Life Sciences & Pharmaceutical Sector (International & Cross-Border) | Global

Covington & Burling is a leading law firm globally for regulatory advice with a consistent focus on regulatory issues across all of its offices. The firm assists clients around the world with matters related to international trade, public policy and global compliance issues such as data protection, antitrust and competition regulation. The firm also has notable industry focus across its global platform, targeting pharmaceuticals and healthcare products, food, technology and media.

The firm's offices across the USA play a significant role in international work. Washington, DC hosts the largest proportion of the firm's resources and acts as a key hub for the firm's global practice, particularly in relation to investigations, international trade and compliance. The firm's US-based teams are renowned for their work advising large pharma companies on the development and commercialisation of products worldwide, with cross-border issues involving the USA and China being a particular theme of the firm's recent activity.

Latham & Watkins is recognised as an excellent option for clients that require counsel on highly complex and multifaceted cross-border matters. The firm provides an impressive, well-integrated team across its global offices and is praised for consistently excelling across multiple practice areas and sectors, while delivering an internationally oriented approach and comprehensive global support. The firm's efficient coordination across its international network is key to its appeal among high-profile multinational corporations, banks and investment funds.

With impressive cross-practice strength, Latham & Watkins is typically instructed on large transactional matters relating to the life sciences sector. The firm acts for numerous global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, assisting with IP and commercial agreements as part of large global mergers in the industry. The firm's strong client base among private equity funds also ensures it has the experience to handle all manner of investments and buyouts in the industry.

Goodwin is an impressive firm in the international arena, which has bolstered its excellent reputation in the USA by expanding its global platform. Primarily highlighted for its appeal to growth companies and private equity investors with international businesses, the firm's attractive combination of well-regarded experience in cross-border corporate M&A and buyout transactions is coupled with its strong industry focus and expertise related to the life sciences and new technology space.

The firm's appeal in cross-border work revolves around its expertise and experience in helping start-up companies and venture capital funds expand businesses looking to grow internationally or distribute new products and processes into foreign markets. The firm's recent work has included a mixture of corporate transactions, IP matters and regulatory advice for US companies and funds involved in overseas expansion. The team has also represented growth companies based in the EU and Asia in capital-raising exercises and helping them to list on US stock exchanges.

Morrison Foerster particularly stands out in the market for its grasp of cross-border work between the US and Asian markets, which is driven by the firm's long-standing investment into its technology sector expertise. The firm is an appealing choice for large corporations and established players invested in areas such as electronics and biopharma and has a particularly strong track record in handling inbound and outbound transactions involving the USA, Japan and China, frequently representing clients on both sides of the Pacific.

The team's international work in the life sciences sector covers a broad range of work. The firm's strong IP practice is frequently called upon by large pharma companies to handle cross-border patent litigation across the EU and Asia and is also noted for work in emerging economies in Africa and Latin America. The firm has also advised on cross-border issues involving data privacy in the sector, commercial agreements related to product licensing and clinical trials and healthcare technology.

Ropes & Gray provides an integrated international offering with a strong global focus on financial services, life sciences and pharmaceuticals. The firm's US offices act as its primary driving force for international work, with Boston and New York frequently leading cross-border work, typically coordinating global transactions for major private equity funds and corporations. Key areas of geographic strength include Asian markets, and Ropes & Gray is often considered a popular choice by US and Asian clients for investments from the USA into China and Japan, where the firm can also offer locally based US law-qualified experts. The US team also works in a seamless manner with the firm's London office, particularly for the funds and corporate side of the practice.

Included with the firm's strong global practice is a reputable healthcare and life sciences group. The firm is frequently engaged in transactional work involving those industries, acting for a mixture of company clients and investment funds. Recent work includes several complex cross-border matters, including acquisitions, joint ventures and investigation work for biotech and pharma companies which have involved the USA, the EU and Asian jurisdictions.

Sidley Austin is frequently sought out by international clients for its global-sector expertise, with the firm's focus built around strong relationships with clients in financial service, energy, life sciences and biotechnology. While the firm's US base remains the key central hub of its global operations, Sidley Austin also attracts ample praise for its ability to join up experts across its platform throughout Europe and Asia, with offices in London, Singapore and China among others also playing a vital role in the firm's international appeal. The firm has an impressive ability to handle global transactions, disputes and investigations, enabling it to provide a comprehensive service on sophisticated matters for clients in its key industry groups.

The firm has a strong focus on life sciences and pharmaceuticals, which remains at the heart of its global strategy. It is particularly marked out for its regulatory strength and also offers impressive capabilities across corporate, privacy and data security, product liability and healthcare. The firm is especially renowned as a strong choice for work involving cross-border pharmaceutical businesses with a presence in Asia.

Highly rated for its international work across a broad range of regulated industries, Arnold & Porter frequently acts as global counsel to a host of leading multinational companies in the life sciences sector. The firm is particularly highlighted for its high-end expertise in regulatory issues and product liability cases, coordinating advice on the global development and distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical devices across the USA, the EU and Asia. 

The team in Washington, DC is particularly renowned as a key hub in the firm's global operation and combines impressive industry experience with well-regarded practices handling antitrust and IP matters as well as regulatory investigations and litigation. The team works in particularly close coordination with the firm's UK and China offices to form an industry-focused, cross-continental unit.

Hogan Lovells is an internationally oriented firm which combines a well-established presence in the USA and an impressive network of offices in other key jurisdictions throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Africa. The firm's US presence remains an important contributor to its worldwide success and provides a strong transatlantic platform through frequent collaboration with the firm's London office. Washington, DC serves as a key location for the firm's international trade and arbitration practice, while the firm's US-based lawyers also play a significant role in coordinating cross-border advice on regulated industries and M&A transactions.

Life sciences is a key industry for the firm's global platform, and clients are often attracted to working with the firm due to its capacity to provide a high level of specialism towards the sector across numerous countries. The firm's typical clients include companies developing and distributing medical devices and pharmaceutical giants, with the firm acting on IP matters, product liability, regulatory issues and a range of cross-border litigation. Due to the strength of the firm's European offices, issues connecting the USA and Europe are common in the team's work.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius offers its clients expertise across a broad range of practice areas from strategically-situated offices in the USA, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. It is sought out to advise on cross-border M&A and financing, international arbitration and regulatory investigations work by a clientele that includes multinational corporations and private equity funds. The US offices are particularly well placed to advise on matters concerning Latin American jurisdictions, and its regulatory expertise makes it a popular choice for clients in the energy, life sciences and technology sectors.

The firm's US life sciences team is built around a strong practice in California which is frequently involved in work that sees it joining forces with the firm's overseas offices in Europe and Asia, particularly Singapore. Much of the firm's international work in the space revolves around cross-border collaboration on clinical trials and related transactions and funding. The firm also offers credible expertise in IP and product liability to support life sciences clients with international operations.