Patrice P. Jean is Chair of Hughes Hubbard’s Life Sciences group. She has over two decades of experience counseling leading and startup pharmaceutical, chemical and biotechnology companies in all areas of intellectual property law. In particular, she is adept at asserting and defending the patent rights underlying the core technologies and innovations of leading high-tech and pharmaceutical companies. She also defends her clients against claims asserted by competitors, sparing them billions of dollars in damages. Additionally, her patent trademark prosecution practice strengthens her litigation abilities, allowing her to argue the validity of her clients’ IP while challenging the validity of third-party registrations. Patrice regularly calls on her technical background in biology to offer her clients an in-depth understanding of the complex science relative to each prosecution and litigation matter that she handles. This vantage point leaves her well-positioned to understand the complex science behind her clients’ innovations as well as the broader market implications. Prior to law school, Patrice earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology. She conducted research in various areas of biology and biochemistry including virology, oncology, kidney disease, X-ray crystallography and narcotics addiction. Her doctoral thesis is titled “Tissue, Strain, Gender and Age Variation in the Induction of p53 Activated Transcripts in Response to Cellular Stress.”