Emily Whelan > WilmerHale > Boston, United States > Lawyer Profile
WilmerHale Offices
60 STATE STREET
BOSTON, MA 02109
MASSACHUSETTS
United States
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Emily Whelan
Work Department
Intellectual Property Counseling and Prosecution; Intellectual Property Litigation; Life Sciences; Post-Grant Proceedings; Trials
Position
Partner
Chair, Intellectual Property Department
Career
Ms. Whelan’s practice includes Patent Office practice, litigation, and counseling in the field of life sciences, including chemistry, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Her experience includes patent strategy across the spectrum from pre-litigation investigation and litigation, to Patent Office post-grant proceedings including inter partes review and reexamination, to analysis of the competitive landscape and IP due diligence, as well as obtaining patent protection and portfolio management.
Practice highlights include being part of teams involved in:
- Representing innovator pharmaceutical companies in ANDA, biosimilars, and other patent litigation involving pharmaceutical and biotechnology patents;
- Inter partes review of patents in pharmaceutical and semiconductor fields;
- Patent prosecution and reexamination of patents in chemical technologies, including new battery materials;
- IP due diligence and analysis of competitor patents in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and food industries; and
- Managing patent portfolios including small molecules, pharmaceutical formulations, and treatment methods for pharmaceutical companies.
Professional Activities
Ms. Whelan is a member of the Board of Governors of the Boston Patent Law Association. Ms. Whelan is also a member of the PTAB Bar Association and the American Intellectual Property Law Association.
Memberships
Bar Admissions:
Massachusetts
Other Organizations:
American Bar Association
Boston Bar Association
Massachusetts Bar Association
Education
Harvard Law School , J.D. cum laude (2000)
Cornell University , A.B. summa cum laude (1997)
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
The intellectual property practice at WilmerHale acts for domestic and international clients, frequently providing innovative solutions spanning trademark, copyright, patent drafting and prosecution, post-grant proceedings, and strategic IP portfolio development. Attorneys in the team have tech transfer and licensing, litigation, and due diligence experience, and also benefit from expertise in the team beyond the United States to other jurisdictions, frequently working with lawyers in the United Kingdom, Germany, and China. The strength of the team is demonstrated through their impressive client list, boasting the likes of Twitter, Sony, Meta Platforms, Hulu, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Lisa Pirozzolo and Mark Selwyn co-chair the firm’s IP litigation practice, operating out of Boston and Palo Alto respectively, alongside Amy Wigmore, based in Washington DC, where Brittany Amadi is another key lawyer. Emily Whelan in Boston is the chair of the general IP department, focusing on litigation related to chemistry, biotech, and pharma. Boston-based William Lee remains a key figure in the team, with Palo Alto’s Sonal Mehta has vast experience in high-stakes patent and tech disputes.
Lawyer Rankings
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Antitrust > Cartel
- International Trade > CFIUS
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Industry focus > Education
- Industry focus > Native American law
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
Firm Rankings
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: middle-market ($500m-999m)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Outsourcing
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Government > State attorneys general
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- Government > Government contracts
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- International Trade > Trade remedies and trade policy
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- International Trade > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Finance > Fintech
- Government > Government relations
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Real estate > Real estate
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- Environment > Environment: litigation