Erin Sommers

Erin M. Sommers, Ph.D., helps clients protect their valuable IP rights at every stage, from strategic counseling and procuring patents before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to representing clients in contentious proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and U.S. federal courts.

Erin focuses her practice on Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) litigation, post-grant proceedings, and counseling, primarily in the chemical and pharmaceutical areas. Her litigation experience ranges from pre-litigation analyses through trial at the district court and on to appeals before the Federal Circuit.

Erin also routinely represents both patentees and petitioners in post-grant proceedings before the PTAB. In her prosecution practice, she assists clients with global management of their patent portfolios and has successfully argued on their behalf before the PTAB in ex parte appeals.

Before joining Finnegan, Erin studied organic chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, where she developed organic synthetic methods for preparing substituted alkenes and allenes. Her background includes research in the areas of catalysis, organo-metallic synthesis, biochemistry, and cellular and molecular physiology.

Education :

• Georgetown University Law Center J.D., 2011
• University of Pennsylvania Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, 2006
• Wake Forest University B.S., Chemistry, magna cum laude, 2001

Admissions :

• District of Columbia
• Massachusetts
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
• Supreme Court of the United States
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Professional Activities :

• American Chemical Society
• Association for Women in Science