Our people

Nick is also an experienced patent litigator who has handled cases before the UK Court of Appeal and High Court, and the EPO Boards of Appeal. Nick works for a wide range of clients, in fields ranging from geospatial data processing to electro-surgical instruments and medical imaging, through to sensors for the oil and gas industry.

With a technical background in electronics, software, and communications, Nick spent time working at BT labs in the fields of speech synthesis and video-conferencing before joining the patent profession in 1997. After qualifying as a European patent attorney he returned to BT for a period as in-house patent counsel before joining Withers & Rogers in 2004. Nick became a partner in the firm in 2006, and in 2008 handled the successful Symbian v Comptroller-General of Patents case that confirmed the patentability of operating systems for computers. In 2012 Nick became the lead partner for the firm’s Electronics, Computing & Physics practice group, and in 2016 took on the statutory role of Head of Legal Practice for the firm. Nick specialises in developing and executing cost-effective IP procurement and development strategies for his clients, combining his in-house and private practice experience together to provide an “outsourced in-house” IP counsel service for his clients.

Education & background

Nick holds Master’s degrees in Electronics Systems Engineering (MEng, York) and Intellectual Property Litigation (LLM, Nottingham Trent) achieving first class honours in his MEng, and a Distinction in his LLM. In March 2023, he was registered as a representative before the new Unified Patent Court, one of the first European patent attorneys to be entered on the list of UPC representatives.

On a personal note...

Nick is a keen music fan and attends gigs and festivals whenever he can. He is also an avid reader (particularly hard sci-fi), plays tennis several times a week (a pandemic hobby that stuck), and acts as unpaid part time cabbie to his two sons. He is also a season ticket holder at AFC Wimbledon (soccer) and at The Oval (cricket), whilst still retaining a soft spot for his hometown team Middlesbrough FC.