Intellectual property specialist Joel Vertes is – officially – a rising star of the legal industry and has just been promoted to Partner at his international law firm.
In each of the past three years, Joel (OE 1991–1998) has been named both as a Rising Star in IP law and a Super Lawyer for Intellectual Property in Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers publications. He has also been ranked by the influential Legal 500 guide to leading lawyers and described as an ‘excellent IP specialist’.
Joel is still in touch with some of his old teachers at QE – where he is fondly remembered for his early ambition and ability – and has also remained very close with many old School friends. A member of Harrisons’ House, he was a Prefect and Senior Lieutenant.
After gaining straight As in English, French and Mathematics in his A-levels, Joel went up to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, to read Law. After graduating in 2001, he took the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law (now University of Law). In 2006, he gained a distinction in his postgraduate diploma in Commercial IP at Nottingham Law School.
Joel has established a highly successful career with global lawyers Olswang LLP, which he joined as a trainee solicitor in 2003, having first travelled the world for a year. He became part of Olswang’s specialist IP team – one of the largest such teams in Europe – and has just been promoted to Partner in the same team. He specialises in both enforcement and commercial exploitation of intellectual property rights such as copyright, trademarks, patents and designs. He has a particular focus on the leisure, retail, technology and sport sectors, with clients including Microsoft, Chelsea FC, ITV and LinkedIn.
Joel is the head of Olswang’s international, Franchising & Licensing Group. In this role, he regularly advises clients on complex international deals exploiting brands overseas. He has acted for many clients, including major fashion brands, restaurant groups, hotels and sports brands, exploiting their brands in territories such as China, India, Morocco and Greece, or importing foreign concepts into the UK market. Joel is also an experienced litigator, especially in anti-piracy, anti-counterfeiting, copyright and brand enforcement. He has worked on many high profile litigation matters at every level of the English and European Courts.
Joel is also a lecturer on the British Association for Sport and the Law (BASL) Sports Law course at De Montfort University.
Joel is married and has recently celebrated the birth of his third child. In his spare time, he enjoys following Manchester United.