Jason Leonard is a prominent intellectual property trial lawyer and litigator based in New York City. He brings a unique combination of deep scientific expertise and extensive courtroom experience to high-stakes life sciences and patent disputes. During his nearly 20 years of practice, he has represented numerous companies looking to resolve disputes though both litigation and arbitration. Jason’s legal experience spans all stages of dispute resolution, including pre-suit investigations, multiple-defendant litigations, and appeals. In developing trial and litigation strategies, he uses his passion for science and mastery of pharmaceutical research and development to simplify the intricacies of drug development into concise and compelling narratives for trial.
Jason spends a substantial portion of his time representing innovator clients as plaintiffs in Hatch-Waxman Act litigation. His legal experience covers a wide array of pharmaceutical technologies, including small molecule drugs and peptides, cancer therapies, oral contraceptives, steroids, antifungal agents, anticholinergics, β3-agonists, pharmacologic stress agents, and sleep medications. He has successfully defended patents covering new chemical compounds, as well as complex inventions covering formulations, polymorphs, and methods of treatment. Clients often turn to him to address difficult infringement issues, particularly when design-around defenses have been asserted and extensive testing evidence will be required for trial. He has also represented clients in inter-partes review and interference proceedings in the US Patent and Trademark office.
Jason also advises clients on intellectual property due diligence and licensing matters, including strategic company and product acquisitions. As part of this process, he leverages his extensive litigation and industry experience to help guide clients through these transactions.
Before attending law school, Jason spent six years as a pharmaceutical chemist at an innovator pharmaceutical company where he specialized in analytical and solid-state chemistry. His scientific research resulted in more than a dozen patents and patent applications, including patents covering the cholesterol medication atorvastatin. His industry experience has become indispensable to clients as they often request his thorough analysis of the technology as part of their litigation and trial strategies.
