Deborah A. Somerville has substantial experience in the management, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights for major U.S. and foreign clients. Her practice focuses on the issues confronting clients in the pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical and medical device industries. The contributions she has made to the life sciences community were recently recognized by the New York Biotechnology Association, which awarded Ms. Somerville the 2011 "The Cure Starts Here" Business Leaders of the Year award.

Ms. Somerville counsels clients on the validity, scope, enforceability and transfer of intellectual property rights. She actively guides clients in introducing new products and in developing intellectual property strategies and portfolios. While successfully procuring commercially significant patents, she has supervised the drafting of applications and their prosecution. She also negotiates licenses and conducts due diligence for corporate transactions. In addition, Ms. Somerville has considerable experience with patent litigation before the federal courts and inter partes proceedings.

Ms. Somerville's combination of experience enables her to provide legal advice that considers the full range of issues and options available to clients. Representative clients include biotech companies, research hospitals and universities, as well as investment firms and manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, polymers and specialty chemicals.

Ms. Somerville is a United States contributing author for Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, and Chemical Inventions: World Protection and Exploitation, which was published by Oxford University Press in February 2011.