Baker Donelson announces the addition of eight professionals to the Firm’s Washington, D.C. and Falls Church, Virginia offices. The group of four attorneys and four intellectual property professionals were previously with the firm of LeClairRyan PLLC.
“Baker Donelson has long been committed to expanding our capabilities for our clients through smart growth, and the addition of these professionals exemplifies that commitment,” said Baker Donelson Chairman and CEO Timothy M. Lupinacci. “They bring substantive experience that enhances our offerings in both intellectual property and product liability and mass tort. Their addition to our D.C. and Virginia locations furthers our commitment to continued growth in those competitive markets. We are pleased to welcome such a highly regarded group of professionals to Baker Donelson.”
John McJunkin, managing shareholder of the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office, added, “The addition of these professionals to our Washington, D.C. office is very meaningful, as we seek to expand the scope of services we can provide to our clients in this market.”
Two of the attorneys have joined the Firm’s Washington, D.C. office as shareholders in Baker Donelson’s Intellectual Property Practice Group:
Robin L. Teskin: Ms. Teskin focuses her practice on intellectual property law, with an emphasis on the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. She provides intellectual property advice to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences and medical device companies, research institutions, hospitals and universities throughout the world. Ms. Teskin’s more than 30 years of patent law experience involves all aspects of patent counseling and patent prosecution, including freedom-to-operate, due diligence, non-infringement, inventorship, invalidity, and Hatch-Waxman legal issues. Additionally, she has experience in post-grant patent office proceedings including reissues, inter partes reviews (IPRs), post-grant reviews (PGRs), ex parte reexaminations and interferences.
Kenneth J. Kalafus, Ph.D.: Dr. Kalafus is an experienced attorney in the biotech/life sciences industry and concentrates his practice on U.S. and foreign patent prosecution, counseling, and post-grant opposition. He works on patent matters in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, with extensive experience in technologies including therapeutic antibodies, vaccines, embryonic stem cells, cell- and gene-based therapies, genetic engineering (e.g., CRISPR), and high-throughput sequencing methods. Dr. Kalafus assists clients with all phases of biotechnology patent procurement, including evaluation of invention disclosures, patentability studies, and patent application drafting and prosecution. His practice includes preparation of patent applications for prosecution (and potential enforcement) internationally. His clients range in size from start-ups to multinational companies.
Also joining Baker Donelson’s Intellectual Property Group in Washington, D.C. are four IP professionals: Thomas Murray, Ph.D., who joins as a patent agent; Paul McBean, who joins as a foreign filing specialist; and Mark Koper and David McKim, who join as patent prosecution assistants.
Two additional attorneys have joined Baker Donelson’s Product Liability and Mass Tort Group:
Gretchen A. Jackson: Ms. Jackson joins the Falls Church, Virginia office as a shareholder. She focuses her practice on transportation litigation, tort defense, business litigation and construction law. She has extensive trial experience across many areas of both civil and criminal litigation. Ms. Jackson has experience investigating, preparing, and trying a wide variety of complex disputes to verdict before judge and jury in all forms of Virginia federal and state civil trial practice. Before going into private practice in Virginia in 2006, Ms. Jackson served on active duty for ten years as an attorney in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where she accumulated significant trial experience as a prosecutor and senior prosecutor trying several high profile murder cases.
Peter Zuk: Joining the Washington, D.C. office as an attorney, Mr. Zuk concentrates his practice in white collar criminal defense and civil litigation. He has experience representing clients in cases involving tax evasion, wire fraud, contract disputes and premises liability. Before going into private practice, Mr. Zuk served as an intern for the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, where he gained experience in criminal prosecutions. He also served as an intern for the U.S. General Services Administration Suspension & Debarment and Contract Remedies Division.
Source: www.bakerdonelson.com
