VS News Winter 2024

The big news that the AA Thornton’s partners and the rest of the amazing team have joined Venner Shipley earlier this month.

Our combined firm now has a headcount of 230, including 46 partners, across six offices in the UK — London, Cambridge, Guildford, Manchester, Tunbridge Wells, and Oxford — as well as EU offices in Munich and Alicante. Together, we offer the full range of IP services, including patents, trade marks, designs, copyright, litigation, and licensing.

This combination represents a doubling in size of our trade mark team and strengthens our ability to provide the full range of IP legal services, including litigation and licensing.

We are bringing together the experience and expertise of both firms, enhancing our ability to serve clients throughout Europe, including representation before the Unified Patent Court (UPC). With 67 UPC representatives and a larger litigation team with technical as well as legal expertise, we can offer comprehensive support in UPC-related patent litigation, strategy, and enforcement across Europe, building on our oppositions and revocations expertise and further strengthening our capacity to handle disputes under the UPC system.

If you want to catch up with us in person, our team will be attending and speaking at several upcoming IP conferences across London, the US and Asia. These events offer a fantastic opportunity to connect face-to-face and discuss the latest trends in intellectual property so follow us on our LinkedIn channel here.

What others say about us

Our combined firm’s directory rankings highlight the strength and complementary expertise of both teams. The recognition across key areas of intellectual property — patents, trade marks, designs, and litigation — showcases the depth of talent and dedication we bring to serving our clients. Together, these rankings affirm the powerful synergy of our combined firm, reinforcing our ability to deliver top-tier IP services across the board.

Legal 500

We are delighted to have been recognised as a Top Tier Firm in The Legal 500 United Kingdom 2025 edition.

Once again, we achieved Tier 1 status for PATMA: Patent Attorneys and Tier 2 for PATMA: Trade Mark Attorneys in The Legal 500 UK 2025, while maintaining our ranking for Intellectual Property: Trade Marks, Copyright, and Design. Our firms, now combined as Venner Shipley, share a similar culture, a similar approach to people and clients, and are highly respected within the industry. A recent example of this is both firms being recognised for their “excellent client service and client satisfaction” in the 2025 Legal 500 rankings. As two of only eight firms recognised for exceptional client satisfaction across all three categories in which we are ranked, we place in the top 10% for Client Satisfaction excellence among firms in this jurisdiction, based on client feedback.

Congratulations to:

• Allie Elend and Adrian Bennett for being recognised as Leading Partners in PATMA: Patent Attorneys.
• Clare Turnbull and Ian Gill for being ranked as Leading Partners in PATMA: Trade Mark Attorneys.
• Special congratulations to Sarah Neil, our senior associate, for being recognised as a Leading Associate.

Clients praise our team, stating they are “a joy to work with; this is what makes them really unique,” and noting that we are “better at this than other UK attorneys. On top of that, they’re super-experienced, knowledgeable, and they have great clients.” We are also recognised for our responsiveness and precision, with one client remarking, “the staff I worked with have always responded quickly and with great precision.”

Another client highlights our tailored approach, saying: “They are keen to take into account both business and legal considerations. They do not provide a ‘one size fits all’ service.” In addition, clients have noted: “Their assistance and advice has been key in the development and progression of our patent portfolio.”

Managing IP IP Stars

Siân Gill recognised by Managing IP as one of the top 50 most influential people in IP 2024

We are delighted to announce that Siân Gill has been named by Managing IP as one of the top 50 most influential people in IP for 2024. This recognition highlights her “leadership and forward-thinking approach to the field”.

Since becoming Managing Partner on 1 July 2024, Siân has played a pivotal role in the successful combination of Venner Shipley and AA Thornton, forming a larger and more dynamic firm. With a headcount of over 240, including 46 partners, the firm now operates across six offices in the UK — London, Cambridge, Guildford, Manchester, Tunbridge Wells and Oxford — and has additional offices in Munich and Alicante. The firm provides a comprehensive range of IP services, covering patents, trade marks, designs, copyright, litigation and licensing.

Click here for the review: 50 most influential people in IP 2024: Sian Gill | Managing Intellectual Property

We are particularly proud that, as a combined firm, we have six Patent Stars (Craig Turner, Jan Walaski, Mike Jennings, Siân Gill, Pawel Piotrowicz, and Paul Derry) and David Birchall as a Trade Mark Star. We also have ten Notable Practitioners (Alexandra Seymour-Pierce, Alex Brown, Catrin Petty, Darren Hau, Daniel Byrne, Geoff Hussey, Ian Gill, Katherine Dainty, Matt Handley, and Simon Taor) and four Rising Stars (James Varley, Katherine Sayer, Sarah Neil, and Suzanne Power). Most recently, our Managing Partner, Siân Gill, was named a top 50 most influential people in IP.

Chambers and Partners

We are particularly proud that two of our partners are ranked Band 1:

• Paul Derry for Intellectual Property: Patent Attorneys.
• Ian Gill for Intellectual Property: Trade Mark Attorneys.

Clients consistently praise Venner Shipley, citing a “consistency of high-quality work” and a “solid understanding of difficult technology.” The firm is described as providing “clear and concise” advice, being “client-oriented,” and having a “diverse team with a depth of knowledge” that covers “all kinds of technical fields. “Our attorneys are noted for being “professional and responsive” and a “hidden gem with a strong trade mark practice.”

IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders 2025

We are delighted to announce that Alex Brown, Allie Elend, Anton Hutter, Mike Jennings, and Pawel Piotrowicz have been ranked in IAM’s inaugural IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders guide.

The IAM Strategy 300 Global Leaders guide draws from the worlds of private practice, consulting, and other service providers, with specialists from major IP markets in North America, Europe, and Asia. Together, they boast a wide range of expertise in IP-intensive sectors such as high-tech and life sciences.

Thank you to all our clients and contacts for providing such excellent feedback.