Bird & Bird’s Trevor Cook spreads his wings

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Bird & Bird’s Trevor Cook spreads his wings

Leading UK litigator Trevor Cook is ending his 39-year association with Bird & Bird and will join WilmerHale’s New York office as a partner on January 1 next year

Trevor Cook

Cook was most recently co-head of Bird & Bird’s international life sciences group and has written books including A User’s Guide to Patents and EU Intellectual Property Law. He is well known for his experience in handling disputes across different technologies and IP rights, as well as coordinating cross-border litigation.

Cook joined Bird & Bird in 1974. At WilmerHale, he is expected to focus on international IP litigation, and expand the firm’s US practice to Europe and Asia.

His move may be a sign that major law firms are seeking to make senior lateral hires in preparation for handling work before the planned Unified Patents Court in Europe, which is due to be set up in the next few years.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Increased focus on adding patent litigation depth to the firm’s Dallas office was behind the boutique’s most recent hires
IPH's Canadian acquisitions are paying off on paper, but a couple of strong years may not be enough to show that the group's strategy has truly won over the market
Examiner statistics could help patent prosecution practitioners tailor strategies, turning an area of high variability into a potential competitive advantage
The England and Wales High Court’s ruling in Accord v Novartis may not rewrite the law on plausibility, but it does signal a pragmatic approach that could provide greater certainty for life sciences innovators
Firms with established sports relationships and specialised expertise are well positioned to capture the market’s expanded pool of IP work
Gunjan Paharia discusses developing RIA, an AI platform built to draw on decades of institutional knowledge, support junior lawyers, and reshape how legal teams work
A strong Canadian business helped lift profits, but the IP service group's latest results underline the pressure facing its operations in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia
Wins in court have been key to the six-year-old firm’s growth, as one of its founders explains
The firm’s co-CEO discusses patent litigation, collaboration with overseas colleagues and the next generation of leaders
Two recent decisions demonstrate the courts’ creativity in cutting-edge IP disputes that tested their jurisdictional powers
Gift this article