Simpson Grierson has been ranked "Highly Recommended" for both patent litigation and patent transactions in the 2026 edition of the IAM Patent 1000, a specialist global guide to patent expertise.

The guide identifies leading firms and individuals across prosecution, litigation and transactions, based on independent research including feedback from clients and in-house counsel.

This year’s results also recognise three of our lawyers:

• Richard Watts - Highly Recommended (Litigation & Transactions)
• Sarah Chapman - Recommended (Transactions)
• Raymond Scott - Recommended (Next Generation)

Richard, Sarah and Raymond were among a small group of New Zealand practitioners recognised in this year’s research, reflecting the depth of our patent and wider intellectual property offering.

The rankings highlight our work advising on technically complex patent disputes and transactions, as well as supporting clients with commercially focused, portfolio-level IP advice.