Fish & Richardson Announces Three Principals Named 2017 Global "Top 250 Women in IP" by Managing Intellectual Property

Fish & Richardson announced today that three of its principals - Juanita Brooks, Dr. Teresa Lavoie, and Dorothy Whelan - were selected by Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) magazine as among the "Top 250 Women in IP" in the world, for the second consecutive year. According to MIP, the "list recognizes female IP practitioners in private practice who have performed exceptionally for their clients and firms in the past year."

A nationally recognized trial and appellate lawyer, Brooks specializes in complex intellectual property litigation, product liability, and mass tort litigation. Her stellar record and impressive reputation have made her one of the most sought after litigators in the nation. Described as "a titan of the patent bar" and an "icon of IP," Brooks has led more than 150 trials in her career. Her ability to craft novel, outside the box legal strategies, to explain complex technologies to judges and juries in a way that is both understandable and compelling, and to challenge expert testimony in court have all been decisive factors in courtroom victories. Brooks was named a "Litigator of the Year" by American Lawyer in 2014, in addition to the numerous accolades she has received over the years for her litigation success. She serves on the firm's Management Committee.

Dr. Lavoie's national practice focuses on strategic patent counseling, patent prosecution, and portfolio development. Her clients range from startup and emerging companies developing life-saving therapeutics and diagnostics to academic and research institutions inventing disruptive platform technologies for the biotechnology and biopharma industries. She has extensive experience in the areas of small-molecule and biologic pharmaceuticals, drug formulation and drug delivery technologies, diagnostics, clean and alternative food technologies, protein biochemistry and engineering, cell systems engineering, nanotechnologies, plant biotechnology and genomics, and green/environmental chemistries. She also has significant transactional experience in IP licensing. Dr. Lavoie chairs Fish's EMPOWER Initiative, which seeks to address issues of unique importance to women in the legal profession and provide expanded professional and business development opportunities, mentoring, training, and support to the firm's female legal staff. She is a member of the firm's Compensation Committee.

As co-chair of Fish's Post-Grant Practice Group, Whelan oversees the #1 ranked firm representing petitioners and respondents at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) in the country. She has handled well over 100 inter partes review (IPR) and covered business method (CBM) matters involving both challenging and defending patents. Whelan works closely with Fish's litigation teams to design and implement integrated PTAB and litigation strategies. In addition to post-grant proceedings, Whelan's practice emphasizes client counseling, strategic patent portfolio design and management, due diligence investigations, and freedom-to-operate studies, particularly in the chemical and materials science areas. She writes and speaks extensively on topics related to post-grant proceedings and is the co-host ofFish's Post-Grant for Practitioners webinar series, as well as being a frequent speaker and panelist at industry and legal seminars.

MIP selects the Top 250 Women in IP from its global list of IP stars for the year. The IP stars list is based on a weighted system of peer and client feedback, combined with a review of information obtained from surveys.