Kaye Scholer LLP - The Who's Who Legal 100 2012

What is the Who's Who Legal 100?

The life sciences practice is highly praised and represents clients in litigation, government investigations, merger clearances and enforcement matters both at the state and federal level. The practice covers patent matters, product liability, trademarks, transactions and internal investigations.

In California, Pamela Yates concentrates on product liability work such as the defence of mass tort claims involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer product recalls and toxic torts. She counts Pzifer and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as clients. She enjoys listings in both the life sciences and product liability chapters, as does Steven Glickstein in New York, a product liability litigation and counselling lawyer. He has over 35 years’ experience assisting clients on mass tort claims in a range of medical product and device disputes. He has been involved in seminal matters such as Pick v American Medical Systems, and the Pfizer Viagra litigation. Former Assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York William Hoffman is experienced in acting for both the government and private clients on a wide range of product liability matters.

Also featuring in the life sciences chapter is Sylvia Becker who litigates on IP issues for major clients such as Novartis and Aventis. Co-chair of the IP practice, Leora Ben-Ami appears in the life sciences and patents chapters for her work in biotechnology, medical and mechanical devices, pharma, and electronics-related litigation. Daniel DiNapoli represents research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, such as Pfizer and Chiron, in all aspects of their complex patent litigation matters. He is listed in both life sciences and patents chapters, as is the “impressive” Gerald Sobel.

Co-chair of the product liability litigation group, Lori Leskin handles litigation strategy for multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers and developers. She features in the life sciences chapter alongside Jay Mayesh, Bert Slonim and Allen Waxman, all of whom specialise in medical and pharmaceutical litigation within the life sciences field.

Sheila Boston and David Klingsberg are both listed in the product liability chapter as general litigators with an emphasis on medical class actions. Boston is also the national coordinating counsel for expert witnesses. Klingsberg, special counsel to the firm is a former Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York.

On the internet and e-commerce side, William Sloan Coats and William Tanenbaum represent the firm. Coats is the managing partner of the Palo Alto office and has earned solid a reputation for his litigation in IP matters, particularly concerning software and computer technology companies. He counts Toshiba, Aztech Systems and HTC among his clients. In New York, Tanenbaum is the chair of the technology, IP and outsourcing group and leads the Greentech and sustainability group. He successfully represented CLS Bank in a dispute on the patentability of abstract ideas involving business and financial concepts implemented on a computer.

The private funds chapter contains three lawyers from Kaye Scholer. In London, Simon Firth establishes and structures partnership vehicles for funds and investment management companies. His clients range from fund managers to promoters. Over in Frankfurt, Thomas Jesch focuses on investment funds, related tax issues, private equity, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. In California and New York, Timothy Spangler is chair of the investment funds group and advises on fund formation, structuring and regulatory issues.

Notable lawyers in other sections include former DLA Piper lawyer, Diane Holt Frankle, a renowned and respected M&A and corporate governance adviser, with an emphasis on disclosure, IPOs and internal investigations. She is a big player at the California bar, while Joel Greenberg in New York is hailed as an “excellent” cross-border M&A lawyer who co-chairs the Canada group.

In the aviation chapter, Joseph Malinowski is “one of the top lawyers in the field” and is highly experienced in aviation finance matters. He has worked on major deals involving clients such as Boeing and Ansett Worldwide. In the management labour and employment chapter, chair of the firm’s group Jay Waks advises on dispute resolution within the employment field and employer and employee benefits.