Taylor Wessing has hired Jeremy Drew as a partner in its London intellectual property practice, joining from RPC where he was the firm’s co-head of retail.
Drew is the first partner to join Taylor Wessing since its merger with Winston & Strawn was approved last year. He leaves RPC after 20 years, where he specialised in IP, retail, brands, sports and technology. He originally joined RPC in 2006 from Ashurst, where he was a partner. He trained and qualified at Geldards in Cardiff, where he spent six years.
His practice spans contentious and non-contentious IP work, regulatory matters, sports law and technology disputes. He has built long-standing relationships with major retail and sports clients, providing strategic business advice and coordinating multidisciplinary legal support across corporate, litigation, commercial, employment and regulatory matters. Clients include various Premier League and Football League clubs, and he acts for Sports Direct and associated brands, such as Slazenger, Dunlop, Lonsdale and Everlast.
During his tenure, Drew helped RPC develop its TMT practice and grow the IP team. In addition to leading the retail team, he led the firm’s commercial practice until recently and served for 15 years on the board alongside leading figures such as Jonathan Watmough.
IP is one of Taylor Wessing’s flagship practice areas, boasting significant players such as head of brands Roland Mallison, Adam Randle and Mark Owen. It is also expected to benefit from the Winston Taylor combination, linking Taylor Wessing’s acknowledged UK and EU strengths with Winston’s established contentious and non-contentious practices.
The firm said that Drew’s arrival would enhance its capabilities in the retail, brands and sports sectors, while enabling future Winston Taylor partners to benefit from “significant opportunities for cross-selling across the firm’s practices and international network”.
Taylor Wessing boosted its EU capabilities – which are expected to remain with the merged entity – last August with a five-lawyer team hire, although it also recorded two partner exits to Mayer Brown earlier this year
Shane Gleghorn, UK managing partner, said: “[Drew’s] arrival significantly strengthens our market-leading IP practice and reinforces our commitment to building an unrivalled IP powerhouse. Jeremy’s multi-faceted expertise and significant client relationships will create substantial opportunities across our practices and sectors internationally.”
Niri Shan, head of Taylor Wessing’s IP practice, noted Drew “brings exceptional expertise across the full spectrum of IP, regulatory and digital work, from high-stakes disputes to complex transactions, combined with deep sector knowledge in retail and brands, sports and technology”.
Shan added: “His commercial approach, proven leadership and strong client relationships will further strengthen our service offering and support our ambitious growth plans.”
Drew cited Taylor Wessing’s international platform, sector strength and bench depth, including in retail and brands, as “an exceptional foundation to deliver enhanced services to clients and support their growth ambitions”.
A spokesperson from RPC told this title: “We can confirm that Jeremy Drew will be leaving the RPC partnership. We thank him for his contribution to the success of the firm and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
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