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Alston & Bird Continues IP Expansion in California
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Joe Liebeschuetz is Latest Addition in Flurry of New Talent Throughout the Firm’s West Coast Offices
Menlo Park, CA -- Continuing the expansion of its intellectual property practice on the West Coast, Joe Liebeschuetz, Ph.D., formerly of Townsend and Townsend and Crew, has joined the Silicon Valley office of Alston & Bird as a partner in its Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Patent Practice. The addition of Dr. Liebeschuetz follows the recent hire of former Townsend biotech partner, Romy Celli, as well as the recent arrival of two high-profile intellectual property litigators—David H. Ben-Meir and Rachel M. Capoccia—in the firm’s Los Angeles office.
“The growth of Alston & Bird is always predicated on the needs of our clients,” noted Alston & Bird Managing Partner Richard Hays. “We continue to experience increased demand for further intellectual property expertise on the West Coast. The addition of Joe, along with recent arrivals Romy Celli and our new IP attorneys in Los Angeles, are directly tied to that demand. This group of attorneys brings the highest level of experience and expertise. Also with them come significant clients that will benefit from Alston & Bird’s exceptionally broad and deep IP platform, as well as other areas of expertise within the firm. We are delighted to have these highly respected attorneys as part of Alston & Bird.”
About Dr. Liebeschuetz
Dr. Liebeschuetz represents marquee clients in a global patent prosecution practice, including preparing oppositions, providing opinions on validity and infringement and due diligence reviews. A sought after and highly regarded expert in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical arenas, he has repeatedly taken clients from an early stage through to obtaining comprehensive patent portfolios. He has prosecuted several patents on platform technologies including humanized antibodies, DNA arrays and transgenic animals, some of which have been widely licensed. He has been selected by several clients to patent their most important assets including several biologic pharmaceuticals that are now either marketed or in late stage clinical trials. Dr. Liebeschuetz has a large opposition practice mainly in Europe. Several of the US patents he has obtained for clients have been litigated, many resulting in favorable settlements.
Dr. Liebeschuetz received his J.D., summa cum laude, from Indiana University School of Law, a Ph.D. in genetics from Liverpool University and a B.A. in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.
About Alston & Bird’s Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Patents Practice
Alston & Bird’s Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Patents Practice Group, led by Dr. Murray Spruill, himself a nationally recognized attorney in biotechnology law, has extensive industry and research experience on a number of leading scientific fronts, including genetics, functional genomics and cellular and molecular biology, among others. The firm represents both corporate and university clients, and the majority of its biotech and pharmaceutical attorneys and patent agents hold graduate and doctoral degrees within the fields of biological and chemical sciences.
About Alston & Bird’s Intellectual Property Practice
Alston & Bird’s intellectual property practice comprises of more than 170 full-time IP professionals, making it one of the largest practices in the nation housed within a full-service firm. Consistently recognized for the caliber of its IP practice, the firm recently placed first among IP practices in Corporate Counsel’s annual report on “Who Represents America’s Biggest Companies.” Alston & Bird’s IP practice has also been recognized by publications such as IP Law & Business (now part of ALM/Corporate Counsel), and IP Today, and was awarded the International Legal Alliance’s Silver Award for its standing as one of the top IP firms in the United States. The award was determined by the International Legal Alliance in conjunction with the European Association of Corporate Counsel.
About Alston & Bird
With 800 attorneys, Alston & Bird is a leading national AmLaw 100 firm. The firm’s core practice areas are intellectual property, complex litigation, corporate and tax, with national industry focuses in health care, energy, financial services and public policy. The firm has built a reputation as one of the country’s best employers, appearing on FORTUNE magazine’s ranking of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” 11 years in a row, more often than any other law firm in the United States. The firm has offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Research Triangle, N.C., Silicon Valley, Ventura County and Washington, D.C.
For more information on Alston & Bird, please visit www.alston.com.
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