and the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.

Meantime Hughes joins having been head of trademark and design prosecution at A&O Shearman. She advises clients on trademarks and design law matters before the European Union Intellectual Property Office, UK Intellectual Property Office and the Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as advising clients through the lifecycle of their brands on portfolio management, clearance and multi-jurisdictional disputes. 

Dykes advises clients on contentious and non-contentious IP matters, including trademarks, passing off, copyright and registered and unregistered designs and advertising law. He was a senior associate at A&O Shearman. 

White & Case partner and vice chair, Oliver Brettle, said growing the the firm’s disputes practice, including IP litigation, was a strategic priority for the firm. 

“Since the arrival of partners Yar Chaikovsky and Phil Ou in Silicon Valley and Anna Naydonov in Washington DC at the start of 2023 we have been building out our intellectual property practice, harnessing our global footprint which provides a unique platform on which to build a strong practice that spans all our regions,” he said. “Due to the importance of English law for international companies, London is a central component to that practice.” 

Por’s move to Clifford Chance has come after nearly 20 years at legacy Allen & Overy and then A&O Shearman. His practice concentrates on complex and cross-border patent disputes, including before French domestic courts and the Unified Patent Court (UPC). 

The firm noted that the UPC’s multi-jurisdictional presence and increasing importance as a forum for its clients globally meant that a strong presence in Paris as well as Germany was important to win work. 

“David’s expertise will be instrumental in building and reinforcing our growing UPC practice, which is already robust in Germany,” said Claudia Milbradt, Clifford Chance’s co-head of global IP. “His arrival will enhance our ability to handle high-profile and complex IP litigation across Europe, in particular before the UPC.”

A spokesperson for A&O Shearman said of the moves: “We thank David Stone and David Por for the contributions they have made to the firm and wish them all the best for the future.”

Stone and Por are the latest of more than 100 partners to exit A&O Shearman since the merger of UK Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy and New York stalwart Shearman & Sterling was announced in May 2023, according to The Times, with most of the exits coming from the British side. 

The merger went live in May last year and in September the firm confirmed it would cut 10% of its roughly 800-strong global partnership by the end of the current financial year. The firm also shuttered its Johannesburg office and axed its consulting arm.