Julie Richardson Named Triangle Business Journal Women in Business Award Winner
Myers Bigel patent attorney Julie Richardson has been named a winner of the Triangle Business Journal Women in Business Award.
She was honored along with 24 other Research Triangle business leaders and SAS’s Ann Goodnight, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award, at an awards luncheon March 30 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center in Durham.
“Julie is an essential part of our legal team and we are thrilled that the Triangle business community is recognizing her talent, expertise and leadership,” Managing Partner David Purks said.
Richardson’s client focus at Myers Bigel is on patent prosecution in the electro-mechanical arts with an emphasis on biomedical devices. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University and her Juris Doctor Degree, with honors, from Duke University. Prior to her legal career, Julie gained more than eight years experience in engineering and manufacturing with General Electric, including GE Medical Systems and GE Aircraft Engines.
“I am honored to have been nominated by Myers Bigel for this award and to have been selected as a recipient in the dynamic, diverse and growing Research Triangle Park region that supports many deserving women business leaders. I want to thank my colleagues at Myers Bigel for the firm structure, training, guidance and support over the years, without which this award would not have been possible,” Richardson said.
She is part of the six-person Mechanical practice group, joining David Beatty, Needham Boddie, Jim Cannon, Laura Kelley, and Stephen Petroski representing clients in a broad range of technologies such as automotive, connectors, manufacturing devices and methods, semiconductor fabrication and biomedical devices. The team works seamlessly with fellow attorneys in the firm’s Biotechnology, Chemical, Electronics/Computer, Litigation and Trademark practice groups.
Richardson has expertise in patent licensing, patent opinion work, and trademarks and has also prepared and prosecuted hundreds of patents directed to various technologies including MRI-based inventions. Richardson is past Chair of the Intellectual Property (“IP”) Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® (2013-2015), Super Lawyers (2006) and Business North Carolina’s Legal Elite (2004, 2006-2011, 2014-2015).
She has over 20 years experience in establishing an IP estate for numerous biomedical startups in the region including LipoScience (acquired by LabCorp Holdings in 2014), Oriel Therapeutics, Inc. (acquired by Sandoz, Inc. in 2011), Argos Therapeutics, Inc. and Polarean, Inc.
Earlier this year, she accepted an invitation to serve on the Raleigh Local Advisory Council of the statewide nonprofit Legal Aid of North Carolina, an organization providing free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove barriers to economic opportunity. Richardson had previously clerked for Legal Aid while at the Duke University School of Law, and was one of the originators for Project Together, a pro bono program that matches lawyers to domestic violence victims for 50B hearings to obtain protective orders. Project Together lawyers are volunteers that come from a variety of legal backgrounds, not requiring family law expertise.
The Triangle Business Journal Women in Business Awards program identifies dynamic and outstanding leaders with established track records of significant accomplishments in business and/or community service. The 2015 winners come from a crop of entries judged by a mixture of Triangle business leaders and the newspaper’s staffers.
The publication is the latest industry organization to recognize members of the largest independent patent law firm in North Carolina. Several Myers Bigel attorneys have recently been named to the 2015 edition of Best Lawyers® and the 21st Edition of The Best Lawyers in America, while others continue to be active in speaking at events and leading CLE presentations.