Withers takes over niche IP firm in departmental revamp

City firm Withers is taking over specialist intellectual property firm Maycock's.

The acquisition will go ahead in August, with Maycock's City office shutting down.

Founding partner John Maycock will head Withers' revamped IP unit.

The unit will have two partners including Maycock, and two assistants.

The acquisition follows the departure of Maycock's partner Peter McBride, who left to join Nicholson Graham & Jones only last month.

Maycock told The Lawyer at the time that he would announce a change of direction for the firm, but refused to comment further.

Now he says: "My partner and I were being headhunted towards the end of last year. A number of large City firms approached us.

"That was when we started thinking about the change in our status."

When McBride quit, Maycock became the firm's only full-time partner.

He says: "I require greater resources and more back-up. We have about three people here, and some are part-time.

"It has been hard in the larger litigations. We find ourselves up against large City firms who can move faster.

"We came to the conclusion that it makes sense to seek a larger home."

He will be taking many clients with him, including his largest, patent and trade mark attorneys Gill Jennings & Every.

But he has yet to decide whether he will need his part-time staff.

Diana Parker, senior partner at Withers, says: "We are pleased to hire Maycock. Many firms were bidding for him."