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Lathrop Gage Continues Aggressive Growth of IP Practice with New Boston Office

1/24/2011

Firm expands to one of world centers for life sciences

BOSTON (January 24, 2011)—Lathrop Gage LLP announced today it is expanding its intellectual property practice and its national footprint with an office in downtown Boston. The office, located at 28 State Street, opens with three partners and two technical specialists who have extensive experience in all aspects of pharmaceutical and biotechnology patent law.

Partners Giulio A. DeConti, Brian C. Trinque, Ph.D., and James H. Velema worked together for nearly a decade at IP boutique Lahive & Cockfield. They are joined by technical specialists David F. Cauble, Ph.D., and Andrew T. Wilkins, Ph.D., who also worked at Lahive. They have worked with clients ranging from start-ups, venture capital groups and universities to Fortune 500 corporations. They have developed IP strategies and prepared and prosecuted patent families covering a wide variety of chemistry, medical device, clean technology and biotech inventions, including small molecule clinical drug candidates, a blockbuster antibody therapy, and Nobel-prize winning nucleic acid interference technology. They also have extensive experience in conducting due diligence studies and preparing opinions in all areas of the life sciences.

The addition of the new partners and technical specialists brings the total number of professionals in the firm’s IP practice to 68. The Boston life sciences team will draw from the existing depth of IP talent already at the firm in its offices in Denver and Kansas City, Mo., Overland Park, Kan., Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, and will complement the firm’s existing high tech prosecution group headed by Curtis Vock. Lathrop Gage’s IP practice has received recognition in rankings such as Chambers USA and was also named among the most active trademark practices nationwide by CSC Trademark Insider. In addition, members of the practice have been named in Best Lawyers and among the “World’s Leading Trademark Practitioners” by Managing Intellectual Property magazine.

The members of the Boston office were drawn to Lathrop Gage because it provides them with the flexibility of a traditional IP boutique with the backing of a general practice law firm having a strong IP infrastructure and a nationwide network. With this backing, the group looks forward to further expanding Lathrop Gage’s Boston presence. For the firm, the Boston group provides additional expertise for the biotech marketplace, expands the firm’s national footprint, and enhances its capabilities in IP, particularly in the life sciences area.


Joel Voran, Chief Executive Officer of Lathrop Gage:

  • “Intellectual property has and continues to be a significant driver for our firm both in terms of new business and lateral expansion. It is part of our firm’s ongoing strategic growth plan and we are excited to open another office focused on the IP needs of our clients.” 
  • “Opening a new office in Boston, one of the centers for biotechnology research and innovation, particularly on the university level, gives us even greater depth in the Northeast corridor and further expands our life sciences capabilities nationally.”

Bill Rudy, Chairman of the IP Division at Lathrop Gage:

  • “These attorneys and technical specialists have an impressive record in cutting edge biotechnology and life sciences, and they are a great addition to our incredible roster of IP stars.” 
  • “Their experience in the Boston area will also serve as a terrific complement to the firm’s work in the Animal Health Corridor near Kansas City, an area dense with research and development in the animal health and nutrition industry.”

Giulio DeConti, new partner in the IP practice in Lathrop Gage’s new Boston office:

  • “Joining Lathrop Gage gives us the opportunity to continue to do top-level IP boutique work but with the added strength of a large firm having excellent corporate and litigation capabilities.” 
  • “Our extensive biotech experience is a perfect fit with work of the dozens of top-notched IP practitioners at Lathrop Gage. We look forward to continuing this exciting area of work and collaborating with attorneys in many of the firm’s offices.”

Giulio DeConti (partner) brings more than 30 years of experience practicing intellectual property law, particularly focused on life sciences. Most recently, he was a partner at Lahive & Cockfield where he grew the practice into one of the largest biotech practices in Boston and also served as chairman of the firm’s executive committee for six years. His work focused on proteins, peptides and antibodies (monoclonal antibodies), nucleic acids (RNAi), small organic molecules, drug discovery technology, recombinant DNA, and genomics. He works with clients to develop strategies for developing strong patent portfolios and securing protection of their intellectual property. He has extensive experience in IP due diligence, patentability, validity and infringement opinions, licensing, and the preparation and prosecution of patents.

Brian Trinque (partner) comes to the firm from Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, where he was a partner. Prior to practicing law, he received his doctorate in organic chemistry. He focuses his practice on intellectual property law in the pharmaceutical and chemical arts, and also brings extensive experience in the medical device and clean technology fields. Dr. Trinque assists clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups and universities in a variety of technical areas, including small molecules, biologics, synthetic methods, drug delivery compositions, polymers, materials science, and medical devices. His experience includes IP strategy development, patent preparation, prosecution, and opinion work.

James Velema (partner) also joins Lathrop Gage from Nelson Mullins, where he was a partner. He has extensive experience with patent preparation and prosecution, due diligence and opinion work in all areas of biotechnology, including biologic therapies, research tools, screening assays, bioprocessing and purification. A particular focus of his work has involved representing clients in the fields of RNA silencing and antibody technology. In addition, he has considerable research experience in industry and academia. He previously served as the IP manager and patent agent at a pharmaceutical company and research associate at a biotech company, and is an inventor who holds several U.S. patents.

David Cauble (technical specialist) assists clients with all aspects of patent preparation and prosecution, as well as due diligence evaluations. He has particular experience in the fields of small molecules, biologics, synthetic methods, drug delivery compositions, polymers, materials science, and medical devices. Prior to working in patent law, he was a senior scientist at Schering-Plough Research Institute. He also conducted postdoctoral work in the research group of Professor Barry Trost at Stanford.

Andrew Wilkins (patent agent) also assists clients with all aspects of patent preparation and prosecution, as well as due diligence evaluations. He has particular experience in the fields of therapeutic antibodies and antibody-like molecules, RNAi, gene therapy vectors, vaccines, protein purification methods, screening assays, and biocompatible drug delivery vehicles. Prior to working in patent law, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School. He has also worked as a researcher at both GlaxoSmithKline and Celltech in the UK.

About Lathrop Gage:
A leading full-service law firm, Lathrop Gage LLP has 320 attorneys in 12 offices nationwide—from Los Angeles to New York. In 2010, Chambers USA ranked Lathrop Gage’s corporate, environmental, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, real estate, and transportation teams among the best in their regions.