Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP grew its Life Sciences & Medical Technology Practice with the additions of Shareholder Robert D. Ward and Of Counsel Albert K. Heng. They will once again partner with Christopher C. Bolten, who also recently joined the firm’s San Diego office from Eversheds Sutherland.
Ward counsels technology companies and venture capital firms on intellectual property-related matters, with a focus on companies in the medical device and digital health industries. He develops global patent portfolios for both established and emerging companies, including many that utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Ward’s engineering and intellectual property (IP) background informs his transactional practice advising tech companies on, for example, IP licensing, development, consulting, and manufacturing agreements as well as acquisitions and spinouts.
“When clients look to Greenberg Traurig to guide them from discovery through commercialization and product marketing, our Patent & Innovation Strategies Practice is an integral stop on the path to their success,” firm Senior Vice President G. Michelle Ferreira said. “We can provide our technology clients access to varied skills and experiences with our vast global platform, supplying a one-stop shop for many of their legal needs.”
Heng provides strategic advice and management for clients’ global IP portfolios, preparing patent applications and conducting invalidity, patentability, freedom-to-operate, and scope-of-coverage analyses for complex due diligences. He handles matters for individual inventors and companies of all sizes including startups, seed funds and incubators, and Fortune 500 companies that are all predominantly in the MedTech space.
“Robert and Albert’s MedTech practices complement our firm’s current pharmaceutical and biotechnology practice so well. With this expansion of our multidisciplinary life science patent prosecution practice on the West Coast, our clients will be able to rely on a well-credentialed slate of legal practitioners for advice on their varied IP matters,” Shareholder David A. Gay, Ph.D. said.
Ward and Heng are actively involved in pro bono work with a focus on preparing and filing asylum applications. Ward received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School and holds an M.S. in mechanical engineering from Loyola Marymount University and a B.S. in the same subject from the University of Southern California. Heng received his J.D., with honors, from Boston University School of Law and a B.S. in aerospace engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles.