Elizabeth M. Richards > Latham & Watkins LLP > Houston, United States > Lawyer Profile
Latham & Watkins LLP Offices

811 MAIN STREET, SUITE 3700
HOUSTON, TX 77002
TEXAS
United States
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Elizabeth M. Richards

Position
Elizabeth Richards advises clients navigating the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) oversight and regulation of the life sciences industry, including digital health, medical device, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, dietary supplement, food, cosmetic, and other life sciences industry clients.
Elizabeth counsels clients on regulatory, compliance, transactional, and legislative matters involving the FDA. Her practice spans all stages of the product life cycle, including with respect to:
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- Pre-market product development and launch strategy
- Clinical trials and pre-clinical testing
- Product submissions
- Product marketing, promotion, and labeling
- Good manufacturing practice
- Agency inspections and recalls
- Enforcement actions
In addition to her focus on regulatory counseling and advocacy, Elizabeth frequently drafts and negotiates contracts with vendors of life sciences clients, including clinical trial sites, contract research organizations, contract manufacturers and laboratories, and suppliers. She also regularly advises on regulatory matters in connection with capital markets, financing, and M&A transactions involving FDA-regulated entities.
She currently serves as a member of the FDLI’s Medical Products Committee and served as an inaugural member of the FDLI Digital Health Committee, and has previously served on its Publications and Academic Programs Committee. Elizabeth is also a member of Latham’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force and the firm’s Digital Health Steering Committee, bringing together subject matter experts tracking developments in the rapidly evolving digital health space, and she participates as a member of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association’s FDA Working Group. Elizabeth also previously served as an Advisory Board member of the Children’s Law Center.
Lawyer Rankings
United States > Healthcare > Life sciences
(Next Generation Partners)Latham & Watkins LLP works with a number of major players in the life sciences industry on transactions in the sector, handling both M&A and IPOs, in addition to assisting with business combinations and licensing deals. In addition to transactional expertise, the practice is adept at overseeing patent protection strategies and litigation for pharma, biotech and medical devices companies. In Washington DC, John Manthei
chairs the firm’s global life sciences group, specializing in the FDA regulatory process alongside vice chair Ben Haas, while also advising on the marketing of drugs and representing clients in Administrative Procedures Act litigation. Further litigation expertise comes in the shape of New York’s Arlene Chow and Chicago-based Terra Reynolds, with the former handling patent disputes concerning small molecule drugs and biologics, and the latter focusing on white collar defence and government investigations. In Silicon Valley, Shayne Kennedy is noted for his capital markets practice, advising on public and private securities offerings by life sciences clients. Boston’s Julie Scallen oversees both M&A and private equity transactions, and Elizabeth Richards, William McConagha and Jennifer Bragg, based in the capital, assist with FDA and DEA product testing and approval procedures. Judith Hasko has left the firm.
Lawyer Rankings
- Life sciences United States > Healthcare
- Next Generation Partners United States > Healthcare > Life sciences
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Insurance > Advice to policyholders
- Finance > Capital markets: debt offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: equity offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: global offerings
- Finance > Capital markets: high-yield debt offerings
- Antitrust > Cartel
- International trade and national security > CFIUS
- Antitrust > Civil litigation/class actions: defense
- Finance > Commercial lending
- Intellectual property > Copyright
- Media, technology and telecoms > Cyber law (including data privacy and data protection)
- Labor and employment > Employee benefits, executive compensation and retirement plans: transactional
- Energy > Energy transactions: electric power
- Energy > Energy transactions: oil and gas
- Environment > Environment: litigation
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: transactional
- Finance > Fintech
- Real estate > Land use/zoning
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Healthcare > Life sciences
- Dispute resolution > M&A litigation: defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > M&A: large deals ($1bn+)
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: litigation
- Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional
- Antitrust > Merger control
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Environment > Environment: regulatory
- Intellectual property > Patents: licensing
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (full coverage)
- Intellectual property > Patents: litigation (International Trade Commission)
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Private equity buyouts: large deals ($500m+)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: consumer products (including tobacco)
- Dispute resolution > Product liability, mass tort and class action - defense: toxic tort
- Finance > Project finance
- Real estate > Real estate
- Real estate > Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
- Energy > Renewable/alternative power
- Finance > Restructuring (including bankruptcy): corporate
- Dispute resolution > Securities litigation: defense
- Industry focus > Sport
- Finance > Structured finance: derivatives and structured products
- Media, technology and telecoms > Technology transactions
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: regulatory
- Media, technology and telecoms > Telecoms and broadcast: transactions
- Intellectual property > Trade secrets (litigation and non-contentious matters)
- Tax > US taxes: contentious
- Tax > US taxes: non-contentious
Firm Rankings
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Corporate governance
- International trade and national security > Customs, export controls and economic sanctions
- Energy > Energy regulation: electric power
- Energy > Energy regulation: oil and gas
- Dispute resolution > General commercial disputes
- Government > Government contracts
- Insurance > Insurance: non-contentious
- Dispute resolution > International litigation
- Investment fund formation and management > Private equity funds (including venture capital)
- Healthcare > Service providers
- Finance > Structured finance: securitization
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Venture capital and emerging companies
- Dispute resolution > Financial services litigation
- Healthcare > Health insurers
- Dispute resolution > Leading trial lawyers
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- Intellectual property > Trademarks: litigation
- Finance > Financial services regulation
- Dispute resolution > Appellate: courts of appeals / Appellate: supreme courts (states and federal)
- Dispute resolution > Corporate investigations and white-collar criminal defense
- M&A/corporate and commercial > Shareholder activism