One Essex Court has significant expertise across a wide range of IP disputes, including those involving trade marks, passing off, copyright, designs, comparative advertising, database rights, trade secrets, and privacy. It also handles contractual and licensing disputes involving IP rights, and the set has been increasingly active in patent-related mandates. Geoffrey Hobbs KC is the senior appointed person that hears appeals from the UK Registrar of Trade Marks under s76 Trade Marks Act 1994, and both he and Philip Roberts KC are instructed by the claimants on the landmark Supreme Court case Sky Plc v Skykick UK regarding trade mark infringements and the test for determining bad faith in the Trade Marks Act 1994. Emma Himsworth KC also sits as an appointed person, and is particularly skilled in matters involving trade marks and passing off, and senior junior Guy Hollingworth represents the claimant in TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited v Stitch Editing Ltd, a case concerning Stitch Editing’s application to register the trademark STITCH.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

'One Essex Court is well managed. The team of clerks are organised, easy to deal with, and quick to respond. Jackie Ginty and Jack Leppington are fantastic to work with and offer excellent support on every matter.'
'Jackie Ginty and Jack Leppington are both great clerks and very responsive.'
'The clerks are incredibly helpful and very responsive.'
'Good, responsive, and timely.'
'One Essex Court works together seamlessly. If one particular counsel is not available, an alternative is offered, and the alternative works collaboratively with former counsel to ensure continued representation for the client. Clients really value the consistency that comes with this approach, as well as getting effectively two views on their case!'
'They are all excellent lawyers who are a pleasure to work with.'
'One Essex Court has a set of outstanding advocates.'

Silks

Leading Silks

KCs at the very top of their field, with a long-established record of market-defining cases, and widespread endorsement from clients and peers. All silks appointed in the last two rounds are listed further below.

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Geoffrey Hobbs

Hall of fameOne Essex Court

‘Geoffrey is a doyen of the IP Bar with particular strength in trade marks and copyright. He is a gifted advocate who holds the attention of the court, in particular at the appellate level, where much of his work is done.’

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Emma Himsworth

Hall of fameOne Essex Court

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Philip Roberts

Hall of fameOne Essex Court

‘Philip is an outstanding advocate and certainly one of the top trade mark silks. He is deeply knowledgeable of the law and brilliant in court.’

Juniors

Leading Juniors

Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.

1

Guy Hollingworth

One Essex Court

‘Guy is an excellent communicator, very pragmatic, and strategic. He thinks about the client and the ultimate objective and provides effective and timely advice, he is excellent on his feet in court, including in relation to obscure issues and points of procedure which are raised without prior warning, and he has adapted to be excellent both in person and in hearings that occur online.'

4

4

Leading Juniors

Leading juniors are those with significant experience of key cases, strong market recognition from both peers and clients, and are seen as future candidates for silk.

1

Guy Hollingworth

One Essex Court

‘Guy is an excellent communicator, very pragmatic, and strategic. He thinks about the client and the ultimate objective and provides effective and timely advice, he is excellent on his feet in court, including in relation to obscure issues and points of procedure which are raised without prior warning, and he has adapted to be excellent both in person and in hearings that occur online.'

4

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