Eversheds poaches IP expert from Cobbetts

Eversheds' Birmingham office has created a new department head after poaching intellectual property expert Philip Atkinson from Manchester firm

Cobbetts.

Atkinson joins Eversheds' Birmingham office as head of IP this week in a

role created especially for him. He spent the last year as a partner in

Cobbetts' IP and media department.

Prior to joining 33-partner firm Cobbetts last year, Atkinson worked at

Manchester firm Lawson Coppock & Hart for 10 years.

His joining boosts the partner count in Eversheds' 73-lawyer IP department

to 21. He has no plans to bring other lawyers with him to his new firm.

Atkinson's role has seen him providing guidance on TV series and feature

film documentation and advising insolvency practitioners on IP matters.

Commenting on his departing partner, Cobbetts' managing partner Michael

Shaw says: "I have stolen quite a nice paperweight from his office which he

left behind.

"We very much enjoyed having him here for 18 months or so, we like him

enormously.

"He is well regarded and I have no doubt that the opportunities he has got

with Eversheds are very exciting for him and we wish him all the best."

He adds that there are no plans to replace Atkinson since, having brought

in around 30 lawyers from Manchester firm Slater Heelis last year, he says

the firm now has a wealth of expertise in that area.

Atkinson says: "Eversheds is a large firm which services a European market

which is of great interest to me.

"I am keen to put the emphasis on IP as a hidden value of a business; it

should be seen as a company asset to be managed, protected and exploited.

"I look forward to advising Eversheds' clients on how to make their IP

work harder for their business."

Eversheds senior partner in Birmingham Adrian Bland comments: "IP is now a

crucial asset for most businesses. Philip's arrival here will mean that we

are even better placed to help our clients in this important area."