DEPARTMENT PROFILE

Headrick Rizik Álvarez & Fernández

Intellectual Property

2 ranked lawyers

Band 1

Dominican Republic

Latin America 2022 View ranking table

chambers review

department information

Ranked Lawyers

Chambers Review

Chambers Research is conducted by 200 Research Analysts, across 200 jurisdictions and provides nearly 6,000 rankings tables. Annually we collect hundreds of thousands of responses from clients, the majority via in-depth interview. Learn more about our methodology.

What the team is known for

Full-service powerhouse with a market-leading IP practice adept at handling complex trade mark and patent disputes before administrative bodies and civil courts. Also assists clients with trade marks and patent prosecution. Advice extends to copyright matters and health permits. Client portfolio includes major names from the pharmaceutical, food and drink and consumer goods industries. Team complements the firm's strong corporate practice, handling all IP aspects involved in M&A transactions. Gunk, Bigwise, and Transparency International are new client wins.

Strengths

An interviewee praises the team's commercial awareness, stating: "The team becomes a part of our company. We hold strategic meetings on what to do with our brand, and they assess them in terms of future growth, whilst also suggesting long-term legal strategies."

Another market commentator goes on to add: "The team's work is impeccable. They don't leave any loose ends or have any room for mistakes. One of their biggest strengths is their vast knowledge of the IP and corporate arenas."

Work highlights

Headrick Rizik Alvarez & Fernández represented Grupo PuntoCana in a series of international trade mark prosecutions across 20 different jurisdictions, including the Dominican Republic.

Notable practitioners

Department co-head and dynamic partner Lilly Acevedo rises in the rankings this year after receiving strong plaudits from clients and peers alike. An impressed client reports: "She has a commercial mindset, is proactive when seeking solutions and makes us feel protected when representing our interests in negotiations."

Practice co-head and front-running partner Mary Fernández Rodríguez continues to elicit ample praise from clients for her extensive experience in the IP arena. One interviewee reports: "She is highly respected and known for her expertise and dynamism," adding that "she is well regarded by her clients for her dedication to all of her cases, and is the epitome of a multi-tasker." Another observer appreciates that "nobody knows more about intellectual property law in the Dominican Republic than her."

Department Information

This content is provided by Headrick Rizik Álvarez & Fernández.

Overview

Headrick’s Intellectual Property/Life Sciences & Healthcare Department is the largest for a full practice firm and the most wide-reaching when compared with other Firms in the Dominican market. Headrick´s team has 2 partners, 6 associates and 2 paralegals that work full time in IP, life sciences and healthcare services, including regulatory work performed for the food and beverage sector.

The Department is recognized for being well diversified and able to handle high profile cases, by developing strategies for clients who seek advice on TM prosecution, patents, copyright, and litigation. Presently, our TM portfolio surpasses the 8,500 count. This IP practice walks alongside with the regulatory work for food and beverage, and drugs companies, and the work demanded by healthcare providers, the Government itself and multi-national pharmaceuticals, that request advise for better procurement practices, distribution contracts, transactions and all other aspects that could impact access to medications and medical supplies.

Headrick works for international clients such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Novartis, Merck, Molson Coors, The Hershey Company, Caesars Entertainment, Hilton Worldwide, Arla Foods, Grünenthal, Chinoin, and key local players such as Grupo Puntacana, S.A., Mejía Arcalá (local distributor for Milex) and Grupo SID (Induveca, Mercasid, Agua Crystal).