Powell Gilbert has been listed in the Gold Tier for Litigation in the IAM Patent 1000 2019, with special commendations for partners Penny Gilbert, Tim Powell, Simon Ayrton, Zoe Butler, Peter Damerell, Alex Wilson, Ari Laakkonen and Bethan Hopewell.

"The IP litigation firm in the United Kingdom – established market leaders, who deserve to be at the top." Powell Gilbert is the "best and brightest", a team of pure IP litigators who achieve the very highest standards time and time again. The firm's giant reputation far outstrips its size; it gathers plaudits from an army of fellow practitioners based all over Europe and the world. Name partners Tim Powell and Penny Gilbert guarantee their firm's quality. The technically versatile Powell is, according to one source, "simply one of the best UK lawyers I have ever seen". His powerful advocacy has seen him appear in the very highest courts in the land. Gilbert is a "perfect" life sciences litigator "with great contacts in the pharmaceutical industry". One European practitioner deems her "the benchmark" for this type of advice in the United Kingdom, with another simply stating that "her reputation is deserved". Simon Ayrton is another heavyweight litigator with a talent for multi-jurisdictional briefs, whose work for Huawei on the epic telecommunications saga against Unwired Planet confirms him as a leading light in the UK scene. Also involved in the case were Zoë Butler and Peter Damerell. Butler is a "fantastic IP litigator with a strong technical background" which spans biotechnology, electronics and software, among other things. Damerell is a "truly excellent patent lawyer with the ability to home in on the key issues and develop sound strategies for winning lawsuits". Alex Wilson "is one of those knowledgeable people, an attentive litigator who speaks the same language", both literally and metaphorically, as the top European practitioners he works with so seamlessly. Ari Laakkonen has truly global capabilities, having masterminded briefs on four continents. Last but by no means least, Bethan Hopewell undertakes a volume of work that some firms' entire patent departments would struggle to match. "Extremely knowledgeable in biotech and pharmaceuticals", she is "sensible and easy to work alongside – someone you can do business with".

The firm's IAM profile can be  found here.