Pharma & Life Sciences Specialist Joins VWV

Left: Paul Gershlick, Right: Harry Hamilton Jennings

Harry is swapping the life of an entrepreneur to return to private practice - having spent time attending to his own business, Hamilton Law Scientific, a niche life sciences legal consultancy.

Harry brings broad experience and deep sector knowledge which will enhance and complement the current team and benefit clients in the sector.

Harry was very interested in the idea of joining VWV’s Pharma & Life Sciences team.

Commenting on his arrival, he said:

“My legal roots are in Bristol and I am very excited to get back to them. It’s a wonderful city, and I was delighted to find a firm of VWV’s calibre that already has a focus in life sciences, particularly as the sector is on the rise in the South West. It also gives me a great platform from which I can get involved in VWV's national offering.

"Life sciences businesses face a complex and rapidly changing business environment, with major UK and EU reforms on the way. I hope to establish close connections to the life sciences clusters in the South and middle of the UK, so that I can use my broad experience to help clients navigate a path to market and beyond.”

Harry was previously the lead knowledge lawyer for Practical Law’s life sciences offering, where he gained a deep familiarity with most aspects of law relevant to the sector. Harry drafted many contract templates and practice notes used by life sciences lawyers.

Before Practical Law, Harry worked in a Swindon-based Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation called Patheon, now a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific. Harry joined Patheon from the specialist life sciences team at Pennington Manches in Oxford. With this move, Harry also hopes to support the life sciences sector in Wiltshire, where he lives with his family, and reconnect with the inspiring businesses in and around Oxford and the Thames Valley.

Commenting on Harry's arrival, Paul Gershlick, head of VWV's Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences sector, said:

"It's great to welcome Harry to the team here at VWV - We already have a passionate team that offers a wide range of services to life sciences clients and have grown very fast over the last few years, but I have no doubt Harry's breadth of knowledge and expertise will further strengthen our work in the sector - particularly with our offering to early stage life sciences companies and incubators. I'm sure Harry will be instrumental in our efforts to continue to grow the business both in Bristol and nationally."

VWV actively take part in thought leadership - providing a range of legal services and support to the Pharma & Life Sciences sector, with key clients including Imophoron and GenomeKey. Key initiatives also include the firm's renowned Pharmaceutical Industry Networking Group (PING).

The 2022 conference saw 150 attendees, and speakers included the Minister for Science, Research and Innovation George Freeman MP and the Chief Executive of health technology assessor, NICE. Details of the 2023 conference can be found here.