BOSTON – Barnes & Thornburg 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.
