Jessamyn Berniker’s practice focuses on patent litigation, although she has significant litigation experience in criminal, copyright, antitrust, legal malpractice, and general civil matters as well.  Ms. Berniker has handled patent litigation matters in a wide variety of industries, including the pharmaceutical, biotechnological, electronic, digital media, and medical device industries.  She has represented patentees as well as alleged infringers.

A former clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Ms. Berniker argued her first patent case there in 2003.  Since then, she has appeared regularly in district court, has examined fact and expert witnesses in trials around the country, has taken numerous depositions, and has prepared several summary judgment and appellate briefs.  She has served on the faculty of the ALI-ABA course Trial of a Patent Case.  LMG Life Sciences 2012 has recognized Ms. Berniker as a “Life Science Star” in the area of patent litigation.

Recently, Ms. Berniker helped obtain the complete dismissal of a class action matter against Genentech, second-chaired a patent trial, and successfully argued claim construction on behalf of Alcon, the global pharmaceutical company which specializes in eye care products. She also helped MedImmune both win summary judgment invalidating a key biotechnology patent assigned to PDL BioPharma and obtain a $92.5 million settlement from the patentee. 

Born in Los Angeles and raised in Washington State, Ms. Berniker received her B.S. in chemistry, magna cum laude, from Pacific Lutheran University in 1998, and her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School.  During college and prior to law school she spent several months conducting organic chemistry research at Argonne National Laboratory just outside of Chicago.  After law school, Ms. Berniker was a law clerk to Judge Arthur J. Gajarsa of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  She joined Williams & Connolly LLP in 2002.  Ms. Berniker speaks Hebrew fluently and is proficient in French.