Barnes & Thornburg Expands National Footprint, IP and Life Sciences Teams With New Boston Office

BOSTON – Barnes & Thornburg has announced the opening of a Boston office, its 20th in the U.S., with six partners. The new office is anchored by the addition of highly experienced intellectual property partners Ronald E. Cahill, Heather B. Repicky, Rory P. Pheiffer and Derek Roller who join current partners Robyn S. Maguire and Matthew Leno. Boston is a critical market for the life sciences sector; the Boston office will reflect the firm’s established and growing intellectual property and life sciences practice as well as its corporate M&A, investment fund formation, commercial litigation and white collar practice groups.

Barnes & Thornburg’s move to open in Boston follows the addition of an accomplished team of attorneys in Delaware earlier in June and the opening of a New York office in 2020. The firm also opened offices in Raleigh, Ann Arbor and Salt Lake City in late 2019, which added 17 life sciences attorneys to its IP team. 

Cahill, Repicky, Pheiffer and Roller, who join the firm’s Intellectual Property Department, previously practiced at Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP. They bring a wealth of patent litigation and patent prosecution experience, especially in the medical device, pharmaceutical and food sciences sectors. Not only has the team successfully represented clients in jury trials across the country as well as before the Federal Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court, they also have decades of experience working with Fortune 500 companies, top universities, and innovative startup companies in the Boston region and beyond with respect to all aspects of IP strategy.

“We’re thrilled to join Barnes & Thornburg during this exciting growth period for the life sciences industry and the firm as a whole,” Cahill said. “We were drawn in by Barnes & Thornburg’s focus on providing excellent legal services, which is crucial in Boston’s competitive legal market. In addition, the firm’s strategic commitment to expanding its life sciences practice, and its deep bench of accomplished life sciences attorneys, will be immensely valuable to our clients in greater Boston.”

“Boston is a thriving center for innovation and investment – especially in the life sciences and biotech sectors – and establishing a presence there has been part of our strategic growth plan for quite some time,” said Robert T. Grand, Barnes & Thornburg managing partner. “With strong additions like Ron, Heather, Rory and Derek, I’m confident that Boston will be another success story for our firm in line with our recent East Coast growth and our talent in Raleigh.”

“These attorneys are top practitioners in their field and have skills that complement our talent across the country,” said William R. Boudreaux, co-chair of the Life Sciences practice. “They not only counsel clients on their IP strategy, but also advise at the C-suite level on how to align IP strategy to achieve larger business objectives. Bringing them on board gives us the ability to immediately serve the burgeoning life sciences community in and around Boston.” 

The Boston office will primarily focus on intellectual property and investment and financing in the life sciences arena, as well as corporate M&A, investment fund formation, and commercial and white collar litigation. 

About Barnes & Thornburg’s Life Sciences Practice

Barnes & Thornburg’s Life Sciences group combines its knowledge on IP, corporate transactional, litigation and finance matters with innovative strategies to help clients reach their goals and advance innovations in the marketplace. The sector is booming across the country, and biotech companies, universities, hospitals and technology centers in the initial stages of research and development rely on our attorneys and patent agents with backgrounds in chemistry, molecular biology, engineering and genetics to assist with commercializing their IP assets. 

With a national platform and a presence on the ground in the United States’ key markets for technology and biotech development, the addition of a Boston office adds an important layer to the firm’s capabilities in the sector. 

Our attorneys work with clients on licensing agreements, trademark analysis, pharmaceutical and medical device patent prosecution, strategic patent portfolio management, Hatch-Waxman litigation and pharmaceutical and biological client counseling. In addition, our transactional attorneys have experience advising clients on the proper business entity selection and preparing documents related to entity creation and regulatory compliance. 

About the Boston Partners 

Ronald Cahill is a patent litigator with more than 25 years of experience representing electronics, medical device, engineered biologics and other high-tech and biological manufacturers of all sizes – from startups to Fortune 500 companies. He “first-chairs” patent infringement cases in federal trial and appellate courts, as well as inter partes reviews and other patent invalidity proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In addition, Ron helps clients license and commercialize their IP assets and guides both buyers and sellers through acquisitions and financings by conducting IP due diligence. 

Heather B. Repicky concentrates her practice on patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret litigation. She frequently acts as lead trial counsel in IP cases in federal courts throughout the U.S. and has deep experience in patent litigation covering a broad range of technologies, including medical devices and biologics. Heather also has substantial appellate experience at both the state and federal court level. When not litigating IP matters, Heather represents clients in connection with their most complex commercial disputes, including cases involving supply and distribution agreements, license agreements and joint ventures. 

Rory P. Pheiffer works with clients to develop patent portfolios domestically and internationally that align with their business goals. An MIT-trained mechanical engineer, Rory has extensive experience building patent portfolios in industries and technologies that include medical devices, 3D printing, aerospace, robotics, fluid dynamics, computer software and hardware, and electrical and mechanical systems. He advises on patent clearance matters, freedom to operate opinions, IP due diligence, and patent invalidity and infringement analyses. Rory also counsels clients through licensing negotiations and helps clients grow and enforce their worldwide trademark portfolios. 

Derek Roller focuses his practice on patent prosecution and strategic IP portfolio development. He assists clients with patent applications and other IP registrations, as well more specialized and contested proceedings, such as reexaminations, inter partes reviews, patent infringement matters, as well as analysis and diligence in support of commercial activity. Derek brings with him a background in mechanical and manufacturing engineering and is involved with clients in the medical device, information technology, electronic, energy and renewable energy sectors. 

Robyn S. Maguire has 15 years of experience defending major medical device and pharmaceutical companies in product liability suits. Her practice focuses on lawsuits alleging negligence, failure-to-warn, strict liability design and manufacturing defect, and wrongful death claims concerning the use of orthopedic implants, contraceptive patches, and other drugs and devices. She has deep experience on product defense teams concerning joint replacement implants, as well as the manufacture, distribution, and sale of prescription and over the counter drugs and medical devices.  

Matthew E. Leno concentrates his practice on intellectual property litigation, including patent, trademark and trade secret matters, and implementing and executing patent portfolio management, invention harvesting, patent prosecution and intellectual property transactions. Having previous experience as a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Matt is well-versed in inter partes reviews before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

With more than 700 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Delaware, Indiana, Los Angeles, Michigan, Minneapolis, New York, Ohio, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter @BTLawNews.