An 18-strong patent team led by renowned patent lawyer Justin Hill has moved from Dentons to Crowell & Moring’s London office.

Hill, who was head of Dentons’ European patent prosecution and opposition practices, is joined by Marie Jansson Heeks, who was a senior associate at Dentons but will join Crowell as a partner, with Hill serving as head of IP (UK).

The team is completed by six patent attorneys, four paralegals and six professional staff members. 

They regularly appear in proceedings before the European Patent Office and the Unified Patent Court, as well as national courts. They also provide transactional and advisory input for investors and other stakeholders in emerging technologies.

Hill and Jansson Heeks spent eight years at Dentons, which they both joined from Olswang, which is now part of CMS.

Hill is a Chambers Band 1-ranked European patent attorney and patent attorney litigator with more than 20 years of experience. His practice focuses on advising on IP policy, strategy, portfolio management and commercialisation.

He has advised leading tech companies and has experience advising venture funds. Hill uses AI tools in his practice to unearth IP and advise on investor readiness and due diligence. He is also known for IP negotiations and successes with complex patent disputes, including litigation, oppositions and appeals.

Prior to his leadership role at Dentons, Hill co-led the patents group at Olswang (now CMS) for five years and served as the head of the European IP prosecution and opposition practices at McDermott Will & Emery.

Jansson Heeks’ work focuses on strategic patent portfolio management and litigation work and encompasses a broad spectrum of legal matters in a variety of technical disciplines. She has experience with various patent prosecution matters and has worked on numerous opposition and appeal proceedings.

Robert Weekes, managing partner of Crowell’s London office and a member of the firm’s management board, commented: “[The group’s] arrival further enhances our tech offering to both existing and potential clients. This team will link perfectly with our excellent IP practices across the wider firm and we see real synergies across our London teams.”

Mark Supko, co-chair of Crowell’s IP department, added: “Justin and Marie’s team also offers Crowell additional noncontentious capability, as well as important additional standing before the Unified Patent Court in Europe.”

Hill said: “We have been working for years with businesses and innovators of all sizes who are facing difficult decisions about how best to manage their IP assets, and we believe that the platform at Crowell gives us the best ability to serve our clients in a holistic manner.”

In a statement, Dentons said: “We thank Justin and the patents team for their contribution and wish them well.”

Dentons pointed out that its wider UK IP practice continues to grow following the recent partner promotions of Jen Cass and Anna Brown.

The group joining from Dentons is the latest addition to Washington DC-headquartered Crowell’s London office, which focuses on areas that intersect with technology and innovation. 

Over the last year in London, Crowell has added technology and telecommunications partner Emma Wright, who was previously a partner at Harbottle & Lewis. It has also added digital, advertising and brand protection partner Rafi Azim-Khan, who was previously a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.

Last month, Crowell absorbed Boston dealmaking boutique Faber Daeufer & Itrato, significantly boosting its life sciences and emerging companies capabilities.

The tie-up saw 24 lawyers and around 25 further professionals join Crowell and prompted the launch of Crowell Life Sciences, combining Faber’s life sciences-focused venture finance and R&D transactional practice with Crowell’s existing capabilities across healthcare regulatory, government contracting, export controls, data privacy, patent prosecution and healthcare and IP litigation.