Intellectual Property Firm Appleyard Lees Celebrate Partner Milestones

(UK, September 2024) Appleyard Lees is proud to announce and celebrate the 30th anniversaries of Paul Brandon and Dick Waddington, both dedicated and highly respected partners at the firm.  With three decades of remarkable service each, Paul and Dick have played a pivotal role in shaping the firm’s success, consistently delivering exceptional support to clients in the rapidly evolving world of intellectual property.

As a dual-qualified patent and trade mark attorney, Paul’s expertise affords innovative solutions to safeguard clients’ intellectual property, advising on international patent and trade mark strategies with extensive experience in EPO hearings, while his broad expertise ensures a commercially focused approach to resolving IP challenges.

Speaking on his milestone, Paul said, “It is difficult to believe I started Appleyard Lees 30 years ago.

“I joined to launch the Manchester office when the only other offices were in Halifax and part-time in Leeds. We had six partners and a reputation as a provincial Northern firm that worked for a few small clients. All of those things have been transformed by the dedication and hard work of many people over the years, for which I am immensely grateful.

“It has been an immense privilege to be a small part of the evolution of Appleyard Lees into a leading national IP firm working for a broad range of high-profile clients.”  

Dick’s expertise spans a wide range of areas, including patent prosecution, examination oral proceedings, and appeals at the European Patent Office (EPO), as well as providing infringement advice. He also serves as the South Korea Working Group Lead for CIPA’s International Liaison Committee.

On his tenure at Appleyard Lees, Dick said, “The firm is a very different place today compared to when I arrived for my first day in the Halifax office wearing an ill-fitting suit. There were paper files everywhere and fee earners didn’t have computers. Faxing and hard copies in the post were the order of the day and keeping a note of your deadlines and tasks in a paper diary at your desk was the only option.

“What remains constant, however, is that the people here are wonderful to work with —consistently engaging, intellectually stimulating, and always keeping things dynamic! I think it is a group of five that have been here since 1994, and we (and everyone else who has started since then), keep turning up and doing our best.”

Speaking on Paul and Dick’s milestones, Adam Nabozny, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “It is a great honour to recognise Paul and Dick for their 30 years of dedicated service and celebrate their outstanding contributions to both our firm, our people and our clients.”

Throughout their distinguished careers, Paul and Dick have earned recognition from both peers and leading industry publications, including Legal 500 and WIPR.

 About Appleyard Lees

Appleyard Lees is a leading intellectual property law firm with approximately seventy patent and trade mark attorneys and litigators.

Who we are and what we do – but also, how we do it – makes us distinctive.

We help our clients protect and monetise their intellectual property, and manage post-grant challenges, should they arise.

We offer broad sector and industry knowledge, plus the ability to adapt our services to specific client requirements, in an agile way.

With offices in UK innovation hotspots, we are positioned to give clients expert strategic IP advice in the UK and worldwide.