Amy Crouch joins Mewburn Ellis in October after 15 years at Simmons & Simmons, where she was most recently managing associate. During her time there, she gained extensive experience in life sciences litigation. She was part of the Simmons & Simmons team representing uniQure against Pfizer at the UK High Court over haemophilia gene therapy. She also worked alongside Scott Parker for Biogen in defending adalimumab biosimilar Imraldi against Fresenius Kabi. Additionally, Crouch was part of the team representing Bayer against Teva over cancer drug sorafenib, known as Nexavar.
Amy Crouch
This is Mewburn Ellis’ second addition to its life sciences litigation team this year. In May, the firm brought in partner Camilla Balleny from Carpmaels & Ransford. Balleny brings experience in SPC litigation and has represented companies such as Janssen, Johnson & Johnson and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Looking to the UPC
The expansion of Mewburn Ellis’ life sciences litigation practice aligns with the changing European litigation landscape brought about by the UPC.
Richard Johnson, chairperson at Mewburn Ellis, said, “We are delighted to welcome Amy to the firm. Her arrival reflects our ongoing commitment to our international litigation offering, which continues to be a growth area for the firm. Amy’s expertise will be invaluable as we continue to support clients involved with high-stakes patent disputes in the UK courts, cross-border litigation, the UPC and the rapidly evolving life sciences landscape.”
The firm has also announced that Susannah Dragosavac, a digital health and medtech litigation specialist, will join in October, enhancing its ability to support clients in these sectors.
Multiple departures
Following Crouch’s departure, Simmons & Simmons will retain approximately 15 lawyers and patent attorneys in its London patent practice.
While the firm maintains a strong position across Europe, it has faced several departures this year. In July, London partner Andrew Hutchinson left for Carpmaels & Ransford. In June, JUVE Patent reported that Dutch litigator Bas Berghuis and Sebastien Versaevel will leave the full-service law firm by the end of the year to join Taylor Wessing. Additionally, Dutch patent attorney Johan Renes joined Plasseraud earlier this year.