Fish & Richardson P.C. announced that the three top patent attorneys from Heller Erhman White McAuliffe in San Diego will join the firm. Also joining the firm are three associate attorneys, three technical specialists and three scientific advisors. Over the next several weeks up to 10 additional associates, technical professionals and staff from Heller are expected to join Fish & Richardson, creating what will be San Diego’s largest biotechnical and pharmaceutical patent law practice.
The group has significant expertise in biotech and chemical patent prosecution, including molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, synthetic organic chemistry, polymer chemistry and immunology as well as medical devices.
Dr. Stephanie Seidman leads the group and will join Fish & Richardson as a principal. Dr. Seidman has practiced biotechnology patent law for nearly 20 years.
Also joining Fish & Richardson as principals will be Fred Hernandez and Dale Rieger. Dr. Seidman’s group includes 12 Ph.D.s, bringing to 70 the number of legal staff with Ph.D.s at Fish & Richardson
Fish & Richardson’s San Diego office has experienced explosive growth in the last two years in its core practice areas – intellectual property, complex litigation, and corporate. With the addition of Seidman’s group, the office totals more than 60 lawyers.
“Dr. Seidman and her group are a significant expansion of our San Diego biotech practice. This group also solidifies our position as a national leader in biotech law,” states John Gartman, Fish & Richardson’s San Diego managing principal. “We now have nearly 100 biotech professionals.”
Seidman is well known for her representation of biotech companies throughout California and the United States. She co-founded Heller’s San Diego office in 1998 and was co-chair of firm’s Patents & Trademarks National Practice Group.
Seidman’s intellectual property practice emphasizes biotechnology and chemical patent prosecution with a substantial part of her practice in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, polymers and other areas of chemistry. Her experience includes managing complex biotechnical and chemical dockets, and strategic counseling with particular expertise in counseling emerging and early stage companies. Seidman’s U.S. and foreign patent practice includes biotechnology cases, as well as organic and inorganic chemistry cases, with extensive experience prosecuting international applications.
After attending law school, Seidman was an examiner with the Patent and Trademark Office.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from William Smith College, and a master of science in chemical physics and a doctorate in molecular biology-biochemistry from Indiana University. Seidman earned her law degree at The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.
Hernandez’s practice emphasizes medical devices, software, mechanical and all issues relating to engineering. Prior to becoming a lawyer, he was an aerospace engineer with Hughes Aircraft Company, where he designed simulation training software relating to a variety of aircraft systems, including heating and cooling, structural integrity, flight control, electronic defense, and navigation systems.
Rieger has extensive experience in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications in the U.S. and internationally in the areas of pharmaceuticals, bioinformatics, proteomics, biotechnology including solid phase, solution phase, and combinatorial synthesis of biopolymers, chemicals, medical devices and waste treatment processes. He holds a PhD in organic chemistry from Indiana University.
