Freshfields

Firm overview:

Freshfields offers a globally integrated, high-stakes patent litigation practice grounded in deep technical expertise. With over 100 IP professionals across London, Germany, the Netherlands, and beyond, the firm orchestrates end-to-end patent strategies.

From prosecution and transactional counsel to multi-jurisdictional enforcement and dispute resolution, Freshfields is known for leveraging experience across life sciences, digital technology, telecoms, and biotech. The firm is particularly noted for its role in high-value pharmaceutical and medical-device cases. Peers acknowledge that the firm has had a healthy caseload recently—“they are immensely busy”, with a strong presence at the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

Team overview:

Key members of the practice include Christopher Stothers, Laura Whiting and Giles Pratt. These partners are backed by strong cross-office collaboration with Düsseldorf, Amsterdam, and Munich teams.

Stothers is described as “very good and knowledgeable” by a leading industry peer. Noted for the high volume of cases he is entrusted with—particularly at the UPC—Stothers is one of those practitioners who is “front and centre” of the market at the moment.

Whiting focuses on contentious IP matters and litigates patent, SPC and trade secrets disputes, while Pratt focuses on IP in tech-driven M&A and licensing.

Key matters:

• Moderna v BioNTech (mRNA patents)

The team led and coordinated the UK, Dutch, and German strategy for Moderna, marking one of the practice’s most visible pharma mandates.

• AstraZeneca v Tesaro/GSK (PARP inhibitors)

Freshfields acted for AstraZeneca in a UK royalty dispute over cancer drugs, showcasing the firm’s litigation depth in pharma.

• Alexion v Amgen and Samsung Bioepis (biologics litigation)

The team represented Alexion in litigation with Amgen related to monoclonal antibody patents. Handled EP and UK procedures involving antibody drug patents, illustrating cross-border capability.

• SharkNinja v Dyson (mechanical patents)

Freshfields acted for SharkNinja in UK and UPC proceedings as part of its multi-jurisdictional dispute with Dyson. The matter was settled in early 2025.

Clients:

Alexion, AstraZeneca, InBev, Moderna, SharkNinja