Simmons & Simmons is set to boost its intellectual property (IP) practice with the hire of Howrey City partner Marjan Noor.

Noor will join Simmons next week (6 September) in the firm's London office. She was previously a partner with Taylor Wessing and joined Howrey two years ago.

Noor is a patent and regulatory partner with a particular focus on the life sciences sector. In addition to her legal qualification, she also has a medical sciences and pharmacology degree, with her legal practice focused on patent litigation for research companies as well as pharmaceutical regulatory advice and litigation.

Noor said her move to Simmons came in response to her desire to focus more on the patent and regulatory sides of her practice.

She said: "Simmons is a better place for me to help my clients, based on being a bigger, full-service firm. The firm was top of my list due to its strength in these areas and also because of its strength in the life sciences sector worldwide. As such, it is the perfect match for my practice."

The hire comes as part of a bid by Simmons to grow its IP practice. International team head Richard Binns said: "We have expanded our practice with a number of recent appointments and their experience and life sciences focus makes them outstanding additions to our IP team."

The firm has also hired two lateral associates with science qualifications in the last two months, with Gillian Johnson joining from Powell Gilbert and Paul England joining from Herbert Smith.