Intellectual Property Partner Leigh Smith Joins Locke Lord's Growing London Office

(LONDON) 29 March 2022 – Leigh Smith has joined Locke Lord’s London office as a Partner in the Firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. Smith’s vast experience with all aspects of contentious and non-contentious intellectual property matters, particularly involving trade marks, adds depth to the Firm’s intellectual property team and its growing London office.

Smith’s addition closely follows a number of recent key hires in the Firm’s London and Brussels offices, including Dominic Farnsworth as Partner, Giovanni Visintini as Senior Counsel and Neale Christy, Bart Lieben and Mathieu Mortelé as Counsel.

“We are delighted to welcome an attorney of Leigh’s calibre to our London office,” said Locke Lord London Office Managing Partner David Grant. “Leigh is an impressive individual. His arrival, combined with the recent additions of Dominic, Giovanni, Neale, Bart and Mathieu, is just the latest milestone in the Firm’s ongoing commitment to strengthening the IP practice and to expanding the London office with important strategic hires in line with the needs of our clients.”

Smith, who joins Locke Lord from Clifford Chance, has worked on a number of significant transactions in the banking and FMCG sectors. He also advises on brand protection strategies, including the clearance, registration and enforcement of trade marks. He has experience conducting matters before the UKIPO and EUIPO as well as before the English High Court.

“Leigh is one of the fastest rising stars in the UK IP market,” said Farnsworth, who is the Lead Partner for UK and EU Intellectual Property at Locke Lord. “He will be integral in continuing to expand Locke Lord’s strong European intellectual property presence, and his Magic Circle corporate IP experience will be highly valued by the Firm’s strong corporate team and clients.”

The recipient of many recognitions and awards, Smith was listed as a leading trade mark professional in the WTR 1000 in 2022, recognised in Legal 500 UK 2022 and Legal 500 UK 2021 for IP: Trade Marks, Copyright and Design and named a Rising Star in Managing Intellectual Property’s list of IP Stars 2021.

“It’s exciting to join Locke Lord at a time of significant growth for its London office,” said Smith. “Locke Lord has a high-quality intellectual property team, an unmatched trade mark and advertising presence in the region and stellar reputation, and I’m looking forward to leveraging these impressive attributes to serve my clients and expand my practice.”

Locke Lord’s Intellectual Property Practice Group in London and Brussels comprises solicitors and other professionals who are committed to the care and nurturing of client brands, creative property and inventions. The team helps plan and execute protection strategies for brand names on a worldwide basis based on knowledge developed over many years, including conceiving, planning and executing filing and protection programmes for trade marks, domains, brands, logos, trade identifiers, designs as well as copyrighted works and inventions. Locke Lord takes on the challenges others shy away from with deep knowledge and experience in virtually every corner of the world.

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About Locke Lord LLP
Locke Lord is a full-service law firm with global reach and 20 offices designed to meet clients’ needs in the United States and around the world. The Firm has a history that spans more than 130 years and is a leader in the middle market arena. Locke Lord focuses on providing the highest levels of commitment, quality and service to clients across its five Key Sectors: Energy and Infrastructure; Finance and Financial Services; Insurance and Reinsurance; Pharmaceutical; and Private Equity. In addition, the Firm advises clients across a broad spectrum of other industries, including fund formation, venture capital, health care, public finance, real estate, technology, cybersecurity and white collar, while providing a wealth of experience through its complex litigation, intellectual property, tax, regulatory and transactional teams.