Womble Carlyle Expands IP and Life Science Litigation Teams

In recent months, Womble Carlyle, a firm with offices in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and in Silicon Valley, has greatly expanded its Life Science and Intellectual Property Litigation practices with the additions of seven lateral attorneys.

In October, Life Science litigators Mary Bourke, Mark Pino, Kristen Cramer, Dana Severance and Daniel Attaway joined the firm from Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz LLP, which an intellectual property law firm located in Delaware, which not lists 52 attorneys on their firm website. These laterals include three partners and two associates. Veteran IP litigators Barry Herman and Behrooz Shariati also joined the firm in June and July, respectively. According to the firm’s website Womble Carlyle now has 547 attorneys and 89 attorneys operating within a broadly defined Intellectual Property practice group.

The additions of these seven attorneys add to Womble Carlyle’s fast-growing Life Science and IP Litigation practices. These practices collectively have a total of more than 30 lawyers the firm. More than a dozen team members have Ph.D. degrees in biology and chemistry-related disciplines.

[Patent-Litigation]

About the Attorneys

Mary Bourke focuses her practice on patent litigation in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. She was the co-first chair for Pfizer’s successful defense of Lipitor® against several ANDA filers.  Additionally, Mary currently represents Astra Zeneca in multiple litigations involving AstraZeneca’s successful drug CRESTOR®. Bourke has more than 20 years of patent litigation experience. She practices in Womble Carlyle’s Wilmington, Del. office.

Barry Herman represents both domestic and foreign clients in a wide range of intellectual property matters, with an emphasis on patent litigation in district courts and before the International Trade Commission (“ITC”).  Herman also provides strategic patent counseling and has experience in litigating trade secret misappropriation, trademark infringement, and other intellectual property disputes. He practices in Womble Carlyle’s Baltimore office. He comes to the firm from Oblon Spivak where he was co-chair of the Litigation Practice Group and the ITC Litigation Practice Group.

Mark Pino concentrates his practice on patent prosecution and counseling in the area of pharmaceutical, biotech and chemical patents. He also counsels clients in ANDA litigation and International Trade Commission proceedings. His scientific background includes experience with small molecules, pharmaceuticals, formulations, organic chemistry, peptides, chemical manufacturing processes, inorganics and polymers. He practices in Womble Carlyle’s Washington, D.C. office.

Behrooz Shariati focuses his patent and copyright litigation practice on software, computer hardware, networking technologies and industry standards. Shariati, who was formerly a partner in the Silicon Valley office of Jones Day, represents clients in complex and highly technical patent and copyright cases. Recent representations include Xilinx, Extreme Networks, Honda America, and Nordic Naturals. He practices in Womble Carlyle’s Silicon Valley office.

Kristen Cramer has 10 years of patent litigation experience, representing clients in areas including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer electronics, computer networks, and business methods.  Cramer represents international companies as lead and as Delaware counsel in district and appellate actions involving pharmaceuticals and medical devices. She practices in the firm’s Wilmington, Del. office.

Dana Severance represents clients in patent litigation relating to pharmaceutical and biotech matters.  Her focus is on ANDA litigation for the pharmaceutical industry as well as handling large e-discovery matters. She practices in the firm’s Wilmington, Del. office.

Daniel Attaway represents clients in patent litigation, prosecution and counseling, and trademark litigation in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.  He focuses primarily on ANDA litigation for the pharmaceutical industry as well as overseeing large-scale document review projects.  Prior to his legal career, he was a process and production engineer for Lyondell Chemical Company. Attaway practices in the firm’s Wilmington, Del. office.

About Womble Carlyle

Womble Carlyle is a full-service business law firm with a focus on innovative solutions to client needs. The firm supports the Association of Corporate Counsel in the ACC Value Challenge, which seeks to better align legal services with the needs of corporate clients.

The firm serves clients nationally and globally with more than 550 attorneys in fourteen offices: Atlanta; Charleston, Columbia and Greenville, S.C.; Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, and Winston-Salem, N.C.; Silicon Valley, Calif., Washington, D.C.; Tysons Corner, Va.; Baltimore; and Wilmington, Del.

In the community, the firm is the first law firm to receive the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Corporate Leadership Award as well as the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Freedom Award.