Lathrop GPM Partner Laura Labeots Named to Crain's Chicago Business' "Notable Women in Law" for 2024
CHICAGO, IL (February 20, 2024) — Crain's Chicago Business has named Lathrop GPM LLP Partner Laura Labeots, Ph.D., to the publication's "Notable Women in Law" for 2024. To be awarded this distinction, an attorney must serve in a senior-level role at her firm, have made an impact on cases handled, served as a role model or mentor to other attorneys, promoted inclusive practices in the workplace, and assumed a leadership role in professional organizations and civic/community service initiatives. This is the third time Dr. Labeots has received this honor.
"We congratulate Laura on being named by Crain's Chicago Business as 2024 Notable Women in Law," said Bryan Minier, partner in charge of the firm's Chicago office. "Laura's unwavering commitment to science and the law is a testament to the excellence she brings to Lathrop GPM clients every day."
Labeots helps companies develop and defend their intellectual property portfolios. She has a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Northwestern University and did postdoctoral studies at the University of Chicago, later becoming a Research Faculty Member. Her legal practice includes patent drafting and prosecution, litigation, opinion work (freedom-to-operate, patentability, invalidity, and infringement analyses), due diligence, licensing, trade secrets, trademark prosecution and litigation, and inter partes review proceedings before the USPTO.
This past year Labeots helped a start-up company obtain worldwide patent protection for pharmaceutical agents comprising natural products, assisted a higher education institution build a patent portfolio in domestic and international arenas for CRISPR-related technologies, represented one of the largest flooring manufacturers planning worldwide patent prosecution strategy, worked on appeals at the PTAB for pharmaceutical formulation patents for a major biotech company, represented a not-for-profit company working on cures for Alzheimer's disease in patent matters, and worked with a Nobel Prize winner on patents for genetic engineering technology.
"Throughout my legal career, it's been a privilege to partner with so many innovative companies and research institutions bringing exciting new projects to market," Labeots said. "It's an honor to be recognized for my contributions to the legal profession."
Labeots is a former co-chair of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago's (IPLAC) Biotech Committee as well as a member of Licensing Executives Society, American Chemical Society, and Women in Bio. She also is an active member of the Lathrop GPM Women's Initiative Network, which provides support, firmwide networking, and mentoring for women attorneys. A thought leader, Labeots appears in industry publications and frequently speaks at events, including for RNAi Institute and IPLAC.