Global law firm Hogan Lovells is pleased to announce that Simon Roberts and Jason Leonard have joined the firm’s New York office as partners in the Intellectual Property, Media and Technology Practice. Previously they were partners at Venable LLP and Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto.
“Simon and Jason’s deep experience and knowledge of patent litigation and disputes in pharma and life sciences will strengthen both our America’s IPMT practice and Global Life Sciences team,” said Celine Crowson, head of Hogan Lovells Intellectual Property, Media & Technology practice in the Americas. “We have been strategically growing our intellectual property practice with a focus on industries such as life sciences to support client demand.”
Roberts is a highly-skilled patent litigator with a background in chemistry. He has extensive knowledge and experience in the realm of the Hatch-Waxman litigations, and is highly regarded for his work in the chemical and ethical pharmaceutical industry. In addition to his extensive litigation practice before the federal courts, Roberts regularly represents clients before the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) in contested and non-contested proceedings. He also has the rare distinction of being permitted to present oral argument before the Patent Reexamination Board (PRB) of China’s Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) in Beijing resulting in the Board upholding the patentability of the patent covering one of the world’s most prescribed HIV medication.
Leonard has experience in all aspects of intellectual property law, with a focus on complex pharmaceutical patent litigation around new drug compounds, enantiomers, polymorphs, drug formulations, and methods of use. He has extensive experience litigating pharmaceutical patents covering oncology drugs, antifungal agents, and oral contraceptives. Before practicing law, Leonard spent six years as a solid-state and analytical chemist at Pfizer. His work included development of analytical methods for drug formulations and synthesis of novel polymorphs and salts of pharmaceutical compounds. He also focused on conducting investigations of complex scientific problems encountered during drug development.
Commenting on their move, Roberts and Leonard said, “Hogan Lovells offers a global platform unmatched in the legal industry with a top-tier bench of pharma patent litigation talent at all levels. The highly collaborative team presents us with a unique opportunity to grow our practices both within and outside of the life sciences arena.”
Roberts qualified as a Barrister at Law from the Inns of Court School of Law in London in 1991, earned a B.A. with honors from Exeter University in 1990, and a B.Sc. with honors from Exeter University in 1989. Leonard earned his J.D. from Franklin Pierce Law Center (now the University of New Hampshire) in 2007 and his B.S. from the University of Connecticut in 1998.
