Christopher Hazuka > Latham & Watkins LLP > Silicon Valley, United States > Lawyer Profile
Latham & Watkins LLP Offices

140 SCOTT DRIVE
MENLO PARK
CA 94025
CALIFORNIA
United States
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Christopher Hazuka

Position
Dr. Christopher (Chris) Hazuka advises life sciences companies on the agreements and transactions that are essential to their success at all stages of their life cycle, drawing on his experience as a scientist and former in-house counsel.
Chris, based in both San Diego and the Bay Area, brings clients a scientist’s sensibility, a passion for creating synergies to bring innovation to market, and a pragmatic understanding of the full complement of business and legal issues clients face. In particular, he helps established and emerging life sciences companies by providing problem-solving advice to structure, negotiate, and execute a myriad of transactions, such as:
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- Complex collaborations
- Intellectual property and technology licenses
- Relationships to assist in developing drug candidates and innovative technologies
- Manufacturing and quality agreements
- Commercial agreements, including profit sharing and co-promotion agreements
- University licenses
- Clinical trial agreements
In the context of strategic transactions, he advises on:
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- Due diligence and disclosure matters
- Venture financings, public offerings, and M&A transactions
Chris earned a PhD at Stanford University in the Neurosciences Program for his work in Dr. Richard Scheller’s laboratory on the molecular mechanisms of neurotransmission. He later served as in-house counsel for Orexigen Therapeutics, an emerging company that successfully developed and commercialized a drug to treat obesity. At the La Jolla, California-based company, Chris assisted with challenging issues across the company’s full range of legal matters.
He also clerked for Judge Jeremy Fogel of the United States District Court of Northern California, assisting on several high-stakes technology patent litigation matters.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
Latham & Watkins LLP is well-known in the market for handling complex IP transactions, including cross-licensing, collaboration, and joint agreements, as well as due diligence relating to the licensing of IP. The team chiefly handles licenses relating to the life sciences and technology sectors, fielding dedicated teams maintaining close relationships with clients in these spaces. Key members of the team are Christopher Hazuka in San Diego, who advises life sciences companies on agreements and transactions, Aaron Gardner in New York, who focuses on the biotech and nutrition spaces, and Jengeun Jekkie Kim in the Bay Area, who handles licensing and commercial transactions in connection with digital health products and medical devices. Judith Hasko has left the firm.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Insurance > Advice to policyholders
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Finance > Fintech
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Finance > Project finance
- Real estate > Real estate
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Industry focus > Sport
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Energy > Energy regulation: oil and gas
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Government > Government contracts
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Healthcare > Health insurers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism