Experienced in every aspect of patent licensing and portfolio management matters, Kirkland & Ellis LLP draws on both its attorney experience and practice before the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office to represent both patent licensors and licensees in agreements, including in the context of patent litigation settlements. Adept in a broad range of technical disciplines, clients are from life science, engineering, tech and environmental industries. Chicago-based lawyer Seth Traxler  is active in the tech and IP transactions practice, often serving as lead counsel to negotiate complex and strategic deals involving tech assets. New York’s David MacDonald is well vested in advising on IP transactions for pharma and biotech companies. In Chicago, Russell Levine, specializes in dispute resolution, with a pipeline in patent infringement matters involving tech transfer and patent license agreements. New York’s Shellie Freedman leverages her background in life sciences to advise on complex transactions involving tech and IP. Laila Pastzi and Lisa Samenfeld  departed in 2024.
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Profile

Position

David MacDonald focuses on intellectual property, pharmaceutical and technology transactions, including joint ventures, consortiums and strategic alliances. He regularly advises pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients on transactional matters, including licensing, marketing and co-promotion, supply and distribution, and other collaboration arrangements. He advises global technology companies on patent strategies, patent and software licensing (including settlement of patent litigation), and monetization (assertion, securitizations, trusts and investment funds). David also advises clients on the intellectual property issues that arise in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, recapitalizations and bankruptcies. Since 2010, David has been included in Intellectual Asset Management magazine’s list of the world’s top 250 patent and technology licensing lawyers for his “cutting-edge expertise on how patent law issues complicate licensing deals” and his “impressive profile in IT outsourcing.” David has also been included in the IAM Patent 1000 since 2012, which describes him as “one of the pharmaceutical industry’s go-to deal brokers” and says he “manifests a rare faculty for facilitating complex collaborations and transactions between life sciences entities.” David was also highlighted in The Legal 500 United States 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 guides to leading U.S. law firms for business. David is the former Chair of the Transactions Involving IP Rights Committee of the ABA and named one of Managing Intellectual Property magazine’s “IP Stars,” 2020–2025.

Memberships
American Bar Association (Former Chair of the Transactions Involving IP Rights Committee). International Association of Outsourcing Professionals.
Education

Rutgers School of Law at Newark, J.D., High Honors, 1997; Harvard University, B.A., Classics, 1991.

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Key clients

  • Moderna Eli Lilly & Company Palo Alto Networks Open Invention Network Purple Innovation LLC TP-Link Systems Inc. Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Work highlights

Advised Palo Alto Networks, global cybersecurity company, on a broad-reaching partnership with IBM that will deliver AI-powered security outcomes to customers
Advised TP-Link Systems Inc. in a settlement of the company’s patent and contract litigation with Netgear Inc.
Advised Eli Lilly on its licensing agreement with OpenAI to leverage generative AI in developing new treatments to combat antimicrobial resistance.