Carpmaels & Ransford has retained its Tier 1 ranking in the Patent attorneys category of Legal 500 2026, with 25 members of the firm receiving recognition in this year’s directory.

The firm received Tier 2 rankings in the categories of Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious) and Trade mark attorneys. This year, the firm also secured a Tier 3 ranking in the Life sciences and healthcare industry section.

Senior Partner Hugh Goodfellow entered into the Hall of Fame category this year for his longstanding involvement in market-leading work, with John Brunner and Ed Oates also named as leading partners. For the fourth year running Jennifer Antcliff has been named as a next generation partner, and senior associates Craig Lumb and Emily Nikolic have also been recognised as leading associates in this year’s rankings.

The publication includes a number of testimonials about the firm, including:

• ‘They are simply the best firm around for handling complex, sensitive and important matters.’
• ‘They offer unmatched quality. What sets them apart is that they combine strategic nous with a deep understanding of the science.’
• ‘Very strong technical and scientific knowledge with excellent experience and knowledge of EPO procedures (for oppositions, appeals and prosecution).
• ‘Excellent team leading the UK firms in UPC work. Fantastic synergy between the prosecution experts and the litigators.’
• ‘Carpmaels & Ransford are without a doubt one of the best patent litigation practices in Europe. They have an exceptional team with vast experience in coordinating patent and SPC-related disputes across Europe. They have strong patent litigation, prosecution, and regulatory teams, and are uniquely positioned to advise clients on strategy and litigation across the UK Courts and the EPO, as well as before the UPC.’
• ‘The Carpmaels team is very impressive at all levels. They are always on top of every aspect of the matters that I have worked with them on, from tricky technical points to the wider litigation strategy. They are simply superb IP lawyers.’
• ‘Carpmaels’ interdisciplinary and international team stands out in knowledge, skill, and dedication. They make sure deadlines are comfortably met in legally, procedurally, and /or scientifically complex matters. The team has grown in recent years, and the added skills and perspectives are valuable when working collaboratively with them on matters.’
• ‘A very deep bench of top-notch partners. They work very collaboratively, so you feel like you are getting the best advice from the person with the most relevant experience. We think of them as partners that we can trust and rely on to provide great counsel and service to our US-based clients.’
• ‘We work with the solicitors in the dispute resolution team mainly on a pan-European litigation coordination project. Besides being all excellent solicitors, the team is also highly scientifically knowledgeable. We pick them for matters that are high-stakes and workload-heavy. We specifically appreciate their ability to integrate together with us in highly efficient and collaborative teams as trusted partners.’

18 partners and 7 senior associates and associates received individual recognition for their work:

Visit the Legal 500 website to see the rankings in full.