Eversheds has suffered another blow to its IP practice with the loss of national IP head Patrick Farrant to Taylor Vinters.
Eversheds lost several senior IP partners in March 2003, prompting a review of its IP practice. The then London IP head Isabel Davies joined Howrey Simon Arnold & White and Farrant stepped into her role.
In addition, contentious IP partner Paul Harris left the London office for Hammonds and Alex Shiel left the Newcastle office to join Ward Hadaway, while Birmingham head of IP Philip Atkinson left the firm for personal reasons.
Farrant’s departure follows a restructuring of Eversheds’ Cambridge office in September 2004, when it was decided to extend the firm’s target client base from the technology sector into the education and government fields.
Taylor Vinters managing partner Christine Berry told The Lawyer: “For a partner of Patrick’s stature and reputation to join us reinforces both our [Farrant and the firm’s] commitment to the technology sector. We look for entrepreneurial lawyers that enjoy helping businesses exploit their ideas and inventions.”
Farrant said: “I am very excited to be joining a firm that has a commitment to technology and the Cambridge marketplace.”
