HGF

HGF has won acclaim for its “exceptional client service”. How do you develop a client-led ethos throughout the firm?

HGF provides exceptional client service by putting our clients first. The firm operates a range of quality-led service standards to ensure that all matters are dealt with promptly and efficiently. We provide high-quality teams of attorneys and support staff to meet and exceed all client requirements and expectations.

In addition, HGF provides extensive ongoing in-house training to all of our attorneys and support staff. This ensures that all clients receive a first-class service along with excellent strategic advice from our teams of attorneys. All of our teams are led by highly experienced partners, many of whom are leaders in their fields. The firm also operates its own bespoke IT file management system, which can also be accessed by our clients to view all files and any necessary due dates.

What changes have you observed in the IP monetisation landscape over the past five years and what impact has this had on how HGF handles matters?

What are some of the biggest pressures on your clients right now – and what is HGF doing to help them overcome these?

The pressures are manyfold and can vary across different client types and in different sectors. For example, many of our clients are operating in increasingly complex and litigious patent landscapes. Here HGF’s excellence in elucidating the position, combined with our strengths in opposition and litigation, allow us to give our clients the edge. We are currently seeing an upsurge in opposition work at the EPO, with clients looking to our opposition experts to clear a path or defend key assets.

Of course, many clients face continued pressure on IP budgets, with IP departments often being expected to do more with less. We recognise that billing surprises are most unwelcome and we work closely with IP managers to ensure that our fees are predictable and provide access to a host of information to assist them with cost forecasting. We also seek to fully understand every client’s business strategy and how this aligns with the IP portfolio so that available resources are always applied to obtain the best value in line with strategic goals.

The firm calls on experts in a wide array of disciplines across 22 different offices throughout Europe – how do you combine this formidable mix of expertise to work together as a team?

We operate in many teams across offices and countries, and regularly consult colleagues in our various jurisdictions. At HGF, we strive to provide the right technical and legal expertise for each case and client, and this does often mean coupling attorneys from different offices and countries in line with their capabilities rather than location.

What is HGF doing with regard to succession planning to recruit, mentor and retain the next generation of talent?

We are constantly looking to recruit high-calibre attorneys across the whole of Europe to join our range of offices in both the United Kingdom and also our continental European offices in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland. We offer lateral hires exceptional career progression along with the opportunity to work with many of the leading blue-chip organisations in the world and a range of exciting high-growth development companies.

The firm provides a wide range of internal training to our existing attorneys to ensure that not only are they at the leading edge of any technical legal developments but also that they receive management training. This allows our attorneys to rapidly progress in technical expertise and have the ability to manage large client portfolios.

As the focus on diversity and inclusion increases across the whole IP industry, what is HGF doing to embed these principles?

At HGF we have a diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) strategy and policy, which is fundamental to the way we work with each other and also our clients. Our DEI policy ensures that having dynamic, diverse teams is at the heart of other values. The DEI work being done at HGF, with its diverse and inclusive ethos, makes it a better workplace for all. The firm also has a DEI focus group, which has Vanessa Stainthorpe as a board sponsor. Vanessa ensures that DEI is a priority item at board meetings, with full support of the wider board. She also leads the DEI focus group - which acts as an agent for change.

Through our ongoing people strategy and DEI plan, our leadership and management teams are committed to supporting our people, helping them flourish and reach their full potential. We do this by challenging the status quo to ensure that HGF is a place where everyone can be their true self. The DEI strategy comprises continual, objective assessment of where improvements are required, the setting of targets, partnerships with external expert networks, and internal education and development programmes.

What are some of the most common mistakes that you see rights holders make when it comes to managing their portfolios – and how can they avoid these?

Coordinating filing and prosecution strategies over multiple jurisdictions continues to be a challenge. One area where we see mistakes arising quite frequently is with regard to entitlement to priority. The EPO is particularly strict on this and it is remarkably easy to lose the right to priority either for seemingly minor transgressions in chain of title or amendments made during prosecution. The results of such errors can be fatal for a patent, and often arise in opposition or litigation where the stakes are high. The same could be said for so-called ‘added matter’ issues. This is compounded by the fact that the approach in the United States in particular is very different to that of the EPO.

The secret to avoiding these issues is close coordination with local attorneys in key jurisdictions at all stages of drafting and prosecution. HGF spend time working with clients and colleagues in other jurisdictions to increase understanding to avoid such issues, and to identify and address any pre-existing issues early.

How is the firm preparing for the launch of the UPC?

As one of the largest IP firms in Europe that is able to conduct both patent prosecution and litigation we are at the leading edge of the launch of the UPC. The firm has a range of offices across continental Europe, including in Germany and France, where the main courts will be located. We have provided extensive internal training to our attorneys and litigators to ensure that we can advise on all aspects of the UPC including all forms of infringement and revocation actions in the range of courts.

To ensure that our clients are fully informed regarding these important changes, we have provided an extensive series of webinars not only across Europe but also to our clients across the globe including North America and Asia. The webinars have comprised detailing the specific aspects of the UPC allowing our clients to fully understand the advantages and disadvantages of using the UPC. We have also provided extensive advice on the opt-out provided by the UPC system. For the opt-out we have developed a unique portal for our clients to access thereby allowing them to easily opt out of cases from the UPC system if they so wish.

HGF is known for its excellence across a range of trademark and patent services. What is the secret of your success?

HGF’s core values are people, excellence, teamwork and progression. It is through living these values in all aspects of our business that we are able to deliver excellence to our clients across a broad range of services. We are committed to providing an environment where excellence is the norm, where the most talented individuals are encouraged to develop their skills, and where collaboration with colleagues to deliver the best possible service to our clients is the default. For example, we ensure that all colleagues come together in regular CPD sessions to share experience and best practice and foster a collaborative environment. This drives a virtuous cycle of continuous improvement across the firm in everything that we do.

Our trademark, patent and legal groups collaborate closely, and we seek to always select the best team of experts from our deep and broad pool of talent to service any client, modifying the composition of the team as the needs of the client evolve. Through this approach, our clients experience tangible benefits from the service that we provide.