Pittsburgh, PA – January 6, 2005 – LAWFUEL – Best for law news – Pepper Hamilton LLP announced that David S. Smith, a corporate lawyer focusing on intellectual property and biotechnology issues, has joined the firm as of counsel in the Intellectual
Property Practice Group in Pittsburgh.
“David is a technologically savvy lawyer who complements Pepper’s IP
practice and our growing practice in the biotechnology and life sciences
areas,” said Richard I. Thomas, the partner in charge of Pepper’s Pittsburgh
office. “We are delighted to welcome him to Pepper and our Pittsburgh
office.”
Mr. Smith’s intellectual property-related work includes IP transactions,
regulatory issues and licensing. His corporate practice is concentrated in
the organization, financing and growth of life sciences companies, and he is
an authority on the legal issues surrounding the use of human biological
materials.
Mr. Smith is a founder and principal of Teregenics, LLC, a company formed in
2003 that provides strategic product development analysis and consulting
services to institutional investors, research centers and companies
participating in developing human tissue engineering and regeneration
technologies. Also since 2003, Mr. Smith has been a sole practitioner in
Pittsburgh, providing legal counsel and strategic consulting to emerging
high-technology companies.
Before starting his own practice, Mr. Smith was senior vice president and
general counsel of TissueInformatics.Inc, a bioinformatics company, until
its merger with Icoria, Inc. From 1997 to 2000, he was of counsel at Reed
Smith and led the development of that firm’s biotechnology practice in
Pittsburgh.
Mr. Smith is an adjunct professor in Carnegie Mellon University’s Department
of Engineering and Public Policy, and he frequently speaks at other
universities and trade conferences on the commercialization of engineered
tissue products and regenerative therapies.
He is active in a number of trade organizations and serves on the executive
committee of Tissue Engineering Society International, as secretary of the
MIT Enterprise Forum of Pittsburgh and as secretary of the Pittsburgh Tissue
Engineering Initiative, Inc. He is a past member of the board of directors
of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association.
Mr. Smith is a graduate of Hamilton College (A.B. 1977) and American
University, Washington College of Law (J.D. 1980). He is a member of the
Pennsylvania bar.
Pepper’s Intellectual Property Practice Group is an interdisciplinary team
that procures intellectual property rights, and litigates or otherwise
resolves intellectual property problems. The group’s lawyers are
experienced in patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secret protection,
unfair competition, false advertising, and defamation, publicity and privacy
issues. They also handle computer-related transactions and litigation,
telecommunications, domestic and international technology transfer,
author/publisher relations and U.S. government proprietary rights
regulation.
The firm’s Life Sciences Practice Group, with more than 50 lawyers and other
professionals, assists biotechnology and life science companies with
business counseling, venture capital financings, securities offerings,
mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property protection and transactions,
antitrust issues, government contracts, and health effects and products
liability counseling and litigation.
Pepper’s Pittsburgh office, with 40 lawyers, offers clients the resources of
a large, multi-office firm with a regional, national and international
practice. In addition to intellectual property and biotechnology matters,
lawyers in the office focus on corporate and securities law, labor and
employment law, commercial litigation, municipal and project finance, real
estate, tax, sports and environmental law. The office, which is celebrating
its 10th anniversary this year, opened in 1995.
Pepper Hamilton LLP (www.pepperlaw.com) is a multi-practice law firm with
400 lawyers in six states and the District of Columbia. The firm provides
corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses,
governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout
the nation and the world. The firm was founded in 1890.
