Saul Ewing LLP announced today that Peter Lauro and Melissa Hunter-Ensor, Ph.D. have joined the firm as partners in the Business and Finance, Life Sciences and Intellectual Property and Technology practices. They will be resident in the Boston, Mass. office.
Lauro and Hunter-Ensor, registered patent attorneys, are experienced in designing intellectual property strategies to complement their clients’ business objectives. They work with clients to manage intellectual property assets and secure and enforce intellectual property rights worldwide.
Both attorneys have strong scientific backgrounds that augment their legal experience. They work with clients in a variety of technologies, including diagnostics, biotechnology, chemistry, clean tech, pharmaceutical and other life sciences industries. Lauro has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Brown University and has worked in the private sector as a clinical microbiologist and a research chemist. Hunter-Ensor has an undergraduate degree in chemistry from Smith College and a doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. Hunter-Ensor is the first author of a research paper published in Cell. She was a post-doctoral fellow in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology laboratory of Nobel Laureate H. Robert Horvitz, Ph.D. and was awarded the Jane Coffin Child fellowship during her time at MIT.
Both Lauro and Hunter-Ensor have provided opinions and analyses directed to patentability, infringement, validity and freedom-to-operate. They have experience assessing the intellectual property risks of target investments for venture capital firms and other investors, as well as conducting patent and licensing due diligence for technology transactions. Lauro and Hunter-Ensor also have experience in opposition proceedings, interferences and litigation. With a client base ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to growth/emerging companies and universities, Lauro and Hunter-Ensor maintain a practical business focus in pursuing the strategic development of patent portfolios and business goals of their clients.
Hunter-Ensor earned her law degree from Suffolk University Law School. Lauro earned his law degree from Temple University School of Law.
“Adding Peter and Melissa to our Boston office further broadens and strengthens the IP support we can provide to our existing clients firmwide while allowing us to tap into the dynamic and sophisticated Boston life sciences market,” said Deborah L. Spranger, vice chair of the firm’s Business and Finance Department and co-chair of the Life Sciences Practice. “Because of the strength of our existing practice and the fact that three of the largest life sciences hubs in the nation are encompassed within our regional footprint, the life sciences has been and continues to be a strategic focus of the firm. Since we opened a Boston office two years ago, we have been looking for the proper entry into the local life sciences community, and we believe we have found it in these experienced practitioners who have deep roots and a strong commitment to the Boston area.”
