Katherine A. ("Kassie") Helm, Ph.D., is a first-chair counsel who represents pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in patent and patent-adjacent litigation matters. She leverages her neuroscience doctorate alongside her legal acumen to develop and execute winning positions for life sciences companies in all phases of district court litigation, before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the US Patent and Trademark Office, Federal Circuit and other circuit court appeals. She has prevailed in high-stakes cases representing life sciences companies as both plaintiff and defendant in patent infringement actions and as both petitioner and patent owner in Post Grant Reviews (PGRs) and Inter Partes Reviews (IPRs) at the PTAB, as well as in interferences. Patent-adjacent matters involving IP assets are also a significant part of her practice, which includes domestic and international arbitrations, antitrust litigations and related complex commercial disputes in federal and state courts with breach of contract claims, state law claims and licensing disputes with partners, joint ventures and drug development collaborations. Dr. Helm is fluent in French and also regularly plays a leading role in coordinated global proceedings in the European national courts as well as in European Patent Office oppositions. Dr. Helm and her team have also been successful in utilizing U.S. discovery mechanisms under 28 USC § 1782 to assist with foreign patent litigations and EPO proceedings.Dr. Helm is an authoritative, sought-after speaker on IP-related panels in the U.S. and Europe. She has been routinely recognized by Who's Who Legal, National Law Journal, The Legal 500, Profiles in Diversity Journal, Euromoney, IAM Patent 1000, LMG Life Sciences, Super Lawyers, and Managing Intellectual Property. Dr. Helm’s patent litigation success was profiled as one of the four contributing matters to Dechert’s recognition as a Law360 2020 Life Sciences Practice Group of the Year. She has authored over 100 articles, book chapters and commentary on legal and scientific topics, including as a columnist for Law.com, the ALM media group and Thompson Reuters. Dr. Helm is a founder of the New York chapter of ChIPs (Chiefs of Intellectual Property), and Lead Counsel Summit, two organizations dedicated to advancing women in law. She is the former chair of the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s veterans committee and the 2021 winner of Dechert’s Samuel E. Klein Pro Bono Awards for her work on behalf of military veterans.