Anna Wolters-Höhne is becoming a member of Allen & Overy. Previously, she labored at Bird & Bird for almost 17 years, specializing in life sciences disputes in Düsseldorf and Hamburg. In May 2021, the associate left the worldwide legislation agency to dedicate herself to patent skilled opinions and, above all, her household. The 48-year-old lawyer is now returning to the patent litigation business.
Anna Wolters-Höhne
From December 1, Wolters-Höhne will work as a associate within the Hamburg workplace of Allen & Overy. She will initially be the one patent litigator there. The agency intends to build up a workforce of associates within the workplace over the following few months.
In the meantime, the skilled life sciences skilled will work carefully with the Düsseldorf-based workforce led by Stefan Neuhaus. With purchasers akin to Bayer, Eli Lilly, Hoffmann-La Roche, MSD, NovoNordisk and Pfizer, the workforce additionally has a deal with the life sciences sector.
The patent workforce in Munich led by Jan Ebersohl, alternatively, focuses on litigation regarding electronics and cell phone patents. Internationally, nevertheless, the patent groups in Paris and London even have a powerful deal with helping firms from the life sciences business. Allen & Overy primarily represents originators.
Experienced on either side
Before her departure, Wolters-Höhne was one of many best-known patent litigators within the German Bird & Bird workforce. She labored carefully with Oliver Jüngst. Unlike Allen & Overy, the follow advises each originators and generics producers. On the originator facet she labored for Takeda, for instance. For Gilead she has fought towards ViiV Healthcare over HIV blockbuster drug Biktarvy. The firms settled the dispute in 2022.
During her time at Bird & Bird, Wolters-Höhne additionally represented well-known generics producers akin to Teva. She additionally represented Fresenius within the dispute over Eli Lilly’s most cancers drug pemetrexed. Furthermore, within the medical system sector, Wolters-Höhne gained expertise along side Edwards Lifesciences in its dispute with Meril.
Allen & Overy units sights on Hamburg
Following Wolters-Höhne’s arrival, Allen & Overy’s patent workforce now has an skilled in Hamburg for the primary time. The metropolis is home to one among 4 German native divisions of the Unified Patent Court. The division’s presiding decide, Sabine Klepsch, is taken into account very skilled in life sciences instances.
Allen & Overy is just not the one agency establishing a patent foothold within the metropolis. Bardehle Pagenberg additionally just lately opened an workplace in Hamburg with the UPC in thoughts. Wolters-Höhne’s former legislation agency Bird & Bird arrange a patent workforce right here lengthy earlier than the beginning of the brand new courtroom with a view to present recommendation on the UPC and the Hamburg Regional Court.
Jan Ebersohl, head of the German patent legislation follow at Allen & Overy, says, “Following the appointment of Denise Benz as a partner at the beginning of the year, the addition of Anna Wolters-Höhne is the second strengthening of our practice at partner level.” He provides, “With the expansion of our team, we are creating the conditions to be able to advise our clients even more strongly on resource-intensive cross-border patent disputes.”
David Stone, head of Allen & Overy’s world IP follow, explains, “The life sciences sector is a strategic focus for our firm. With the introduction of the Unified Patent Court, we can offer our clients even greater local support in Germany, both in national proceedings and at the UPC.”
Outside Germany, Allen & Overy has additionally visibly positioned itself with established patent groups in Paris and London.
Growth with lateral hires
For many years, Allen & Overy didn’t have a major patent follow in Germany. In 2012, it initially introduced in pharmaceutical specialist Joachim Feldges. As the UPC launch turned more and more sure, the agency accelerated the additional enlargement of its German patent litigation workforce.
In 2017, Allen & Overy closed an additional hole in Munich by bringing in young associate Jan Ebersohl from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Ebersohl is a specialist in litigation regarding cell communications and electronics patents.
The subsequent addition got here in 2021. Stephan Neuhaus had been a associate at Hogan Lovells, earlier than he moved to Allen & Overy in Düsseldorf. Neuhaus shortly turned Feldges’ successor within the life sciences sector when the latter left in 2022 to start out his personal agency in Munich. Ebersohl took over as head of the German patent follow.
At the start of the 12 months, Allen & Overy appointed Denise Benz as a associate. She is primarily energetic within the cell communications sector and was recognised by JUVE Patent in 2022 as one to observe in Germany. Allen & Overy now has 4 patent companions in Germany with Benz, Neuhaus, Ebersohl and Anna Wolters-Höhne. There are additionally 9 associates.
Small however rising patent lawyer workforce
Like many different worldwide legislation corporations, akin to Bird & Bird and Hogan Lovells, Allen & Overy has additionally begun to combine patent attorneys into its patent workforce for technical assist in litigation.
To date, the German Allen & Overy workforce has labored with two patent attorneys in Düsseldorf who concentrate on life sciences patents. In Munich, the agency has now employed an electronics and cell communications skilled for the primary time. He joins as an affiliate from Hogan Lovells.
