Medical Devices

McAndrews has unmatched experience in the area of medical device IP. Tim Malloy, one of our firm’s founders, represented Eli Lilly in one of the first medical device patent cases to go all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Today, our medical device industry group comprises more than sixty attorneys and is one of our firm’s largest. This group’s members, many of whom hold advanced degrees in relevant scientific disciplines, advise clients on the full range of IP-related subjects, including litigation, client counseling and transaction-related legal counsel. We play a particularly active role in advising deal counsel on the IP portion of transactions, including preparation of secondary agreements for licensing, joint ventures and financing. We also perform a significant amount of IP due diligence in connection with transactions.

Along with the requisite technical and legal expertise, the attorneys of this group are particularly experienced at and skilled in representing multinational medical device companies. Effectively advising these organizations requires a unique and uncommon ability to effectively counsel billion-dollar companies with exceptionally large patent portfolios that span continents and need to be managed in dozens of jurisdictions simultaneously. This requires, among other things, a deep understanding of competitive conditions in numerous markets simultaneously, the ability to think about not just the present state of a medical device client’s intellectual property, but the future, taking into account both competitors and partners, and an understanding of which patents are strategically critical.

Very large client representation also requires the ability to counsel very intricate organizations, and in particular, the ability to maintain a long-term role as a trusted advisor. This goal is entirely in keeping with our firm’s focus on emphasizing enduring, personal relationships with clients. We are uniquely able to represent companies with complex medical device portfolios because we know their priorities, we know how to communicate with them (and when, and about what) and if we’re litigating, we know how the organization prefers to handle cases. And whether the subject of a matter is a vertebral body replacement, bone cement or a $300 million acquisition, an attorney from McAndrews will still do things like personally visiting your office to talk face to face. That’s because our commitment to personalized, extraordinary service is a hallmark of our firm.

"I've tried hundreds, maybe thousands, of cases in my life and can honestly say I've never tried a case better prepared or better presented than this (one). Each of you should be commended for your professionalism, for your preparation, for your knowledge, and for your grasp of the issues — factually as well as legally. It has been a pleasure having you in my court."

U.S. District Court Judge