Life Sciences Leader and Nationally Recognized Attorney Jon Singer Joins Fish & Richardson’s San Diego Office

Fish & Richardson has announced that Jonathan E. Singer, a life sciences industry leader and acclaimed trial attorney, has relocated to the firm’s Southern California office based in San Diego. Singer, who is the head of the firm’s life sciences litigation practice, will expand Fish’s extensive capabilities in California.

A principal with the firm, Singer joined Fish & Richardson in 1997 and was previously based in the firm’s Twin Cities office.

Whether as lead trial counsel for his clients or as part of a trial or litigation team, Singer handles all aspects of litigation. Singer has led numerous jury and bench trials, as well as conducting briefing and arguments before the Courts of Appeals.

Singer is well-known for representing branded pharmaceutical companies in large, complex Hatch-Waxman ANDA litigation, where billions of dollars are routinely at stake. Life sciences companies also turn to him for cases involving novel legal questions that make new law. One of Singer’s many high profile cases was representing client Mayo Clinic in its groundbreaking, eight-year patent litigation with Prometheus Laboratories that culminated with a unanimous win at the U.S. Supreme Court. The Mayo case is considered one of the most significant patent cases of the last 50 years.

Over the past 10 years, Singer has also won multiple cases for long-time client Allergan Inc. Singer helps Allergan to protect its portfolio of patented drugs against generic manufacturers. Many of these cases involve precedential decisions that have shaped how Hatch-Waxman cases are litigated.

The Southern California office of Fish has represented clients in multiple high stakes life science matters since the office was established in 1995. Most recently a San Diego-based litigation team, led by Singer and Juanita Brooks, obtained a reversal of a $200 million patent verdict leveled against client Gilead. In June, a California federal judge found that opposing party Merck had forfeited its right to assert its Hepatitis C drug patents against Gilead because of “unclean hands” due to the “dishonest and duplicitous” actions of Merck’s legal counsel.

“The addition of Jon to our Southern California office further cements Fish’s position as a top advisor and counsel to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences companies in the region and throughout the state,” says Roger Denning, Office Managing Principal of Fish’s Southern California office. “Having had the opportunity to work with Jon for many years, I know first-hand what a tremendous lawyer he is and have witnessed his commitment to his clients and to furthering our profession.”