Lawyers

Laurie Axford is a partner in the firm's Intellectual Property practice group. Her practice focuses on all phases of patent and trademark prosecution, including forming initial patent and trademark strategies for new technologies and managing complex existing portfolios. She has written and prosecuted patents covering inventions relating to organic chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology, nanotechnology, synthetic polymers, textiles, small molecules, assay devices, business methods, and drug delivery systems. Her industry focus includes a large cross-section of life science-related fields including diagnostics, therapeutics, medical devices and consumer goods.

Additionally, Ms. Axford assists clients with highly complex patent and trademark issues including global licensing, litigation support, opinion work, post-prosecution proceedings (with a particular focus on reexaminations and international oppositions), business-related due diligence customs enforcement, and other advanced-level matters for clients in the institutional, corporate and financial sectors.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Ms. Axford had a successful career as a scientist in one of the first biotechnology companies in San Diego. She entered law school in 1989 and following her graduation in 1992, she became in-house patent counsel to a biotechnology company. She entered private practice in 1995.

In 2006, Ms. Axford was named by The Daily Transcript as one of "The Transcript's Ten" Top Attorneys in San Diego. Active in the community, she is a member of a number of organizations, both legal and scientific. She is the former director of the San Diego Nucleic Acid Conference, and has served on numerous organizing committees for other scientific and legal conferences. She is also past president of the San Diego Intellectual Property Law Association.

Admissions

California
United States Patent and Trademark Office 

Memberships

American Intellectual Property Law Association
American Association for Clinical Chemistry
Licensing Executives Society
San Diego Intellectual Property Law Association
Association of Women in Science