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Nutter Expands Intellectual Property Department With Team of 7 Professionals
Print PDFSteven G. Saunders to Serve as Co-Chair of IP Department
Kathleen M. Williams, Ph.D. to Serve as Co-Chair of Life Sciences Practice Group
Boston – Nutter announced today that a team of intellectual property professionals, including three partners, has joined the firm’s Intellectual Property Department. Steven G. Saunders, Kathleen M. Williams, Ph.D., and Jeffrey T. Klayman focus their practices on a broad spectrum of intellectual property issues, including patent prosecution, litigation, and strategy; opinion and clearance matters; due diligence for corporate transactions; and preparing and filing inter partes review (IPR) petitions. Saunders will serve as co-chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Department and Williams will serve as co-chair of the firm’s Life Sciences practice group.
“We’re thrilled to welcome this dynamic group to Nutter, as they will augment the breadth and depth of our highly-regarded intellectual property practice,” said Deborah J. Manus, Nutter’s managing partner. “Their arrival, combined with the recent addition of four partners to our Corporate and Transactions team, significantly expands our capabilities in mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital financing, and corporate governance to better serve clients. Together, we are better equipped to provide robust solutions for our clients.”
In addition to the three partners, Amy DeCloux, Ph.D. and Thomas J. Tuytschaevers joined the firm as Of Counsel, Emmanuel D. Filandrianos as an associate, and Gurunathan Laxmikanthan, Ph.D. as a Technology Specialist, further growing Nutter’s capabilities across a wide spectrum of intellectual property disciplines. Prior to joining Nutter, the team practiced together at a New England-based intellectual property law firm.
“Steve, Kathy, and Jeff have a proven track record of excellence in the intellectual property field,” said Ronald E. Cahill, co-chair of Nutter’s Intellectual Property Department. “Their legal expertise and technical experience provide them with a unique understanding of our clients’ businesses, and we are delighted to welcome this talented group.”
More about the additions to Nutter’s IP Department:
Steven G. Saunders, Partner and Co-Chair, Intellectual Property Department
Saunders advises clients on all of their intellectual property needs, including IP portfolio development, strategy, and evaluation, patent preparation and prosecution, product clearance, inter partes reviews (IPRs), litigation management, reexamination, and licensing. Drawing on his experience as both IP counsel and angel investor, Saunders also conducts due diligence analysis in preparation of angel or venture capital investments, mergers, or acquisitions. He frequently handles complex investigations on behalf of clients, which ultimately demonstrate that their products do not infringe on third-party patents, or that the third-party patents are invalid. In addition, he often helps clients in designing around third-party patents. Saunders focuses his practice across a wide range of technologies, including medical devices, instrumentation, and laboratory equipment; electrical systems and electronics; computer hardware and software; and cloud computing, networking, routing, and IoT, among others. An active participant in the angel investor community, Saunders hears dozens of presentations from early stage entrepreneurs annually as a member of both Hub Angels Investment Group and Launchpad Venture Group. He earned his law degree from the University of Maine School of Law and his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Boston University.
Kathleen M. Williams, Ph.D., Partner and Co-Chair, Life Sciences Practice Group
Williams advises clients in the life sciences industry on all aspects of patent law, including patent portfolio creation and management, patentability of inventions and commercialization in view of third-party patents, patent prosecution, and patent life cycle management. Emerging and mature life sciences companies, research institutions, and investors frequently turn to Williams for guidance on patent strategy and complex legal issues surrounding the protection of discoveries in the life sciences. She has extensive experience in complex patent interferences before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as well as in inter partes reviews (IPRs). She often handles intellectual property due diligence for corporate transactions such as acquisitions, investments, licenses, and initial public offerings. Williams advises clients in a broad range of fields, including biology, biochemistry and medicinal chemistry, chemistry, and devices in the areas of biotech, pharmaceuticals, therapeutics, diagnostics, nanotechnologies, bio-energy, cleantech, and medicine. Williams earned her law degree from New England School of Law, her Ph.D. in molecular biology and biochemistry from Brown University, and her undergraduate degree, with honors, from Smith College.
Jeffrey T. Klayman, Partner
Klayman’s practice focuses on a wide range of intellectual property issues, including patent prosecution, patent litigation, opinion and clearance matters, preparing and filing inter partes review (IPR) petitions, and designing around third-party patents. He counsels clients in numerous areas of technology, including electrical storage and generation systems, computer hardware and software, networking, data storage and handling, and mechanical and medical devices. A member of the Boston Patent Law Association, Klayman holds patents for his inventions in areas relating to data compression, encryption, and forward error correction applications. He earned his law degree, cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School and his undergraduate degree, cum laude, from Northeastern University.
Amy DeCloux, Ph.D., Of Counsel
DeCloux advises clients on the prosecution of patents, with a particular focus in the fields of immunology, cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, medical devices, diagnostics, and pharmaceutical formulations. She earned her law degree from Suffolk University, her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland at College Park, her M.S. from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and her undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University.
Thomas J. Tuytschaevers, Of Counsel
Tuytschaevers counsels clients on patent preparation and prosecution, product clearance, licensing, invention mining, and portfolio development. He has extensive experience in conducting due diligence for corporate transactions, litigation discovery, and a broad range of commercial matters. Tuytschaevers earned his law degree from Pepperdine University and his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University.
Emmanuel D. Filandrianos, Associate
Filandrianos advises clients on utility and design patent preparation and prosecution, patent prior art searches and analysis, and product clearance. A biomedical engineer as well as an attorney, his practice has a particular focus on medical devices. Filandrianos earned his law degree from Boston University School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Boston University.
Gurunathan Laxmikanthan, Ph.D., Technology Specialist
Laxmikanthan provides assistance on patent prosecution, freedom-to-operate analysis, interferences proceedings, and infringement enforcement strategies in the fields of biochemistry, immunology, molecular and structural biology, and chemistry. He performed postdoctoral research in structural biology and molecular biology at Brown University. He earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Florida State University, his M.S. in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, and his undergraduate degree from St. Joseph’s College in India.
The attorneys in Nutter’s Intellectual Property Department advise clients on all aspects of protecting their IP, including patent portfolio development and counseling, patent prosecution, patent infringement actions, due diligence, litigation, international IP rights, technology licensing, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Global corporations, mid-market and small companies, major universities and research institutions, inventors, investors, and entrepreneurs across a broad range of industries turn to Nutter’s team for counsel on their intellectual property needs. The firm’s attorneys are experienced in federal and state laws that protect IP, administrative procedures that are unique to IP assets, and litigating patent, trademark, and copyright disputes.
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About Nutter
Nutter is a Boston-based law firm that provides legal counsel to industry-leading companies, early stage entrepreneurs, institutions, foundations, and families, across the country and around the world. The firm’s lawyers are known for their client-centric approach and extensive experience in business and finance, intellectual property, litigation, private client services, real estate and land use, labor and employment, and tax. Co-founded in 1879 by Louis D. Brandeis, who later became a renowned justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Nutter is dedicated to helping companies prosper in today’s competitive business environment. For more information, please visit www.nutter.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
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