Fish & Richardson Expands Life Sciences Group with Addition of Principal Dr. Helen Baca

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fish & Richardson announced today that Helen Baca, Ph.D., has joined the Boston office as a principal in the firm’s life sciences group.

“Helen brings more than a decade of experience as a top-flight adviser to the industry on patent and IP issues,” said John Adkisson, president and chief executive officer of Fish. “Drawing on her background as a senior in-house counsel and an academic in chemistry and biology, she excels at translating her knowledge of technical subject matter into meaningful risk assessments for clients.”

Baca focuses her practice on IP portfolio management, strategic client counseling, and patent prosecution in diverse scientific and engineering fields. She has significant experience performing portfolio audits, preparing and prosecuting patent applications, and advising on patent infringement, freedom-to-operate, validity, and inventorship issues. Her technical areas of expertise include advanced chemical and biological materials, small molecule and protein therapeutics, nucleic acid and peptide technology, drug formulations, drug delivery systems, drug discovery platforms, microfluidics, droplet-based systems, medical devices, memristors, photonic systems, and microresonators. Baca is licensed in both Massachusetts and New Mexico.

“I’m excited to join the country’s preeminent IP firm,” said Dr. Baca. “I look forward to contributing to the firm’s leading life sciences practice and to offer its full, considerable capabilities to my clients.”

Baca joins Fish from Weaver Austin Villeneuve & Sampson LLP, and previously served as in-house counsel at Sandia National Laboratories. She received her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2009, and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in the Department of Chemistry in 2005. Her graduate research was interdisciplinary and led to the development of a droplet-based microfluidic platform for performing biological and chemical reactions.

About Fish & Richardson

Fish & Richardson, a premier global intellectual property law firm, is sought after and trusted by the world’s most innovative brands and influential technology leaders. Fish offers patent prosecution, litigation, trademark, and copyright counseling and advocacy for a broad range of client needs. Our deep bench of attorneys with first-chair trial experience in every technology makes us the go-to firm for the most technically complex cases. We have an established reputation as a top-tier firm for patent portfolio planning, strategy, and prosecution, as well as post-grant proceedings at the PTAB. Fish was established in 1878, and now has more than 400 attorneys and technology specialists in the U.S., Europe, and China. Our success is rooted in our creative and inclusive culture, which values the diversity of people, experiences, and perspectives. For more information, visit fr.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.