Barnes & Thornburg has announced the addition of a highly experienced life sciences patent group comprised of 17 lawyers, patent agents, IP technical analysts, and paralegals. With the move, Barnes & Thornburg establishes three new offices in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Nine partners, one associate, two patent agents, an IP technical analyst, and four paralegals come to Barnes & Thornburg from the boutique IP firm Brinks, Gilson & Lione. In addition to Raleigh, Ann Arbor, and Salt Lake City, a new member of the Barnes & Thornburg team will be based in Chicago. The group is led by Allen Baum, a respected intellectual property attorney who has been based in Raleigh-Durham for more than 20 years, and William R. Boudreaux, a leading IP attorney in Ann Arbor.
The group brings several decades of combined experience and advanced degrees in such fields as organic chemistry, molecular biology, chemistry and biotechnology. Group members also have in-house experience with some of the foremost names in life sciences and pharmaceuticals and complement the firm's existing nationally recognized life sciences practice that includes 35 life sciences attorneys, patent agents and legal professionals. The addition of the group continues the firm's strategic focus on growing its patent practice and overall intellectual property offerings.
"Barnes & Thornburg has a stellar reputation in life sciences and intellectual property, and we are excited to be joining forces with them," said Baum.
"Bringing in a team of this caliber with their technical backgrounds, strong reputations, combination of client-side and firm experience, and presence across four different markets continues Barnes & Thornburg's growth story of the past decade," said Robert T. Grand, firm managing partner. "This latest step expands our geographic footprint, most notably in the booming Raleigh-Durham area, while adding to our already robust life sciences and IP capabilities."
The Research Triangle in North Carolina is home to three major research universities and is a leading hub of innovation and patent work. The Raleigh-based team of Baum, Bashir Ali, Amy Fix, Aisha Hasan and Mark Jenkins have practiced in the region for decades immediately providing Barnes & Thornburg with an established presence in an important market.
The Ann Arbor office, the firm's third in Michigan, will be staffed by Boudreaux, former in-house counsel at major pharmaceutical companies, and Joshua Ney, a Ph.D. chemist. In July 2019, Barnes & Thornburg opened a Detroit Metro office, bolstering the firm's Michigan presence that dates back more than 15 years when the Grand Rapids office was established.
Also among the additions are Eric Babych and Ryan Marshall, who will work from Salt Lake City, and Heidi Dare, who joins Barnes & Thornburg's Chicago office.
"This talented group will further our ability to help clients cultivate and nourish their most valuable innovations," said Julia Spoor Gard, chair of Barnes & Thornburg's Intellectual Property Department. "The group is a great cultural fit with our team and their extensive experience in the life sciences sector will strengthen our thriving platform and coast-to-coast reach."
"We were particularly impressed by Barnes & Thornburg's growth over the past several years and its great reputation and depth of IP talent," said Baum. "We're excited to leverage Barnes & Thornburg's full-service capabilities which are increasingly important to clients given the way patent work is now so closely intertwined with regulatory matters and other related areas."
"In addition to working with larger companies, practicing in the IP space means advising many young and innovative companies, and it's not long before their success leads to other legal needs," added Boudreaux. "But regardless of a company's size, they all want a seamless experience and we know we're well positioned to provide that through Barnes & Thornburg's single-minded dedication to helping businesses achieve their goals with the firm's broad array of services."
The Raleigh office will be located at 4819 Emperor Boulevard, Suite 400, Durham, North Carolina 27703. The Ann Arbor office will be located at 2723 South State Street, Suite 150, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. The Salt Lake City office will be located at 222 S. Main Street, 5th Floor, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101.
Published: Wed, Dec 04, 2019
