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AA Thornton welcome two new Partners

AA Thornton appoint two new Partners in their Litigation Department


The Partners of AA Thornton are delighted to announce the appointment of Simon Spink and Dan Byrne, who recently joined the firm as Partners in the Litigation department.

Commenting on the appointment, Geoff Hussey, Partner said:

“I am absolutely delighted that such highly skilled and experienced litigators as Dan and Simon have joined the AA Thornton partnership. They both bring a wealth of experience of handling intellectual property disputes in the UK court as well as managing those disputes internationally. These appointments follow an exciting period of growth, and by expanding our litigation offering we can better service our clients’ needs alongside our trade mark and patent attorney practices.  Dan and Simon share the firm’s passion for providing outstanding and commercially-focused client service, and I am really looking forward to them contributing to our future successes.”

Daniel Byrne

Dan joins us from Gide Loyrette Nouel LLP where he worked for a number of years in their Paris office.  Dan’s technical background is in molecular biology and biochemistry and he qualified as a barrister in 2005, working within law firms for much of his career.  Dan works across the full range of intellectual property rights, with particular experience in multi-jurisdictional patent matters. He has acted for clients in disputes at all levels and has a reputation for commercially sound and practical advice. He was appointed a Deputy District Judge in the County Courts in 2015 and sits in that capacity from time to time. He is authorised to sit in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (small claims) and, in that setting, decides – primarily – trade mark and copyright disputes. Dan also sits on the consulting editorial board for LEXIS-NEXIS PSL in the IP practice area and is a valued contributor to journals and academic programmes.

Speaking on his appointment Dan said:

“Patent and trade mark attorneys working closely with intellectual property lawyers and litigators provides a strong basis for offering the best service to clients across all IP rights. AA Thornton’s track record as a leading IP firm and the calibre of its people make it a natural home for high quality litigation and I am very pleased to have joined AA Thornton as a partner to contribute to this work.”

Simon Spink

Simon qualified as a solicitor in 2007 and with a background in chemistry his practice focuses predominantly on patents litigation for pharmaceutical and life sciences clients. He joins us from the London office of Bristows LLP, prior to which Simon was Head of Legal of Novartis’ animal health division. Simon acts for clients across a range different sectors including the life sciences, FMCG, and aviation, and has represented clients at all levels of tribunal including the Supreme Court and the CJEU.

Speaking on his appointment Simon said:

“AA Thornton is a truly dynamic intellectual property firm which offers its clients full end-to-end IP services. The marketplace for IP services is changing more quickly than ever before and clients expect their advisors to be agile enough to adapt to those changes; AA Thornton has that agile mindset. Throughout the firm there is the recognition that every client has unique needs and deserves a bespoke service – for me that is really important. I am delighted to be joining the partnership”


Category: News | Author: Daniel Byrne, Geoff Hussey | Published: | Read more

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