HSF Kramer and Taylor Wessing have unveiled IP hires in Düsseldorf and London, respectively, with both firms underlining the importance of IP to their strategy.
HSF Kramer has hired Philipp Cepl from DLA Piper as an IP partner in Düsseldorf, while Taylor Wessing’s UK arm has secured Henry Priestley from London media, entertainment and IP practice Russells.
The arrival of Cepl at HSF Kramer boosts its Düsseldorf IP team to three partners, underscoring the fact that EU dispute-resolution competencies remain strongly valued by the firm. Florian Schmidt-Bogatzky joined from IP boutique EIP in March last year, while Ima vom Feld was recruited from legacy Allen & Overy in 2018.
Cepl has a broad patent litigation practice covering the tech, life sciences – including pharma, medical devices and biotechnology – and automotive sectors.
He represents domestic and international clients in patent infringement and validity cases before the UPC and national German courts, including the Federal Patent Court. He has participated in more than 150 patent infringement cases over the course of his 20-plus-year career.
Sebastian Moore, HSF Kramer’s head of IP, said: “Germany continues to be an important market for our IP team as well as our clients as the strategic forum of choice for [regional] patent disputes and a significant jurisdiction for litigation in the Unified Patent Court. Philipp is an experienced litigator who will complement the strengths of our existing partners and deepen the expertise we can offer to clients across Europe.”
German disputes head Patricia Nacimiento added: “With [Cepl], we are strengthening an important part of our disputes offering in Germany, which covers all areas relevant to global businesses.”
In January, the firm hired Hannah Eckhoff as a disputes partner in Frankfurt from BioNTech, where she was director of legal and dispute resolution.
At Taylor Wessing UK, meanwhile, managing partner Shane Gleghorn said the hire of Priestley, alongside last month’s hire of Jeremy Drew from RPC, where he was co-head of retail, reflected its desire to build a “best-in-class IP team”.
Priestley, who previously worked alongside Drew at RPC, has more than 15 years of experience, spanning contentious and non-contentious IP work, with soft IP, copyright and trademarks at its core, advising brand owners, retailers and major commercial clients.
While best known as an experienced IP disputes partner, like Drew, he is also a business advisor, with deep involvement in client strategic and transactional affairs, including acquisitions and the setting up of commercial ventures, capabilities the firm will be looking to build following the planned merger with Winston & Strawn, which is expected to go live in May.
Gleghorn noted that Priestley had “a depth of experience advising major brands and retailers that is truly impressive”.
Graham Hann, head of IP, added: “Henry’s soft IP specialism, his record across both contentious and non-contentious work, and his trusted advisor role will be hugely valuable additions to our practice.”
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