Overview
Comfortable in the lab and on stage, Jessamyn Berniker found her calling litigating patent and license disputes in front of judges, juries, and arbitrators around the country. Over the past two decades, she has represented clients in the pharma/bio, electronic, mechanical, digital media, and medical device industries. Jessamyn regularly serves as lead counsel to companies such as AstraZeneca, Novartis, Ionis, Alnylam, and Danaher. She serves as Co-Chair of the firm’s Patent Litigation practice. Jessamyn has argued before the Federal Circuit, has participated in 13 district court trials and arbitration hearings, and appears regularly before the PTAB.
Chambers describes Jessamyn as a “brilliant advocate.” Jessamyn has been recognized in the 2018-2026 editions of IAM Patent 1000, the World’s Leading Patent Practitioners, and described as “ideally suited to the patent litigation co-chair role she assumed in January 2020, thanks to her instinct for leadership” and “inspired and motivated, her colleagues pull out all the stops.” Managing Intellectual Property has recognized her as an “IP Star” since 2018 and LMG Life Sciences recognized her as a “Life Science Star” in the area of patent litigation since 2012. Jessamyn previously served as the Co-Chair of the Pharma Litigation subcommittee for the ABA Intellectual Property Law Patent Litigation Committee.
After law school, Jessamyn was a law clerk to Judge Arthur J. Gajarsa of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She joined Williams & Connolly in 2002 and is a member of the firm’s Budget Committee.
Jessamyn earned her B.S. in chemistry, magna cum laude, from Pacific Lutheran University in 1998, and her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. Prior to law school, she spent several months conducting organic chemistry research at Argonne National Laboratory. Jessamyn is proficient in French.
A long-time singer, she has performed with Hugh Jackman and Demi Lovato.