Leeds IP law firm relocates to facilitate expansion

Leeds’ award-winning intellectual property (IP) law firm Kempner & Partners has moved to new city centre premises from Roundhay as it prepares for further expansion.

Headed by Richard Kempner with partners Jason Dainty, Stuart Jackson and Martin Delafaille, the niche practice now has a total of 11 specialist IP lawyers, and is continuing to grow. The firm was established in 2009 with the aim of giving clients direct access to leaders in the intellectual property field at competitive prices.

This approach, which also sees partner-level input on every project, has attracted household names from the UK and overseas, with Asda, Costcutter, Farrow and Ball, BASF, Jet2.com, Regus, EMAP and JD Sports among the organisations on the firm’s 200-strong client list. It has also led to top tier rankings in the annual Legal 500 and Chambers UK publications and, in the 2014 Chambers UK guide, the firm is the only top tier IP firm in Leeds.

Richard Kempner puts the success of the practice down to a strongly-held belief that ‘doing things differently’ delivers significant commercial benefits to clients, and that by taking a proactive approach to managing intellectual property, businesses will see a direct impact on the bottom line.

“The ‘old ways’ of intellectual property law and practice are outdated. Managed in the right way, intellectual property can add value and competitive advantage to a business. It can also save money,” he says.

“It’s often the case that organisations have intellectual property rights - be it trade marks, copyrights or confidential information - that they no longer need, can’t license and don’t want to pay for.

“We work with our clients to identify those rights and dispose of them, which can save the business money and, often, earn money for them, too.”

The firm believes that organisations that have been well advised about IP know how to identify their best ideas and use IP rights to protect them, giving a competitive edge in the marketplace. Richard says:

“We started the business with that belief and three nationally recognised leaders in the field who were determined to provide IP law in a different way, and deliver personal, partner-led service to every client - not service delegated down to the lowest affordable level - at prices that made commercial sense to clients.

“Four years on, we have a larger team with that same focus, and we plan to continue growing the business and the team whilst maintaining the proactive approach, high quality advice and the exceptional service that our clients have come to expect from us.”

Kempner & Partners has relocated from its offices in Roundhay to larger premises at Fountain House on South Parade in the heart of Leeds city centre.