CHICAGO – LAWFUEL – The Legal Newswire – Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the U.S., is pleased to announce the expansion of its Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Group with the addition of four experienced patent attorneys from Pfizer, Inc.
“We are excited to add this tremendous talent and experience to our group,” said Jeffery M. Duncan, chair of the firm’s BioPharma Group. “Collectively, they bring more than 35 years of in-house patent experience and perspective from world-class companies like Pfizer and Lilly. This experience and perspective will provide immense value to our biotech and pharma clients.”
With these additions, the BioPharma Group at Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione now includes 39 attorneys and six scientific advisors, including 15 individuals with advanced technical degrees (Ph.D. or M.S.). All four attorneys have joined Brinks’ Ann Arbor office as counsel.
“The addition of these attorneys to the firm’s Ann Arbor office expands the capabilities of this office to provide local support for clients in broad categories of leading edge technologies,” said Steven L. Oberholtzer, managing partner of the Ann Arbor office of Brinks. “These seasoned professionals will most definitely enhance the firm’s biotech and pharma practice representing clients globally.”
The new counsels are:
Eric J. Baude, Ph.D., joins Brinks with more than eight years of experience in patent law as in-house counsel at Pfizer and at the law firm, Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP, in San Francisco. He has prosecuted global patent portfolios and analyzed patent issues relating to pharmaceuticals, therapeutic proteins and molecular biology. Dr. Baude has provided business-focused patent counsel to R&D teams around clinical trial candidates in inflammation, bacterial infections and dermatology. He earned his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, his Ph.D. in biological chemistry from the University of Michigan and his B.S. in biochemistry from the University of Minnesota.
Cynthia M. Bott, Ph.D., joins Brinks with more than seven years of experience as in-house intellectual property counsel for Pfizer and Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals. In addition to patent preparation, Dr. Bott advised business managers on patent portfolio strategies and freedom to operate issues and counseled clients from early stages of discovery through clinical trials and after product launch. She has worked in the fields of pharmaceuticals, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, peptides, peptide lipid complexes and pharmacogenomics. Prior to receiving her J.D. from the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Bott earned her Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Michigan and her B.S. in biochemistry from Michigan State University.
William R. Boudreaux joins Brinks with 15 years of experience in the field of intellectual property law, including roles in the pharmaceutical industry as in-house counsel for Pfizer and Eli Lilly and Company. He has focused his practice on client counseling for pharmaceutical R&D and marketing teams along the entire development timeline, including post-launch product teams and teams in early development. In addition to his counseling role, Mr. Boudreaux has extensive experience in global patent portfolio creation, legal opinions and product life-cycle planning. His experience also includes Hatch-Waxman litigation strategy and support, transactional work, appellate brief writing, and international patent procurement and enforcement. Mr. Boudreaux has a J.D. and a B.S. in biochemistry from Louisiana State University.
Michelle A. Sherwood joins Brinks with more than 12 years of legal experience and more than 15 years of experience preparing and prosecuting patents. For the past seven years at Pfizer, Ms. Sherwood has focused her practice on securing global patent portfolios for pharmaceutical companies, particularly in the area of new chemical entities. Previously, in the litigation arena, she represented pharmaceutical companies whose commercial drug patents were being infringed, as well as asserted biotechnological patents for major universities. Ms. Sherwood has a J.D. from Seton Hall University and a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh.
Founded in 1917, Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione is based in Chicago with four additional offices across the country serving the intellectual property needs of clients from around the world. The firm is one of the largest IP law firms in the country, with more than 160 attorneys, scientific advisors and patent agents specializing in intellectual property litigation and all aspects of patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, intellectual asset management, and technology and licensing agreements. Brinks routinely handles assignments in fields as diverse as electrical, chemical, mechanical, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, nanotechnology, Internet and computer technology, as well as in trademarks and brand names for a wide variety of products and services. For more information, visit www.usebrinks.com.
