London media boutique Wiggin has made a rare heavyweight hire with the addition of Barclays global intellectual property head Calum Smyth.

Smyth joins as an IP litigation partner after almost eight years at Barclays, where he was responsible for building and leading its IP function, according to his LinkedIn profile.

A statement by Wiggin said Smyth has "significant expertise working with start-ups and tech companies on a variety of strategic IP matters and new technologies, and has been deeply involved with Barclays' start-up programme RISE and its Eagle Labs platforms."

Prior to joining Barclays, he spent five years as a senior counsel in IP at Kraft Foods, where he led the patent function in Europe.

Sara Ashby, head of IP at Wiggin added in a statement: "We know from our clients how critical it is to support their expanding technology strategies – and Calum's experience will be invaluable, not only from a subject matter standpoint, but as a commercially-savvy practitioner who has been at the coal face in a corporate environment."

Smyth's addition marks a rare hire for Wiggin, which has been quiet in building its bench-strength in recent years.

In 2017 the firm made a heavyweight addition with the acquisition of 14-lawyer IP boutique Redd and the hire of Osborne Clarke computer games partner Paul Gardner.

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