Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP (SGR) is pleased to announce that Dr. Judy de León Jarecki-Black has joined the firm’s Intellectual Property (IP) Department, to lead the firm’s significant and growing Biotech/Chemistry Patent Team.
Dr. Jarecki-Black is a seasoned and accomplished patent and IP attorney, with more than twenty years of experience, including in both private and corporate practice. Prior to joining the firm, Dr. Jarecki-Black was the Global Head of IP for Merial Limited (now Boehringer-Ingelheim Animal Health), a leading global animal health biotech and pharmaceutical company, for 18 years. While at Merial, Dr. Jarecki-Black was responsible for developing and implementing a global patent strategy, and she supervised a patent group that conducted worldwide patent procurement and led patent litigation activities both in the US and other countries. Among her most notable accomplishments were the successful patent portfolio development and patent litigation efforts related to Merial’s FRONTLINE Plus and NexGard products, including highly successful global patent enforcement campaigns.
Dr. Jarecki-Black received undergraduate degrees in Biology and History, with Honors, from the College of Charleston, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She received a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology & Pathobiology from the Medical University of South Carolina, and worked developing human and animal vaccines against infectious diseases, including the recombinant Lyme (OspA) vaccine. Developing a commercial vaccine stimulated her interest in patent law, and she subsequently received her law degree from Georgia State University College of Law.
“We are thrilled that Judy has joined our large and growing IP Department” stated Greg Kirsch, the Head of the SGR IP Dept. “Judy is well-known and well-connected in the biotechnology and chemistry patent fields, and she brings a wealth of proven patent law experience with her to SGR, developed over many years leading the patent activities of a major biotechnology and life sciences company. She will be a tremendous resource to our clients.”
SGR’s IP Department includes over 30 IP/patent attorneys, patent agents and science advisors, practicing across the full range of IP disciplines, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, as well as associated licensing, due diligence, IP portfolio development, and IP litigation. Our patent team includes 17 professionals with scientific and engineering backgrounds across a full range of disciplines, including biotechnology, chemistry, pharmaceuticals, electrical engineering, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, and physics – including seven with PhDs and/or Masters in their respective fields.