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For Immediate Release
Former Patent Office Solicitor and Judge Joins Rothwell Figg
Nancy Linck Extends Firm’s Life Sciences Capabilities
Washington, D.C. – January 10, 2008 – Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, P.C. announced today that Dr. Nancy J. Linck will join the firm in an Of Counsel position, effective Feb. 4, 2008. Dr. Linck has served as the former Solicitor and later an Administrative Patent Judge at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), former Deputy General Counsel, IP & Trade, for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), and Senior Vice President, Intellectual Property and Regulatory Affairs and Chief Compliance Counsel, for Guilford Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Linck commented that, “Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck will provide an exceptional environment for me to return to private practice, and I am delighted to join what I have long regarded as one of the nation’s leading intellectual property law firms.”
“Rothwell Figg has, over many years, developed a strong biotechnology and pharmaceutical practice, and Nancy’s extensive intellectual property expertise in these fields will help us expand our reach and continue to offer excellent service to our clients in these industries,” Tony Figg of Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, P.C. said. “Nancy is one of the country’s top IP lawyers, and her experience in private and corporate practice, as a frequent advocate for the USPTO in the Federal Circuit, and as a member of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences puts her in an extraordinary position to represent and counsel clients in a wide range of capacities.”
The addition of Dr. Linck to the Rothwell Figg team is particularly timely in light of upcoming changes in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets. An estimated $29 billion worth of pharmaceutical patents are set to expire in the next two years, which will likely result in an increase in patent disputes as companies attempt to protect or extend their patents. Rothwell Figg will be well-positioned to advise companies on these matters.
Before becoming Solicitor at the USPTO, Nancy was a partner at Cushman, Darby & Cushman. In addition, Dr. Linck has corporate experience working both as a patent attorney for Monsanto and a chemist at Dow Chemical Company.
Other legal experience includes training as a mediator in the Federal Circuit’s Pilot Mediation Program, serving as a consultant and expert witness in numerous patent cases in federal courts and in the FTC, and teaching law at both the Georgetown University Law Center and George Washington University School of Law.
Dr. Linck received her J.D. from Western New England College School of Law and her Ph.D. and M.S. in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of California, San Diego. She also holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and expects to receive an M.S. in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University later this year.
Her bar membership includes the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, District of Columbia, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
About Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, P.C.
Based in Washington, D.C., Rothwell Figg is one of the nation’s top intellectual property law firms. The firm specializes in litigation, counseling, copyright, licensing and transactions, patent prosecution, trade dress, trademarks, and unfair competition. In addition to its patent and trademark prosecution, licensing and intellectual property counseling practices, the firm has handled a large number of complex and high-profile patent litigations before U.S. federal district courts and courts of appeals and the U.S. International Trade Commission, interference actions before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and has argued patent appeals before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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Contact:
Valerie Elston
Levick Strategic Communications for Rothwell Figg
Office: 202-973-1313
Email: velston@levick.com
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