Mika Mayer

Mika Reiner Mayer is one of the most sought-after lawyers in patent prosecution and strategic portfolio management for life sciences startups and established companies alike. Widely known for her strategic insights and deep understanding of business, she is the go-to diligence counsel in Silicon Valley for life science companies and their investors.

Due Diligence

Mika has extensive experience with investor-side and company-side patent due diligence. She has led hundreds of patent due diligence reviews, ranging in size from small seed investments to multibillion-dollar acquisitions in the medical device, biotechnology, drug delivery, and pharmaceutical fields. On the company-side, her clients include Allogene Therapeutics, W.L. Gore & Associates, and Intersect ENT. On the investor-side, she has represented clients such as Vivo Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, GE Ventures, Vertex Healthcare Ventures and Canaan Partners. Clients rely on her ability to translate IP risks into business risks with ease, and to provide strategic guidance. As Intellectual Asset Management's Guide to the Leading Patent Professionals notes, "Mika Mayer is a touchstone IP due diligence lawyer for life sciences companies and their investors." In the latest edition of Chambers, Mika is ranked in the highest tier (Band 1) for intellectual property and patent prosecution. Clients praise Mika for her “quality counsel, specifically her advice on the treatment of IP assets in high-stakes transactions.”

Strategic Patent Prosecution and Portfolio Management

Because of her extensive due diligence experience, Mika is very effective in anticipating and mitigating risks for her clients. She has served as lead patent prosecution counsel to companies such as Gilead Sciences, Myovant Sciences, Allogene Therapeutics, Intersect ENT, Intuity Medical, Freedom Innovations, Sight Sciences and Gauss Surgical. Her strategic planning and name recognition help guide her clients to commercial success with many of them going public or being acquired. As one of Mika's competitors said to LMG Life Sciences magazine, "Mika's prosecution and advice counseling is some of the best I have ever seen." Mika is further noted in Chambers for her “high-level strategic and creative thinking” in patent portfolio management.

Post-Grant Review Proceedings and Patent Litigation

Whether representing patent owners or petitioners, plaintiffs or defendants, Mika is engaged for her technical and legal knowledge in post-grant review proceedings and patent litigation. In both post-grant review proceedings and in patent litigation, she works synergistically with litigation counsel to find efficient, creative and business-oriented solutions for her clients.

Professional and Community Work

Mika is a founding member of Chief, a network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders. She is also a member of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, a global honorary society of attorneys, judges, law faculty and legal scholars. In addition, Mika serves as a board member of the Women in Law Empowerment Forum, and a member of Girls @ The Tech Leadership Council. She was previously a board member of the Equal Rights Association and the Center for WorkLife Law. The California Diversity Council has named her one of the Most Powerful and Influential Women in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mika guest lectures for Stanford's Biodesign Innovation Class and contributed to a chapter in its publication, Biodesign: The Process of Innovating Medical Technologies. During the past year, she has spoken at several high profile events on topics including leadership, patent strategy, and inclusion and diversity. She has also been profiled by the Huffington Post in its “Women in Business” series.