Leanne M. Rakers

Clients around the world appreciate Leanne’s uniquely creative skills in identifying patentable technologies and drafting “outside the box” patent applications, particularly at a time when courts are limiting patent eligibility. Her clients say that she consistently delivers poignant legal counsel, workable solutions, and excellent work product delivered in a timely manner. In addition to obtaining patents, her practice includes IP portfolio strategy and management, freedom-to-practice opinions, and due-diligence assessments. Leanne also provides FDA regulatory counsel including patent-drug FDA advice, Patent Term Extension applications, and Orange Book assessments.

Leanne’s technical prowess is a rare blend that ranges from chemistry to biotechnology. As a leader in the firm’s Chemical and BioPharma Intellectual Property practice groups, her clients include large and small pharmaceutical, life science, chemical, biotechnology, biofuels, cosmetics, and food processing companies. More specifically, clients come to Leanne to protect a wide-range of innovations, including small molecule chemistry, biologics, anti-aging technology and formulations, therapeutic methods and formulations, organometallic chemistry, food science technologies, and recombinant DNA technologies. She vigorously works to obtain patents for clients and has won on appeal many times at the USPTO.

Leanne currently serves as the Chair of Harness IP’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, where she works to empower diverse attorneys and staff within the firm and attract a new generation of diverse attorneys to the field of IP law.