SAN FRANCISCO (December 6) – Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton announced today that Patent Litigation Partner April Abele Isaacson was recently named the Managing Partner for the firm's San Francisco office. 

“It is an honor to lead the incredible team of talented attorneys and professional staff in our San Francisco office,” said April Abele Isaacson. “I look forward to seeking opportunities that strategically grow our office and enhance the long history of providing exceptional client service. We have a strong foundation to build upon and I look forward to working closely with my colleagues in the Bay Area and with leadership across the firm.”  

Ms. Isaacson has more than 25 years of experience as a trial lawyer and is a registered United States patent attorney. Her practice focuses on pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical, medical device and medical technology patent litigation, particularly Hatch-Waxman cases on behalf of drug innovators. Ms. Isaacson also served as in-house counsel at a public specialty pharmaceutical company where she provided broad intellectual property and regulatory strategic counseling during all stages of product development and managed numerous Hatch-Waxman litigations. 

“Early in her career, April was with our predecessor firm, Townsend, Townsend & Crew. She rejoined Kilpatrick Townsend last year and has since been an integral part of our San Francisco office,” said Roger Wylie, Kilpatrick Townsend Managing Partner. “April will do an outstanding job leading our second largest office. I also want to thank Greg Gilchrist for his extraordinary service as the San Francisco Office Managing Partner."

Ms. Isaacson began her legal career as a U.S. Navy JAG Corps officer, where she won several high-profile jury cases and earned multiple achievement medals and letters of commendation for superior service and leadership. Her service in the Navy gave her the opportunity to serve her country while gaining world-class training and experience. Ms. Isaacson lists several highlights of her Navy career, including as Officer-in-Charge of the Trial Service Office Southeast and her selection as lead prosecutor in charge of all investigations and prosecutions for the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In the last year, Ms. Isaacson founded and helped launch Kilpatrick Townsend’s successful MEMO: Medicine & Molecules Biopharma Industry Blog and began co-hosting the firm’s first cutting-edge podcast, Sidebars by Kilpatrick Townsend, featuring today's leading women and other underrepresented groups in the patent bar. Each of the episodes is a candid conversation between groundbreaking legal practitioners about their career paths, the obstacles they overcame in reaching success, and the steps we as a profession must still take to close the gender and diversity gap in intellectual property law and the patent bar. 

###