Carpmaels & Ransford is excited to announce the arrival of Agathe Michel-de Cazotte as a new Partner at the firm, effective from 1st September 2022.

Agathe is an experienced European litigator with a particular interest in the Unified Patent Court (UPC), and has many years of experience in advising clients on how to make the most of this new system for pan-European patent litigation. She joins Carpmaels from Hogan Lovells.

Agathe has represented clients in major cross-border patent litigations in France, the UK, Germany, and in EPO oppositions for over a decade, and joins Carpmaels’ Dispute Resolution group ahead of the imminent arrival of the Unified Patent Court (UPC).

Carpmaels already coordinates litigation across Europe using a diverse team of litigators and patent attorneys and has long been preparing to represent clients at the UPC. Agathe’s arrival will add to the firm’s expertise in European litigation as the whole industry prepares for the long-awaited arrival of this new court.

Hugh Goodfellow, Managing Partner, comments:

“Agathe’s wealth of experience in pan-European patent litigation, for both major multinationals and innovative SMEs, makes her a great asset to Carpmaels. Her extensive knowledge and advisory work in relation to the soon-to-be-launched UPC will be particularly vital in the run-up to the opening of that court, and the cases for our clients that will inevitably follow.”

Her practice has a strong focus on pharma, chemistry, and she has extensive experience defending telecom innovators in SEP (including FRAND issues) and NEP litigation, as well as pharma clients in blockbuster formulation, method of treatment and second medical use patents. Her time spent in-house with major blue-chip companies has given her a sound understanding of the technological and business drivers behind agreements and litigation related decisions.

As the industry gears up for the UPC, Agathe’s first-hand knowledge of the varied legal traditions across Europe will be invaluable. She has represented clients before the various infringement courts in Germany, the German Federal Patent Court, the German Federal Court of Justice (all instances), the French Civil Courts, the UK High Court, the IPEC, the European Patent Office and both the French and German Patent and Trademark Offices.

Carpmaels & Ransford is recognised as a leader in the healthcare field and was recently awarded SPC Litigation Firm of the Year at the LMG Life Sciences Awards EMEA and won the UK’s Patent Contentious award (Patent & Trademark Attorney Firms) at Managing IP’s awards for 2022.

Agathe’s appointment follows the recent promotion of Ben Husband to Partner in the Engineering and Tech teams, and Simon Llewellyn to Partner in the Dispute Resolution team.