IP litigator Sally Nicolson has joined specialist firm Griffith Hack in the role of special counsel. Nicolson had spent nine years as a partner in Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s intellectual property, competition and technology practice group; she had spent the eight years prior to that as a partner at Bird & Bird in London.

Nicolson is noted for contentious and non-contentious work in relation to trademarks, anti-counterfeiting, copyright, confidential information, comparative advertising, passing off and the Trade Practices Act 1974. She has significant experience in acting on behalf of clients both before the Federal Court of Australia and in the Trade Marks office in industries including telecommunications, food and beverage, retail, fashion and footwear, media communications, automotive, and financial services.

David Clark has joined Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick’s Sydney office, where he is a partner. Clark joins from Blake Dawson Patent Attorneys, where he was a partner for seven years.

Clark has qualifications in chemical and materials engineering and is a Chartered Professional Engineer. He specialises in those technologies, and in mechanical and gaming technologies. He is a registered patent attorney in Australia and New Zealand.

Also joining the firm from Blake Dawson Patent Attorneys is Joe Mok, a trainee patent attorney.

Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick has also announced the following personnel moves: Alyssa Grabb, an associate in the electronics, physics and IT practice has been promoted to partner; Annette Rubenstein and Rod Saunders, both partners of Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick Lawyers, are now partners of Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick (the patent attorney firm); and Daniel McKinley, a patent attorney and lawyer with the firm's engineering team, has been named an associate.