Bristows shows IP’s rude health with revenue up by a fifth

Turnover rose from £18.5m to £22.1m, while average profit per equity partner at the all-equity firm now stands at £226,000.

Paul Walsh, one of ­Bristows’ two joint ­managing partners, agreed that the healthy results reflected an increase in ­disputes.

“The IP department had a very good year and there was growth in both the ­contentious and non-­contentious parts of the ­practice,” he said. “But there was significantly greater growth in contentious IP.”

Bristows has enjoyed a general growth spurt over the past couple of years as the firm looks to rebuild following a spate of ­departures.

At the beginning of 2008 Bristows took three ­partners from Howrey, while in the past month the firm has hired ­corporate partner Ken Boehner from Kilpatrick Stockton and Fiona Nicholson, the ­former head of IP at Maclay Murray & Spens.