Fielding a strong patent disputes offering, combined with trade mark infringement expertise, the CMS practice follows a ‘super pragmatic’ approach when representing its clients from across the energy, life science, and media industries. The team has experience of enforcing IP rights on M&A transactions and joint ventures, as well as managing patent portfolios for multinationals. Glasgow-based head Carina Healy specialises in licensing and commercialisation of IP, notably in the biotech and medtech sectors. Neeraj Thomas is a renowned IP litigator, Alan Nelson primarily focuses on commercial contracts and outsourcing deals, and Duncan Turner is a non-contentious IP expert. David Dennis primarily focuses on the healthcare space. Kimberley Cross is also recommended.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Great team that seem busy in the market.’
‘Catrina Healy, Alan Nelson and Neeraj Thomas are well regarded.’
‘The team are quick to respond, thoughtful with advice and commercial. They make it easy for us to seek external IP advice. They stick to fee quotes. They are friendly and we trust them massively.’
‘The CMS team are led by a very personable Neeraj, who is direct and clear with his advice. He is responsive, friendly and we feel that he cares about our IP. Kaisa is diligent and thorough with her IP analysis.’
‘The team were super pragmatic and gave really helpful, actionable advice. They definitely have a very smart team with great technical capabilities, but still were able to present their advice clearly and practically. They didn't just present the legal advice to us, but actually offered a view on potential next steps and what avenues would be worth exploring, which I really appreciated and found stood out amongst other teams and firms I've worked with. The advice was very commercially focussed and allowed us to take a practical stance as opposed to getting too bogged down in technical legal matters.’
‘I really enjoyed working with Neeraj in particular. He was always clear on what our expectations should be with regards to output as well as timescales, gave honest and practical views on our situation, and had a very relaxed manner which made him great to work with. He was very easy to build rapport with which stood out to me, and I felt he was just a really safe pair of hands. He was a lawyer that gave so much more than legal advice, which I find is becoming more and more rare. He was not afraid to make a call and give a clear opinion, which was what we needed and I don't know that we would have got this elsewhere.’
Key clients
- Ooni
- Discovery Corporate Services
- Moonbug Entertainment
- ITV
- Warner Bros
- SPEX Group
- The University Court of the University of Glasgow
- The University of Sheffield
- University of Glasgow
- CodiKoat Ltd
- The Carbon Trust
- Consilient Health
- University College London
- Additive Instruments Ltd
Work highlights
- Acting for ITV in respect of all brand protection matters relating to the latest series of Love Island including raising proceedings in the Scottish IP Court in the Court of Session against a specific infringer and obtaining interim orders against that infringer, as highlighted further below.
- Advising UoS on the complex IP licensing arrangements for IP to Crucible Genetics, a high-value spin-out from UoS, established to develop gene therapy products.
- Advising UoG in a number of IP related transactions.
Lawyers
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Carina Healy
CMSNext Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Carina Healy