Overview

Jeanna Wacker is a partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She is an experienced trial lawyer and concentrates her practice on patent litigation in the life sciences field. Jeanna has extensive experience representing clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical and medical device industries and has represented both plaintiffs and defendants at all stages of litigation, including trials (bench and jury) and appeal. Jeanna also has experience in inter partes reviews before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Her clients have included some of the largest companies in the life sciences area such as, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Hoffman La-Roche, Boehringer Ingelheim, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, E.I. du Pont de Nemours, and Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Jeanna has established a reputation as a leading litigator in the life sciences field and is regularly invited to speak on hot topics in this area.

Jeanna is also regularly called upon to advise pharmaceutical and biotech companies on intellectual property aspects of corporate merger agreements and product acquisitions.

Jeanna was recognized in The Legal 500 United States for Healthcare - Life Sciences 2023 and Patent Litigation 2018, and was named a New York Super Lawyer in 2019–2023 by Super Lawyers magazine.

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Thought Leadership

Publications

Life Sciences Commercialisation in the United States: Overview,” Thomson Reuters Global Guide on Practical Law, June 1, 2023.

Navigating the Murky Waters of the Hatch-Waxman ‘Safe Harbor’,” New York Law Journal, September 13, 2022.

“FORUM: Paragraph IV filings and patent protection,” Financier Worldwide Magazine, January 2019 (forum participant).

F.C. Mizzo, L. Ben-Ami, J.M. Wacker, J. Bova and J. Lam, “Pharmaceutical IP and Competition Law in the United States: Overview,” Thomson Reuters Global Guide on Practical Law, June 1, 2018.

Speaking Engagements

“The Practice of Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation: Part II,” Paragraph IV Disputes Master Symposium, April 30, 2019.

“A Question of Standing: Establishing the Right to Appeal a PTAB Decision,” Summit on Biosimilars, June 24, 2019.

“Assessing the True Measure of Damages in an At-Risk Launch,” Paragraph IV Dispute Master Symposium, October 3, 2018.

Teva v. Sandoz - A Debate on the Standard of Review for Claim Construction: De Novo vs. Deferential,” Paragraph IV Disputes Master Symposium, September 30, 2014.

“Perspectives on Recent Patent Legislative and Supreme Court Developments,” NYIPLA Annual Luncheon CLE, May 20, 2014.

“An Outside Counsel Perspective: Maximizing Opportunities to Succeed With Colleagues and Clients,” NYIPLA Women in IP Law and CLE Program, June 28, 2012.

Recognition

Recognized as Up and Coming for Intellectual Property: Patent in New York, Chambers USA, 2022–2023

Recognized in The Legal 500 United States for Healthcare - Life Sciences, 2023 and Patent Litigation: Full Coverage, 2018

Named a New York Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine, 2019–2023

“Rising Star” for Intellectual Property Litigation by Super Lawyers, 2014

Memberships & Affiliations

New York State Bar Association

New York Intellectual Property Law Association, Former Board Member, Former Co-Chair of Women in IP Law Committee

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • 2004New York

Courts

  • United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (pro hac vice)
  • United States District Court for the District of Delaware (pro hac vice)
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of California (pro hac vice)
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (pro hac vice)
  • United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (pro hac vice)
  • United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (pro hac vice)
  • United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (pro hac vice)

Education

  • Boston University School of LawJ.D.cum laude2003
  • University of MinnesotaB.S., Biochemistry & Genetics and Cell Biology1998