Why everyone's talking about Finnegan

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

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

Why everyone's talking about Finnegan

It was a notable day for the US law firm Finnegan yesterday. Veteran litigator Don Dunner made his debut at the US Supreme Court at almost exactly the same time as the firm marked the opening of its London office with a seminar and reception

finnegan-london-400.jpg

Dunner was representing Allcare in one of two cases concerning attorneys fees heard by the Court yesterday (see our preview for more details). I haven’t seen any reviews of his performance yet, though he’s to be congratulated on generating some laughter in the Court, thanks to banter with Chief Justice Roberts over – ironically – legal fees (see transcript, page 30).

Meanwhile, many of the firm’s top names had flown over from Washington DC to the UK for its seminar. Christine Lehman gave us a useful guide to the International Trade Commission, including the controversy surrounding the Federal Circuit’s recent Suprema decision, while Gregory Gramenopoulos provided some fascinating figures on IPR and CBM cases at the USPTO. He revealed that over 1,000 have been filed, of which 70% are in the electrical/computing area; so far, only one patent has been partially upheld. As he said, the best advice to patent owners is “try not to get into one of these proceedings!”

Interesting as these presentations were, I think many in the audience more curious about why Finnegan has chosen to move its Brussels office to London (right) now. Is it to be closer to clients? Is it more about being well-positioned for the pharmaceutical branch of the UPC central division when it launches? Will the firm compete directly for UK and European work with solicitors and/or patent attorneys? If so, how will that affect its relationships with London-based firms (many of whom were represented at the opening yesterday)? Will it open more offices in Europe (Paris and Munich are the most likely locations)? Above all, will it fare better than other US-based firms that have entered the UK market?

James Monroe

The UK practitioners looking nervously around the room would not have got many answers to these questions – though managing partner James Monroe (left) did note in his opening remarks that “it’s a good time to be a patent lawyer in general” thanks to ever more complex and convoluted laws. The firm says it is hiring to boost its London team (which consists of three fee earners, according to its website), so its intentions should become clearer soon.

With US rival Quinn Emanuel also making an impact on IP work in Europe (though not yet in the UK), European practitioners will be closely watching further developments. The only thing you could safely say after last night is that ‑ with canapés including fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, toad-in-the-hole, scones and strawberries ‑ Finnegan was doing everything it could to make its British guests feel at home.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Nigel Stoate, head of Taylor Wessing's award-winning UK patents team, tells us about his team’s UPC successes and why collaboration is king
Camilla Balleny, who spent a decade at Carpmaels & Ransford, will become the firm’s first head of patent litigation, Managing IP can reveal
Leaders at the newly merged firm Jones Maxwell Smith & Davis reveal their plan to take on bigger firms while attracting more clients and talent
Charles Achkar, who will bring a team of two with him, said he was excited about joining ‘one of the few strong IP boutiques’
Andy Lee, head of IP at Brandsmiths and winner of the Soft IP Practitioner of the Year award, tells us why 2024 was a seminal year and why clients value brave advice
The deal to acquire MIP's parent company is expected to complete by the end of May 2025
Jinwon Chun discusses the need for vigilance, his love for iced coffee, and preparing for INTA
Karl Barnfather’s new patent practice will focus on protecting and enforcing tech innovations in the electronics, AI, and software industries
Partner Ranjini Acharya explains how her Federal Circuit debut resulted in her convincing the court to rule that machine learning technology was not patent-eligible
Paul Hastings and Smart & Biggar also won multiple awards, while Baker McKenzie picked up a significant prize
Gift this article