The global law firm Jones Day has announced the arrival of John Wehrli, a veteran IP transaction lawyer, to the Firm’s global Intellectual Property Practice in San Diego. 　
“John is a highly sought after life sciences IP transactional lawyer in California,” said Anthony M. Insogna, Leader of Jones Day’s Global Intellectual Property Practice. “His 30 years of working within the life sciences industry, deep experience with pharma and biotech patent issues, and experience structuring high-value strategic transactions will further enhance our capabilities and commitment to the life sciences industry in California and globally.”

Mr. Wehrli focuses extensively on representing biotechnology, pharmaceutical, renewables and medical device companies. He is sought by clients for his ability to negotiate and structure complex strategic transactions involving life sciences IP, including strategic alliances, joint ventures, spin-outs and strategic M&A transactions. He has also acted as a strategic advisor and lead IP counsel, often in connection with business, scientific, and intellectual property due diligence for private and public financings and for mergers and acquisitions of life science companies.

“John is one of the most engaged and respected members of San Diego’s life sciences community,” said Karen Hewitt, Partner-in-Charge of Jones Day’s San Diego office. “His experiences in this market—as a lawyer, as a research scientist, and as a business executive—are great assets that we can leverage on behalf of clients here in San Diego, and others served by Jones Day offices around the world.”

Mr. Wehrli’s background combines legal, business, and scientific experience. In addition to his career in private practice, he served as chief legal officer at two public biotechnology companies, and worked in patent prosecution and licensing at a U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory. His business experience includes co-founding and serving as an executive of several biotechnology companies. Mr. Wehrli’s scientific background includes a decade as a research chemist, computational systems chemist, and software engineer for a global top-15 pharmaceutical company, as well as hands-on technical expertise in physical organic, analytical, and protein chemistry, dosage form pharmacokinetics, and drug delivery. He also has substantial therapeutic knowledge in immunology, infectious diseases, cardiovascular disease and oncology.

“With one of the leading IP practices in the state of California and all around the world, John’s arrival reflects our commitment to adding talent throughout the state and across all of our practices,” said Chris Lovrien, Partner-in-Charge of the California Region for Jones Day. “Our clients will benefit immensely from his three decades of experience in life sciences.”

Jones Day is a global law firm with 44 offices in major centers of business and finance throughout the world. Its unique governance system fosters an unparalleled level of integration and contributes to its perennial ranking as among the best in the world in client service. Jones Day provides significant legal representation for almost half of the Fortune 500, Fortune Global 500, and FT Global 500. In California, Jones Day has 300 lawyers in five offices (San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, Irvine, and San Diego).