Brenda Herschbach Jarrell

Firm: Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP
Location: Boston - MA

  • Two International Place
    Boston, MA 02110
    USA
  • Tel : 617-248-5175
  • Fax : 617-502-5175

Dr. Brenda Herschbach Jarrell, chair of Choate’s Life Sciences Group, is described by clients as an IP lawyer with keen business savvy. Her extensive technical credentials make her well-versed in a wide variety of technologies in the biotech, pharmaceutical, and specialty chemical industries. She represents companies and institutions at all stages of the life sciences business lifecycle, as well as those who invest in them, guiding IP protection and competitive positioning strategies, negotiating strategic transactions, and providing creative solutions to IP and technology-related challenges. Throughout her career, Brenda has advised multiple clients from Series A through their eventual IPOs.

As one of the foremost respected IP strategists in the country, Brenda is routinely awarded the recognition of “Attorney of the Year” by several respected rankings providers across a variety of categories.

Some of her clients include Adimab, Aleta Biotherapeutics, Angion Biomedica Corp., Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Atlas Venture, Base Genomic, Biogen, BioNTech, Casma Therapeutics, Celsius Therapeutics, Eirion Therapeutics, FogPharma, FORMA Therapeutics, Gilead, Ginkgo BioWorks,  Kernal Biologics, LogicBio Therapeutics, Mereo BioPharma, Olema Pharmaceuticals, Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, ReNetX Bio, Scipher Medicine Corporation, STIMIT Corporation, Syros Pharmaceuticals, Third Rock Ventures, WAVE Life Sciences, and Venrock.

Brenda is a member of Choate’s Executive Committee.

Recognition

  • Boston “Lawyer of the Year” for Biotechnology Law by Best Lawyers (2019)
  • “Attorney of the Year – Patent Strategy & Management – Massachusetts” by LMG Life Sciences (2016 and 2017)
  • Who’s Who Legal’s list of top Life Sciences transactional attorneys (2017)
  • Patent Expert Guide (2015 and 2017)
  • “Intellectual Property Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal (2016)
  • Boston “Lawyer of the Year” for Biotechnology Law by Best Lawyers (2016)
  • “Top Woman of Law” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
  • Chambers USA (2014-2021)
  • Best Lawyers in America (2014-2022)
  • The Legal 500 (2014-2020)
  • A World’s Leading Patent Practitioner by IAM Patent 1000 (2014-2020)
  • Managing Intellectual Propertyas an “IP Star” and a “Top 250 Women in IP” nationwide (2014-2020)
  • “Litigation Star” by Benchmark Litigation
  • Massachusetts Super Lawyers

Publications and Presentations

  • “Collaborating With Academic Institutions To Drive Innovation,” moderator, Consero IP Virtual Forum for Life Sciences, December 2021.
  • Consero Group’s IP Executive Roundtable for Life Sciences, Conference Co-Chair, September 2021.
  • “To Pool, Pledge, or License – Allocating IP Rights during COVID-19 R&D,” moderator, BIO’s Biotech Intellectual Property Law in Focus webinar, September 2020.
  • Boston Bar Association Life Sciences Conference, Advisory Committee and Panelist, October 2019.
  • Consero Group’s IP Executive Roundtable for Life Sciences, Conference Co-Chair, March 2019.
  • “Tips from the Trenches: Demystifying Today’s Top Legal and Finance Challenges for Biotech Start-Ups,” panelist, LabCentral, February 2019.
  • “Principles of Drug Discovery and Development,” presenter, Harvard University, February 2019.
  • “Translational Biomedical Engineering,” presenter, Harvard Medical School, Boston, February 2019.
  • “The Best Things in Life are NOT Free: Assessing the Intricacies of Deal-Related IP Valuation,” moderator, ACI Life Sciences IP Due Diligence Summit, November 2018.
  • “The Current Situation of Life Sciences Patent Eligibility in Canada, US and Europe,” webinar panelist, Intellectual Property Institute of America, October 2018.
  • “Double Patenting and Divisional Practice after Gilead,” moderator, BIO IPCC Fall Conference, November 2017.

Education & Credentials

Harvard Law School
JD, 1998, cum laude
University of California at San Francisco
PhD, 1993
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Harvard University
MA, 1988, magna cum laude
Chemistry
Harvard University
AB, 1988, magna cum laude
Chemistry

Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP

The challenges facing today’s companies, from concept to commercialization, are greater than ever. Our interdisciplinary Life Sciences and Technology teams help solve these problems by working collaboratively across practice areas, with a team of patent, corporate, healthcare and litigation lawyers, a very deep bench of scientists with PhDs and other advanced degrees from leading academic institutions, and former patent strategists from some of the world’s most recognized companies who are experts in major scientific or technical fields. This approach allows us to provide counsel that is both strategic and practical, always focused on achieving our clients’ business goals during each phase of development.

Biotech, pharma, and medical device companies, public and private technology companies at all stages of growth, and their venture capital, private equity and public market financing partners choose Choate as a partner to help them turn their most promising and disruptive innovations into successful businesses.