WITHERS & ROGERS - Key Persons


Abbie Fisher

Job Titles:
  • EPA
  • Fisher / Associate
  • Member of the Firm
Abbie is a patent attorney in our Life Sciences & Chemistry group. Abbie has a breadth of experience in a wide variety of technologies. She has specific expertise in diagnostic methods, immunology, molecular diagnostics, medical devices, tissue engineering and alternative proteins, diagnostic biomarkers, formulations and genetics. Abbie is also a member of the firm's biotechnology & pharma, and food & drink sector groups.

Adam Hirst

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • EPA
Adam is a patent attorney in our Electronics, Computing & Physics group. Adam has experience drafting and prosecuting UK and European patent applications covering a range of technologies, primarily related to telecommunications, consumer electronics, and lone-worker systems.

Adrian Tombling

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • EPA
Adrian is a patent attorney and head of our Life Sciences & Chemistry group. Adrian has diverse experience and works for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as medical device companies. He has specific expertise in patent work relating to recombinant DNA technology, recombinant antibodies, gene therapy, diagnostic tests, screening methods and vaccines. Adrian also has experience with AI companies working in drug discovery. He has extensive experience of opposition and appeal procedures before the European Patent Office. Adrian works with a number of universities as well as small and large biotechnology companies. Adrian also takes a particular interest in Chinese patent law and is a regular visitor to China.

Ailis Chadwick

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • Chadwick / Associate
Ailis is a patent attorney in the Life Sciences & Chemistry group. Since joining Withers & Rogers in 2019, Ailis has gained experience in patent prosecution in the UK and Europe. She has particular expertise in the areas of inorganic chemistry, catalysis, medicinal and biological chemistry and formulation chemistry.

Alex Harvey MEng

Job Titles:
  • EPA
  • Harvey / Associate
Alex is a patent attorney in our Advanced Engineering group. Having joined Withers & Rogers as a trainee in 2016, Alex has significant experience in drafting and prosecuting UK and European patent applications, primarily relating to technology in the materials and engineering sectors. Alex has previously worked for global technology companies as well as academic institutes, and has a particular interest in the fields of composites, Titanium and Steel metallurgy and conductive polymer research. His experience in research has afforded him the ability to gain an intimate understanding of inventions in these fields, and this enables him to provide clients with commercially relevant IP protection.

Alexander Howard

Job Titles:
  • Business Development Manager - US
  • Howard / Business Development Manager - US
Alexander is the Business Development Manager for the US. Alexander has over nine years of business development experience working with clients on a global scale across a range of industry sectors. This includes implementing strategies and technologies to manage and analyse client interactions and data, with the goal of developing long-lasting business relationships. Alexander joined Withers & Rogers Renewals in 2017 as Client Relationship Manager. During his four years in the role he ensured Clients received the maximum value from WRR products and services. Now he manages the relationships with US-based Clients and Associates in Withers & Rogers group.

Andie McConnell

Job Titles:
  • EPA
  • McConnell / Associate
Andie is a patent attorney in our Electronics, Computing & Physics group. Andie has experience in drafting and prosecuting applications in the UK and Europe. She has worked with clients from a broad range of sectors including semi-conductor devices, medical devices, software and telecommunications.

Andrew Hey

Job Titles:
  • Senior Associate
  • EPA
Andrew is a patent attorney in our Electronics, Computing & Physics group. Andrew assists clients ranging from multinational electronics companies to higher education institutions and local SMEs, over a wide variety of different technological sectors falling under the electronic, computing and physics umbrella. He has experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications, including representing clients at hearings before the European Patent Office, as well as providing freedom to operate opinions. For example, his work has related to inventions in the software, telecommunications, clean technology, aeronautical, remote sensing, and financial services sectors. Andrew has worked extensively in the field of computing devices and software, with a particular emphasis on touch sensitive input technologies, graphical user interfaces, and user interaction techniques. His experience in this sector also extends to networking systems, media content management and editing, data synchronisation techniques, image analysis. In light of this experience, Andrew is particularly well-placed to advise clients on the requirements for gaining patent protection for computer implemented inventions in Europe. Following research into photovoltaic devices during his Doctorate, Andrew has retained an active interest in renewable technologies, and has been involved in drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the wind turbine sector. In addition to the above, Andrew also has experience of hardware and driving techniques for visual displays, actuation and monitoring systems in the aeronautical sector, various detection and sensing technologies (including spectroscopic and optical devices), and point of sale systems.

André Spaltowski

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Atheer Galdagon MEng

Job Titles:
  • Associate
Atheer has experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the UK and Europe for clients in electronics and software fields. This includes telecommunications, semi-conductor devices, computing devices, signal coding and blockchain. Atheer has a keen interest in robotics and automation systems. As well as exposure to methods used for biomedical image processing and analysis, he also studied advanced image analysis technologies such as image segmentation, registration and morphological analysis.

Ben Goldie MEng

Job Titles:
  • Mechanical Engineer
  • Trainee Patent Attorney
Ben is a trainee patent attorney working in our Advanced Engineering group. Ben works with a range of clients and technologies varying from the aerospace industry to electromechanical machines. Building upon his background in mechanical engineering, his work involves drafting and prosecuting patent applications before the UKIPO and EPO. He is an active member of the Automotive and Materials sector groups within the company.

Ben Palmer MEng

Job Titles:
  • EPA
  • Palmer / Partner
Ben is a patent attorney in our Advanced Engineering group. Ben is interested in all aspects of advanced engineering and is experienced in advising clients on a broad range of technology areas, including in the aerospace, automotive, robotics, electric motor, renewable energy, medical equipment, micro valve, oil & gas, and construction equipment sectors. Ben works with a variety of clients from SMEs to multi-national corporations and his practice involves drafting and prosecuting patent applications and advising on commercial issues, such as obtaining the most useful scope of protection and reducing the risk of infringement of competitors' patent portfolios. He also has a successful track record in defending clients' patents at appeal proceedings before the European Patent Office.

Bethan Halliwell

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • EPA
Bethan is a patent attorney in our Electronics, Computing & Physics group. Bethan has experience in drafting and prosecuting patent applications in a wide range of fields and technologies, and has particular experience in sensing technologies such as magnetic sensing and optical fibre sensing, geospatial data processing and other computer implemented inventions, medical technology such as electrosurgical instruments, injector systems and medical imaging systems, and magnetic generators for use in the aerospace industry. Bethan also specialises in registered design protection, and has a wealth of experience of developing global design filing strategies, often coordinated with a parallel patent filing program. Bethan has worked has helped a range of clients to obtain design protection, in particular, those in the fashion and consumer products industries. Bethan works with a range of clients from large international corporations to smaller UK based companies and Higher Education Institutes. In particular, Bethan has experience of working closely with a number of UK based companies to develop cost-effective and strategic IP portfolios based on their commercial needs.

Callum Wardle B.

Job Titles:
  • EPA
  • Wardle / Partner
Callum is a patent attorney in our Electronics, Computing & Physics group. Callum's technological specialism is in electronics, though his broader engineering experience has enabled him to work in other related fields, most notably aerospace components and systems. Callum's wide ranging technological and engineering interests have equipped him with the ability to appreciate quickly the fundamental concepts behind new inventions. An easy going nature and common sense approach helps Callum quickly form a strong rapport with his clients.

Chris Froud

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • EPA
Chris is a patent attorney in the Electronics, Computing & Physics group. Chris has a wealth of experience in autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs), particularly for industrial applications, and has knowledge of a variety of navigation methods including line-following, laser target navigation, natural feature and vision guidance. Chris has also worked on a range of dynamic positioning and vessel control systems for the offshore marine market, which are used to accurately control the position of vessels during platform supply, crew transfer, and offshore construction. As part of this work, Chris has developed expertise in a range of radar and lidar position reference sensors. He also has expertise in navigation systems, both general satellite navigation as well as navigation systems for driverless cars. Chris has helped to protect robots for use in harsh and restricted environments, such as the nuclear industry. He also has a wealth of experience in industrial control systems and instrumentation, where he has worked with a range of equipment in both industrial and scientific settings while working as a patent attorney and also during his time as a PhD student and research scientist working at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Overall, Chris has a broad range of interdisciplinary skills covering physics and chemistry, which enables Chris to advise clients who work on the boundary of these disciplines, such as scientific instrument or medical device manufacturers. Much of Chris' work relates to mobile devices, including displays, antennas, user interfaces, non-volatile memory, batteries and battery charging, and camera technology. In addition, Chris has a wide-range of experience in optics, optical systems and lasers. He also advises clients on the patentability of computer software and business methods, and is successful at manoeuvring clients around the challenges such inventions face in the UK and Europe. Chris works with a wide range of clients, from large corporate clients with substantial patent portfolios to small and medium sized businesses where he works directly with the business leaders to identify, protect and exploit their inventions. He also advises a number of start-up businesses, where the patent strategy Chris has devised has been key to obtaining funding and licensing opportunities to propel these businesses forwards.

Chris Hambley MEng

Job Titles:
  • Associate
  • EPA
Chris is a patent attorney in our Advanced Engineering group. As part of the Advanced Engineering group Chris has worked with clients from a diverse range of sectors such as aerospace & defence, automotive engineering, oil & gas, packaging, medical devices, construction and heavy industrial machinery. He assists with filing and prosecution of design and patent applications in the UK, Europe and worldwide. He recently assisted with three opposition appeals in the oil and gas sector at the EPO, in which all three patents were successfully revoked.

Chris Hunter

Job Titles:
  • EPA
  • Hunter / Senior Associate
Chris is a patent attorney in our Electronics, Computing & Physics group. Chris has worked on patent applications in a variety of technical fields, including display devices, battery technology, analogue and digital electronics and household appliances. He also has experience in prosecuting computer-implemented inventions before the European Patent Office (EPO). Chris has represented clients at hearings before the Examining Division and the Opposition Division of the EPO.

Christopher Range MEng

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • EPA
Christopher is a patent attorney in our Advanced Engineering group. Christopher handles patent work in the fields of aerospace, automotive and manufacturing engineering, as well as the medical device sector. His clients currently cover the fields of industrial automation, electric and commercial vehicles and renewable energy. Christopher represents a range of clients, from global businesses to SMEs and individuals working in a diverse range of Engineering Technologies. He is a regular visitor to both China and the US, where he has a number of direct clients. Christopher is practiced in drafting and prosecuting patent applications through to grant, managing patent and registered design portfolios that include foreign rights, and advising on freedom to operate, competitor monitoring, and due diligence activities. Christopher also handles contentious issues, advising clients in relation to asserting their IP rights and undertaking licencing negotiations. Christopher heads the firm's Space group and is a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He has an interest in start-ups and has worked with a number of such companies to secure patent protection for their innovative products. Christopher has also advised clients on how to benefit from the UK's Patent Box tax incentive scheme.

Dave Croston

Job Titles:
  • Croston / Partner
  • EPA, PAL / Partner
Dave is a patent attorney and head of our Advanced Engineering group. He is also the co-chair of our Litigation group. Dave has extensive litigation experience, with a track record of cases before the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Patent County Court (now the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court) as well as in oppositions and appeals at the European Patent Office. Dave acts for clients in a diverse range of technology sectors such as aircraft propulsion, motorsport, homewares, packaging, medical devices and agricultural engineering to name a few.

David McWilliams

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • EPA
David is a patent attorney in our Advanced Engineering group, and lead partner in our Oil & Gas team. With twenty years of experience in the world of patents, David has worked with a wide range of clients across many traditional engineering disciplines - with a practice focused primarily on his considerable expertise in the Oil & Gas, Construction and Automotive sectors. David is a specialist in most ‘upstream' Oil & Gas technologies. He proudly manages a team handling a large portfolio of ‘North Sea' patent applications for a major oilfield service company, including direct filings at the UKIPO and EPO, as well in Norway and Germany. Not surprisingly, David is a regular visitor to the USA, in particular to Texas. David has a real passion for working in Japan. He has been visiting Japan twice a year for over ten years, continues his Japanese lessons whenever possible, and is extremely pleased to represent a leading Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics company. David has in-depth expertise in complex automotive technologies, managing a patent portfolio for a leading developer of clutches, dual clutch transmissions and engines for over ten years. An ex-civil engineer, David also represents many clients in the Housing & Construction industries. He also manages a worldwide portfolio of patents, designs and trade marks for a UK-based food services company. David loves to work closely with his clients, both at management and inventor level. He has considerable expertise in advising senior management on strategic IP issues to benefit business strategy, and is particularly skilled at harvesting valuable invention disclosures from product development teams. A dynamic communicator, David is a skilled adversary at Opposition Proceedings before the EPO. He also has considerable strength and expertise in patent and design right disputes, both as plaintiff and defendant. As a result, David is often called upon to help businesses design around IP rights in competitor products.

Diego Black

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • EPA
Diego is a patent attorney in the Electronics, Computing & Physics group. Diego works across a wide range of technologies and specialises in computer implemented inventions. His wider experience covers the automotive industry as well as the design and manufacture of devices and sensors. Diego's experience in the computing area includes user interfaces, operating systems, display system technology, encryption protocols, logistics, application software, consumer devices, computer modelling, speech recognition, online content delivery systems and security. He specialises in software patentability issues where he has written papers and presented talks on the issue. In addition Diego has experience in automotive-based inventions both in software and vehicle components, optics and display technologies, as well as the design and manufacture of detectors. Diego has worked with a wide range of clients, from major multinational consumer electronics, software and personal device and detection device manufacturers, universities to SME and start-ups.

Ehsan Akhtar

Job Titles:
  • Trainee Patent Attorney
Ehsan is a trainee patent attorney working in our Electronics, Computing and Physics group. Ehsan is currently gaining experience in patent law and works with a range of clients and technologies varying from telecommunications to consumer electronics. His work involves prosecuting patent applications before the EPO and UKIPO. He is an active member of the Robotics and Autonomous Systems and Space sector groups.

Ernst-Ulrich Wittmann

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Fiona McBride

Job Titles:
  • McBride / Chair and Partner
Fiona McBride is elected to the position of Chair of Withers & Rogers.

Gemma McGeough

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Georgia Mann

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Greg Stepney

Job Titles:
  • Stepney / Partner

Hannah Gamblin

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Harry Strange

Job Titles:
  • Senior Associate

Heather West

Job Titles:
  • West / Associate

Helen Henderson

Job Titles:
  • Henderson / Partner

Helen Noble

Job Titles:
  • Noble / Head of IP Operations

Henriette März


Howard Wright

Job Titles:
  • EPA
  • Wright / Partner
Howard is a patent attorney in our Electronics, Computing & Physics group. He is also chairman of Withers & Rogers Renewals LLP, our sister business which specialises in renewing IP rights and translating patents and other technical documents. Howard has extensive experience in patenting inventions in a broad range of technologies. These include medical apparatus, computer-related inventions, mechanical inventions and semiconductor devices. Howard has worked with many multinational, medium-sized and smaller companies, as well as with individuals. Much of his work is with SMEs for whom patents can play a huge part in their success. He also works closely with many patent attorneys overseas. His clients include Thorn Security Limited. Howard often travels to Taiwan to visit a number of the firm's clients there. Howard has successfully represented both applicants and opponents in oral proceedings at the European Patent Office (EPO). He represented one US company in a group of oppositions and appeals against a large German corporation. His client experience includes writing a patent attorney's report for a client that formed part of its prospectus when it was listed on the London Stock Exchange. He has also advised on the validity of patents and on the risk of infringement. Another client required a positive opinion as to the validity of their patents as part of a round of fund-raising, and with Howard's help, they were able to make some straightforward post-grant amendments to put the patents' validity virtually beyond question. For another client, Howard advised in modifying the design of their prototype product so as to avoid risk of infringement of a competitor's product. Although the modifications were costly as a result of the need to retool, the final design was nearly 15% more efficient than the original design.

Hubert Schwingshandl

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Jack Whitfield

Job Titles:
  • Whitfield / Senior Associate

James Gray

Job Titles:
  • Gray / Partner

Jim Ribeiro

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Joanna Thurston

Job Titles:
  • Thurston / Partner

John-Paul Rooney

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Josh Miller

Job Titles:
  • Miller / Associate

Justin Wilson

Job Titles:
  • Wilson / Partner

Laurie Bray

Job Titles:
  • Bray / Senior Associate

Mariana Köpf


Marie-Claude Pellegrini

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Mark Caddle

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Mark Sugden

Job Titles:
  • Sugden / Partner

Matthew Gillard

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Matthew Holden

Job Titles:
  • Holden / Associate

Michael Jaeger

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Naomi Higginson

Job Titles:
  • Higginson / Associate

Nicholas Jones

Job Titles:
  • Jones / Partner

Nicholas Watermeyer

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Nick Wallin MEng

Job Titles:
  • Partner
  • EPA
Nick is a patent attorney and head of our Electronics, Computing & Physics group. 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.

Nicola Anderson

Job Titles:
  • Anderson / Partner

Paul Foot

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Peter Heins

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Philip Corbett

Job Titles:
  • Corbett / Head of Marketing & BD

Philip Horler

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Phoebe Withnall

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Richard Worthington MEng

Job Titles:
  • EPA
  • Worthington / Partner
Richard is a patent attorney in our Advanced Engineering group. He is also head of our Designs specialist practice group.

Russell Barton

Job Titles:
  • Barton / Partner

Russell Edson

Job Titles:
  • Edson / Partner

Samuel Bateman

Job Titles:
  • Senior Associate

Sheri Jeyakumar

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Shu Yang

Job Titles:
  • Partner

Steffi Sesuraj

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Stephanie Davies

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Stuart Latham

Job Titles:
  • Latham / Partner

Talia Sullens

Job Titles:
  • Sullens / Associate

Theo Worsley

Job Titles:
  • Worsley / Associate

Thomas Heaton

Job Titles:
  • Associate

Tim Wilson

Job Titles:
  • Wilson / Trainee Patent Attorney

Ute Pfaller


Yannick Biron

Job Titles:
  • Biron / of Counsel

Zoe Bailey

Job Titles:
  • Bailey / Head of Strategic Operations