Knobbe Martens is pleased to announce that two partners received top honors Wednesday night at the Legal Media Group’s (LMG) fourth annual Life Sciences Awards in New York City.
Dr. Salima Merani, a partner in the firm’s Orange County office, was awarded “Patent Strategy & Management Attorney of the Year.” The honor comes on the heels of her recognition last year by LMG as “Patent Prosecution Attorney of the Year.” Dr. Merani has 16 years of experience building patent portfolios for some of the top life sciences companies in the nation and is highly sought out for her vast experience and reputation in conducting complex patent due diligence investigations for prominent venture capital and investment firms. She has served as lead IP counsel in high stakes financing and acquisition deals worth well over a billion dollars in the last three years alone.
William Zimmerman, Managing Partner of the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, was recognized as “Hatch-Waxman Litigator of the Year – Generic.” For over 17 years, Mr. Zimmerman has represented generic pharmaceutical companies in Hatch-Waxman litigation and appeals. During that time, he has represented companies with respect to some of the largest-selling drugs in history. Mr. Zimmerman’s practice focuses on pharmaceutical litigation and contentious life sciences matters, representing companies with respect to a large variety of generic drugs, biosimilars, and diagnostic products. Mr. Zimmerman has extensive experience as lead trial and appellate counsel. He previously served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Alvin A. Schall at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Knobbe Martens was recognized with nominations in the categories of “Hatch-Waxman Litigation Firm of the Year – Generic” and “Patent Strategy and Management Firm of the Year.” Last year, the firm received the “Patent Impact Case of the Year” award for its work securing a $466 million jury verdict for longstanding client Masimo Corp. against Philips Electronics North America Corp and Philips Medizin Systeme Boblingen GMBH.
LMG recognized and honored the leading attorneys, law firms and in-house counsel teams that have played a significant role in the life sciences industry over the past year. LMG Life Sciences is the only publication dedicated to the comprehensive analysis of the life sciences industry.
