Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

More informationMore information

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP assists clients on matters across the healthcare and life sciences spectrum, such as IP disputes, regulation and compliance issues, white-collar crime investigations, clinical trials, privacy issues and financings. Managing partner Laura Orlando leads the practice alongside assisting clients in IP-related healthcare and life sciences matters, with a particular focus on patent litigation in the pharmaceutical, biotech and chemical sectors. Within the team, Sara Balice assists clients in matters concerning patents, trademarks, copyright, design, unfair competition and trade secrets. In February 2023, Augusto Santoro joined the firm from Simmons & Simmons.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Really business oriented and proactive.’

  • ‘This is a firm that really does have outstanding commercial knowledge of the industry.'

  • 'They are genuine business partners with a very innovative approach to advising clients.’

  • ‘Laura Orlando is a guru in the pharmaceutical field. She is the go to person for all companies in this space and you can clearly tell it.'

  • 'It's an outstanding team of female lawyers!’

Key clients

  • Abbott
  • Abbvie
  • Achilles Vaccines
  • Biogen
  • Eli Lilly
  • Janssen
  • Lionhealth Srl
  • Lundbeck
  • Millennium Pharmaceuticals (Takeda)
  • Novaliq
  • Pharma Prime
  • Philips S.p.A.
  • Roche
  • Sanofi
  • The US Government
  • Veterna
  • Zambon

Lawyers

Leading associates
Rising stars with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Sara Balice
Sara Balice is an Of Counsel in the IP disputes team at Herbert Smith Freehills, with over 15 years of experience. She specializes in IP law, advising both local and international clients on contentious and non-contentious matters. Her expertise covers patents, trademarks, design, copyright, trade secrets, and unfair competition. Sara is particularly focused on the life sciences industry, where she is involved in complex multijurisdictional patent and SPC litigations, often representing originator companies against generics. Sara also has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating IP license agreements, clinical trial agreements, and material transfer agreements, and she advises on product advertising in the healthcare and life sciences sectors. She is known for her high technical knowledge and has built strong relationships with clients due to her legal acumen and litigation skills. Recognized by international and Italian legal publications, Sara's practice spans multiple industries, including healthcare, life sciences, consumer goods, fashion, TMT, industrial, and automotive.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Laura Orlando

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Laura Orlando

Other key lawyers

Sara Balice