2021 was a busy year at No. 8. Ben Newham and Nick Wise made a seamless transition from John Call in the leadership of clerking and administration. We congratulated the second of two recent High Court appointments from chambers, Mr Justice Mellor, who followed Mr Justice Meade to the bench in February, and Daniel Alexander followed him as head of chambers. April saw the celebration of Sir Robin Jacob’s 80th birthday and his outstanding contribution to the field with an event organised with UCL. Chambers won the MIP IP set of the year award in the Spring and our members’ abilities continue to be widely acknowledged in the legal directories. Michael Tappin and Charlotte May were appointed as Deputy High Court Judges in October and James St Ville was appointed as a QC at the end of the year.
Throughout 2021, members of 8 New Square were involved in many of the leading cases in the field of IP and beyond, with high profile instructions including the Duchess of Sussex v. Daily Mail litigation and a range of the leading pharmaceutical, biotech, devices and telecoms patent disputes as well as media and trade-mark cases of importance. Last year was also active in alternative dispute resolution and members have been regularly involved in mediations – including online – with parties in different countries. The level of activity is set to continue in 2022. The IP court lists are full, confirming this jurisdiction as a forum of choice for a wide range of the most significant disputes in this area.
A large proportion of work at No. 8 is international in origin. As well as litigation in the English courts and at the EPO, members have continued the chambers tradition of involvement both as advocates and tribunal members in some of the largest international rights arbitrations in IP disputes as well as domestic litigation concerning IP contracts. Consistent with chambers’ commitment to international work, several more members were called to the Irish Bar during 2021 and, should the UPC open its doors in 2022, will be qualified as lawyers in an EU Member State if it does.
Members and clerks of 8 New Square look forward to the lifting of Covid restrictions and the ability to meet and conduct more work in person during the coming year. We wish clients, colleagues and friends a happy 2022.
