Speechly IP/IT dept buoyed by Hammonds, Manches raids

Speechly Bircham has relaunched its IP practice with the double hire of Manches’ and Hammonds’ IP chiefs, Alex Carter-Silk and Paul Harris.

The move signals the firm’s intention to compete with established IP firms following the hire of Faegre & Benson IP/IT chief Robert Bond in October 2006, who is charged with leading the expanding IP/IT practice at Speechly.
Bond said: “What’s really exciting is that we’ve now got three heads of department from other firms with more than 60 years of combined experience.

“We’re able to compete now at the level of Olswang, Bird & Bird, Field Fisher Waterhouse and Taylor Wessing.”

Harris specialises in IP litigation and left Hammonds at the end of March. Carter-Silk focuses on a mixture of contentious and non-contentious trademark work for high-profile clients including Elle Macpherson.

The firm aims to hire a further five assistants to bring the practice up to 12 lawyers in total. The group had four lawyers before the expansion.

Bond said he would hire assistants with backgrounds in music and publishing to cover all sectors relevant to the IP practice and develop a full service IP/IT department.