AGG Significantly Expands its Intellectual Property and FDA Expertise

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Arnall Golden Gregory LLP (AGG) is pleased to announce the addition of a seven-attorney intellectual property and food and drug administration (FDA) group to its Washington, D.C. office.

Partners Kevin M. Bell, Richard J. Oparil, Scott A.M. Chambers and Of Counsel B. Dell Chism, Caroline C. Maxwell, and Carolina M. Wirth have joined along with Robert Durkin, former Deputy Director of the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs (ODSP) in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN).

The immediate addition of these seven attorneys continues the ongoing, strategic expansion of AGG’s Washington, D.C. office.

The new attorney team is well-versed in patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret law, and regularly represents clients before federal district courts across the country, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB). The group includes attorneys with advanced science degrees who are registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and who held various positions inside the agency.

In the regulatory arena, the new attorney team will assist clients with issues before the FDA, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Justice, the Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“The acquisition of this highly accomplished team was a unique opportunity for our firm,” said Jonathan Eady, AGG’s managing partner. “With their experience and combined skill set, AGG is now well-positioned to provide clients with a wide-range of services involving intellectual property and FDA law, including patent litigation, regulatory actions and related federal investigations.”

“We are excited to join AGG and its talented group of attorneys and professionals,” said Kevin Bell. “The firm has considerable depth in several practice areas that are key to servicing clients in today’s tough regulatory environment. We are also extremely honored to have Bob join us after 18 years of federal service. He complements our practice well, especially on regulatory enforcement issues, and knows the internal workings at FDA at a very crucial time for several industries.”

Robert Durkin worked opposite many law firms that were representing clients in the natural products arena while he was helping to lead ODSP at FDA.

“From my vantage point, this group of attorneys is second to none in guiding clients through myriad regulatory issues involving natural products,” Durkin said. “The opportunity to bring my extensive understanding of the regulations impacting the natural products industry to a firm like AGG, together with the talent of this team, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

The group practices in several technology sectors, with particular expertise in the dietary supplement industry. The firm is integrating this new knowledge base with the experience of existing AGG attorneys to provide clients with specialized industry practice teams that will focus on IP issues, food and natural product regulation, and the future of Cannabidiol-based products (CBD). The addition of this group positions AGG as a global source for these highly sought-after legal services.

“AGG is the right firm, at just the right time, for the establishment of these industry-focused practices,” said Bell. “AGG’s existing government investigations team is second-to-none, and this new team’s ability to wield our own knowledge and experience related to highly complex matters in the intellectual property and regulatory compliance arenas is a great combination with AGG’s already formidable attorneys and capabilities.”

AGG’s New Roster of DC-Based Attorneys

Kevin M. Bell, Partner, Practice Lead
Kevin Bell litigates complex intellectual property disputes before federal courts and agencies, the U.S. International Trade Commission and various alternative dispute resolution forums. He represents clients in the dietary supplement, biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device, software, semi-conductor and computer science-related industries.

Richard J. Oparil, Partner
Richard Oparil has more than 30 years of experience as a first-chair litigator in federal courts and administrative agencies.His practice is focused on intellectual property litigation, regulatory enforcement and public policy matters for life sciences companies, including those in the dietary supplements, biotechnology, medical device, pharmaceuticals and related sectors.

Scott A.M. Chambers, Partner
Scott Chambers, Ph.D., is a former Assistant Solicitor at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). He has extensive experience in patent law including infringement and validity issues, patent prosecution, patent term extensions and patent counseling. He is a skilled litigator who represents clients in federal courts and before the PTO.

Robert Durkin, Of Counsel
Bob Durkin is the former acting Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs (ODSP) in the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. While at FDA, in addition to his leadership role in ODSP, he also worked in the areas of emergency response, food defense, and pharmacy compounding. In his new role working with AGG clients, Durkin will draw from the extensive experience he gained at the FDA, where, among other things, he was responsible for performing policy analysis and evaluations related to all aspects of the agency’s dietary supplement programs.

B. Dell Chism, Of Counsel
Dell Chism has extensive technical knowledge in complex matters involving biotechnology intellectual property. His experience involves the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications in the chemical, biochemical, pharmaceutical, dietary supplement and biotechnology fields. He also prepares and researches freedom-to-operate, validity, infringement and patentability opinions for Fortune 500 companies.

Caroline C. Maxwell, Of Counsel
Caroline Maxwell’s practice is focused on complex commercial and intellectual property litigation, including patent, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, trade secrets cases.

Carolina M. Wirth, Of Counsel
Carolina Wirth counsels clients in FDA regulatory compliance related to food, dietary supplements, biologics, drugs, cosmetics, and medical device products. Leveraging her prior positions at the FDA, and as an in-house lawyer at a biotechnology company, Carolina works with domestic and international clients to prepare FDA submissions, and assist on compliance issues associated with labeling, packaging, and advertising of foods, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, cosmetics, and dietary supplements.

ABOUT ARNALL GOLDEN GREGORY LLP

Arnall Golden Gregory (AGG) is an Am Law 200 law firm with offices in Atlanta and Washington, DC. Our client-service model is rooted in taking a “business sensibility” approach of fully understanding how our clients’ legal matters fit into their overall business objectives. We provide industry knowledge, attention to detail, transparency and value to help businesses and individuals achieve their definition of success. Our transaction, litigation and regulatory counselors serve clients in healthcare, real estate, litigation and other dispute resolution, business transactions, fintech, global commerce, government investigations and logistics and transportation. With our rich experience and know-how, we don’t ask “if,” we figure out “how.” Visit us at www.agg.com.