Mewburn Ellis is highly recommended for patent protection and portfolio management work, especially in life sciences and chemistry. The firm also has expertise in ICT and engineering. Biotechnology patent specialist Richard Clegg is the firm’s managing partner. The other leaders in the firm are Richard Johnson, Sean Jauss, Andy King, Jeremy Webster, Graeme Moore, and Simon Kiddle.
The experienced European patent attorneys in the firm include Emily Hayes, Matthew Naylor, Nick Sutcliffe, Chris Denison, Stephen Gill, Simon Parry, and Robert Watson. Some of the patent attorneys, for example Sutcliffe and Naylor, are also qualified to conduct court litigation. Parry also deals with design protection work.
In 2023, Andy King took over from Kate O’Rourke as head of trade marks. O’Rourke, who is dual qualified as a trade mark attorney and solicitor, now serves as a consultant. Jauss principally handles patent disputes and transactions.
In 2025, the firm hired IP solicitor Camilla Balleny to launch its patent litigation practice.
2023
"We appreciate that their advice is timely, well-thought out, and offers a variety of potential legal solutions to consider."
"They are professional, factual and easy to deal with."
"They are high-quality, commercially minded, patent attorneys with a broad range of technical expertise and lots of experience."
"They are professional, friendly, and produce well-structured patents."
"They are very efficient, and maintain a high level knowledge and understanding of both our patent portfolio and our underlying science. They provide the service of attorneys dedicated to our work over an extended period of time."
"They provide excellent customer service and rapid turnaround of high-quality advice. "
"We appreciate their knowledge, timely work, and customer service."
"They are all efficient and good communicators, from the lead partner to the paralegal and administrative assistants."
"They are always available and manage our global portfolio efficiently."
"They are available, responsive, direct and efficient."
2021 client testimonials
A client commended the firm for its “excellent responsiveness, execution and clarity”.
“Quick response, first-rate advice typically within one day,” says a patent client.
“They provide pragmatic, coherent advice.”
A long-standing client said: “They have provided us with very good services regarding our IP filings and prosecution in Europe. They provide very detailed explanation understandable to us.”
A brand owner client said: “Mewburn Ellis provide very concise advice and options. The clarity is great and really helpful to make decisions on behalf of the company. The people are also very nice, a pleasure to deal with.”
One client explained why they use the firm: “Mewburn Ellis is our go-to firm for European patent prosecution, advice and opposition. We entrust our high-stakes matters with the firm because of their sophisticated practice, excellent partners and associates, deep knowledge in the life sciences area and their proven track record. They have a great track record for timely work that comes in on budget.”
Another patent client said: “The patent professionals at Mewburn are always up-to-date on European law and provide expert strategy for patent prosecution in Europe.”
A client used the firm because of its “reasonable pricing structure, high-quality drafting and flexibility”.
Case studies show patent prosecution, portfolio management and office proceedings work. Its work for NGK Insulators, Transonic Systems and Hitachi led to instructive decisions from the EPO Board of Appeal. Other clients include Toray Industries, Creo Medical Group, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, ADC Therapeutics, and Scott Bader.
Callum McGuinn, Adam Gregory, Alex Burns and Eleanor Maciver are practitioners to watch. Biotech patent attorney Seán Walton has left the firm.
The firm hired Camilla Balleny in 2025 to launch its patent litigation practice. Read about Balleny's move here.