Ranking tables
Life Sciences: Transactional | UK
UK-wide
Rankings overview for Departments
Band 1
Band 2
Star Individuals
Band 1
Band 2
- Allistair Booth Pinsent Masons13 Years Ranked
- Daniel Pavin Covington & Burling LLP16 Years Ranked
- Matthew Warren Bristows LLP3 Years Ranked
- Nicola Maguire Cooley LLP16 Years Ranked
- Sally Shorthose Bird & Bird17 Years Ranked
- Sarah Hanson CMS15 Years Ranked
- Stephen Reese Clifford Chance LLP16 Years Ranked
- Tim Worden Goodwin3 Years Ranked
Band 3
- Alan Montgomery Herbert Smith Freehills5 Years Ranked
- Alison Dennis Taylor Wessing LLP15 Years Ranked
- Andrew Edge Taylor Wessing LLP17 Years Ranked
- Chris Shelley Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP21 Years Ranked
- Claire Smith Bristows LLP1 Years Ranked
- David Mardle Goodwin23 Years Ranked
- Ewan Townsend Arnold & Porter1 Years Ranked
- Gary Howes McDermott Will & Emery UK LLP16 Years Ranked
- Graham Defries Goodwin14 Years Ranked
- James M Halstead Covington & Burling LLP11 Years Ranked
- Jane Hobson Baker McKenzie15 Years Ranked
- Janita Good Fieldfisher12 Years Ranked
- Jim Ford A&O Shearman17 Years Ranked
- Luke Kempton Gowling WLG (UK) LLP15 Years Ranked
- Michael Gavey Simmons & Simmons LLP14 Years Ranked
- Richard Dickinson Bristows LLP13 Years Ranked
- Robbie McLaren Latham & Watkins1 Years Ranked
- Robert Darwin Sidley Austin LLP1 Years Ranked
- Vicky Clark Keystone Law11 Years Ranked
- Yohan Liyanage Linklaters6 Years Ranked
All Departments profiles
Band 1
1 Cooley LLPLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 1 | 10 Years RankedCooley advises on weighty IP-driven corporate and financing transactions. The firm is also a leading destination for complex licensing, joint venture and collaboration agreements. The team is experienced advising European companies listing on Nasdaq as a foreign private issuer or with a dual listing.1 Covington & Burling LLPLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 1 | 14 Years RankedCovington & Burling is a standout practice for complex regulatory matters. It represents drug makers in agency investigations and judicial review cases, and advises life sciences companies large and small on corporate and commercial transactions, including licence agreements, M&A deals and securities offerings. It is also recommended for advice on data privacy. The dispute resolution group handles a variety of contentious matters in the life sciences sector.1 GoodwinLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 1 | 5 Years RankedGoodwin represents life sciences companies, from start-ups to large global corporations, in a wide range of transactions. The firm's strengths include joint ventures, acquisitions, licensing and collaboration agreements. The team also has experience handling financing matters for SMEs, with particular expertise in Series B fundraising.1 Gowling WLG (UK) LLPLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 1 | 6 Years RankedGowling WLG's sterling commercial life sciences practice is recommended for complex licence, research and collaboration agreements. The firm is excellent for corporate and investment transactions involving spin-offs. It also recognised for biotech and pharmaceutical patent litigation including disputes involving applications for SPCs, and draws on the firm's international presence to provide life sciences expertise across multiple jurisdictions.
Band 2
2 A&O ShearmanLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 2 | 15 Years RankedAllen & Overy has magic circle corporate resources combined with a deep commitment to the life sciences sector. The team has one of the most formidable patent litigation practices in the UK and Europe, and has recently taken cases before the Supreme Court. It advises on many of the most significant transactions of the day, and the firm draws on its international footprint to handle work in multiple jurisdictions including emerging markets.2 Bristows LLPLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 2 | 15 Years RankedBristows has a superb patent litigation and IP practice. It provides excellent advice on UK and European regulatory frameworks and also commercial and corporate transactions for emerging innovators as well as giants of the life sciences industry. It is a leading destination for advice with regard to digital health and medtech, and associated data privacy issues.2 CMSLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 2 | 15 Years RankedCMS' dedicated life sciences practice is recommended for commercial and corporate transactions and also advice on UK and European regulatory frameworks. The team has the resources to take on the most complex M&A deals and joint ventures, and has additional expertise in product liability matters. The team is experienced in assessing the technical and regulatory challenges at the intersection of life sciences and technology such as in relation to data mining and diagnostics.2 Pinsent MasonsLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 2 | 12 Years RankedPinsent Masons has a sophisticated and successful patent litigation practice, which is particularly popular with generics manufacturers. The team has experience in representing clients in parallel proceedings before the European Patent Office and the EU Intellectual Property Office. The group is also engaged in life sciences, advising on licensing, M&A deals and securities offerings.2 Simmons & Simmons LLPLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 2 | 15 Years RankedSimmons & Simmons handles UK and European patent litigation, including disputes concerned with biosimilars and SPCs. It has sector-specific expertise with regard to licensing agreements of all kinds, M&A deals, joint ventures and IPOs.
Band 3
3 Baker McKenzieLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 3 | 11 Years RankedBaker McKenzie has a heavyweight transactional practice with extensive experience of M&A, joint ventures, technology transfer and collaboration agreements within the sector. The firm has a deep bench of commercial IP lawyers backed up by the resources and networks enjoyed by an international full-service firm, as demonstrated in recent multi-jurisdictional spin-off transactions.3 Bird & BirdLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 3 | 15 Years RankedBird & Bird has one of the finest IP and patent litigation practices in the world, routinely coordinating complex cross-border disputes. It has a deep and longstanding involvement in life sciences, with expertise in regulatory and compliance matters and commercial transactions in the sector. The team also advises on IP-led M&A and investment deals.3 Latham & WatkinsLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 3 | 1 Years RankedLatham & Watkins advised Abcam, a producer of protein research tools, on a definitive agreement pursuant to which Danaher Corporation will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Abcam for US$24 per share in cash, with a total enterprise value of approximately US$5.7 billion.3 LinklatersLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 3 | 15 Years RankedLinklaters has a highly regarded transactional practice supported by magisterial knowledge of IP law in the context of life sciences. The firm is also highlighted for the quality of its patent litigation offering. A magic circle firm with the resources to handle the most complex and multi-jurisdictional deals and disputes, the team acts for drug and therapeutics innovators, hi-tech giants and financial institutions investing in the sector.3 Slaughter and MayLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 3 | 15 Years RankedSlaughter and May combines magic circle corporate and commercial power with IP and life sciences sector expertise. The firm is best known for market-changing M&A deals, corporate finance, joint ventures and complex licensing arrangements. It acts for emerging companies as well as leading pharmaceutical companies and investors. It is able to draw on expertise from across the firm to advise on adjacent tax and competition issues.3 Taylor Wessing LLPLife Sciences: Transactional2025 | Band 3 | 15 Years RankedTaylor Wessing has an excellent transactional practice built on years of commitment to the sector, advising on collaboration, licensing, corporate and venture capital deals. It has a powerful patent litigation offering acting for generics and also branded manufacturers, which has pioneering experience handling cases involving biosimilar products. The team is also recommended for EPO patent oppositions.