Stephenson Harwood partners Alexandra Pygall, Rob Jacob and Naomi Leach have been recognised as legal experts in a range of leading intellectual property publications.

All three partners were recognised in the IAM Patent 1000 rankings, the definitive directory which identifies the world's leading patent services providers. In the latest edition, Stephenson Harwood received a highly recommended ranking in the ‘Firms: transactions’ category, and was also ranked in the ‘Firms: litigation’ category. In the ‘Individuals: transactions’ category, Pygall and Leach were highly recommended and recommended respectively, and Jacob was ranked bronze in the ‘Individuals: litigation’ category.

Pygall and Jacob were also named in World Intellectual Property Review's (WIPR) Leaders Directory 2022 and in the latest edition of Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) IP Stars 2022/23. For the WIPR Directory, which lists more than 1,700 lawyers across patent, trademark, and copyright practices, they were featured in the trademark leaders list, and Pygall was included in the patent leaders list. For the MIP IP Stars edition, which is based on global research and covers 151 jurisdictions and 1645 firms, they were both named 'Trade Mark Stars', and Pygall was also recognised in the 'Patent Star' category. In addition, the firm was ranked for its IP expertise in the 'Trade mark contentious firms' category.

Pygall is a member of the firm's IP practice and head of the firm's life sciences focus group. She has significant experience advising on both transactions and disputes, and supports clients – which range from life sciences companies such as Oxford Biomedica and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, to brand companies such as Moët Hennessy and Suntory Beverage & Food  – on the complete spectrum of IP issues.

Jacob is an IP litigator covering the full range of IP rights. He has significant experience coordinating cross border litigation as well as handling cases before the English High Court, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court and the UK and EU Intellectual Property offices. Examples of recent successes include easyGroup Ltd v Easyway SBH [2021] EWHC 2007 (IPEC), easygroup Ltd v Beauty Perfectionists Ltd & Ors [2021] EWHC 3385 (Ch) and Turbo-K Ltd v Turbo-K International Ltd et al [2020] EWHC 2078 (Ch) to name a few. He has an impressive client list which includes GSK, ViiV Healthcare, Gap Inc and easyGroup.

Leach, who is part of the firm's IP practice, has particular expertise in relation to transactional IP matters. Her practice includes long-term research collaboration and management agreements, licensing arrangements, outsourcing and service agreements, distribution and manufacturing arrangements and data protection.

Stephenson Harwood CEO Eifion Morris was also recommended in the IAM Patent 1000's 'individuals: transactions' category and ranked silver in its 'individuals: litigation' category, as well as being included in WIPR's patent leaders list. He is an intellectual property lawyer with more than 20 years of experience. During his time as a practising lawyer, he was co-head of the firm's IP team, and specialised in advising multinational clients on cross-border IP litigation and their global IP strategies.