Cecilia G. Liefveld

With a degree in Biological Sciences, I combine my knowledge of science with law in my practice that focuses on patent litigation.

Cecilia Liefveld focuses her practice on patent litigation, where she draws upon her experience practicing law and her background in biology to support clients’ needs. She has been counsel of record for trade secret, copyright and breach of contract litigation.

Prior to joining Foley Hoag, Cecilia worked as an associate at a major NY-based firm, where she serviced clients across their legal needs from litigation matters to corporate transactions. As a result, beyond the litigation experience she gained, she also worked on SPAC and IPO transactions and compliance with SEC reporting rules.

In addition to law firm experience, Cecilia has interned with Hon. Judge Jimmie Reyna for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Cecilia also spent time as a student research lab assistant exploring the roles of proteins in DNA repression while attending Cornell University.

Related Industries

Life Sciences

Related Practices

Education

Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 2019
Cornell University, B.A., cum laude 2014

Bar and Court Admissions

BAR ADMISSIONS

New York
Texas

COURT ADMISSIONS

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Counsel of record for trade secret, copyright and breach of contract litigation.

Experience

Representing La Jolla Pharma in an Eastern District of Virginia action pursuing a rarely used procedure under 35 U.S.C. § 145 to challenge the USPTO’s rejection of two patent applications covering the dosage form used for Giapreza®, La Jolla’s flagship drug that treats distributive shock.
Achieved complete victory for Alexion Pharmaceuticals in a District of Massachusetts case arising from failed negotiations over a potential business relationship to develop C3 complement therapeutics. Won summary judgment on Amyndas Pharmaceuticals’ trade secrets, unfair competition and related claims after which Amyndas dismissed with prejudice its sole remaining claim for breach of contract.
Represented Becton, Dickinson and Co. (“BD”), enforcing multiple patents covering polymer dye reagents and their use in flow cytometry against competitor Beckman Coulter, Inc. in the Southern District of California.
Represented Dana-Farber in a case against Bristol-Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceuticals, asserting claims for unjust enrichment and unfair competition for depriving Dana-Farber of its co-ownership rights under eight patents directed to cancer immunotherapy. On the eve of trial, in the face of Dana-Farber’s claim for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, Defendants settled, making a substantial lump sum payment to Dana-Farber and agreeing to make potential additional payments, contingent on future events

Publications

Blog Post 02/09/2024

Upcycling at the Super Bowl

Other Publications

Kristin Murphy, Natasha Shylo, Katherine Alexander, Angela Churchill, Cecilia Copperman, & María García-García, The Transcriptional Repressive Activity of KRAB Zinc Finger Proteins Does Not Correlate with Their Ability to Recruit TRIM28, 11 Plos One (2016).
Cecilia Copperman, Dean Thongkham, & Sharon F. Terry, Are They Really Incidental After all?, 16 Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers 833 (2012).
Cecilia Copperman, & Sharon F. Terry, Beyond Genetic Tests and Biomarkers: What About Therapeutic Misconception?, 16 Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers 999 (2012).