About Jessie
Jessie Richardson combines scientific training and legal practice in ways that surface often in life sciences transactions and patent work. She earned a B.A. in biology from the University of Chicago, a J.D. from the University of California, Davis School of Law, and a Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of California, Los Angeles. The mix of bench science and law shapes how she approaches intellectual property and corporate matters.
Her early years moved between research and the legal world. In 2001 she worked as a researcher and legal research assistant at UCLA. She spent time in the UC Davis Office of Innovation Access in 2008, where technology transfer exposed her to licensing and commercialization issues. That same year she also served in the chambers of Judge Dale S. Fischer on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. She joined Jones Day as an associate in 2009 and later worked as an associate at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in 2012. While at that stage of her career she took on volunteer leadership as Job Fair Chair and Treasurer for SFIPLA.
Richardson moved in-house in the 2010s. In 2014 she became senior patent counsel at Genentech, a role that involved managing patent portfolios and counseling on prosecution and enforcement strategies. She transitioned to PACT Pharma as vice president, legal in 2019, where she took on broader corporate and transactional responsibilities. In 2021 she joined Federation Bio as chief legal officer, acting chief operating officer, and corporate secretary, roles that combined governance, operations, and legal oversight for a clinical-stage company.
Her practice draws on patent law, licensing, and corporate governance, especially in the life sciences sector. She has handled patent counseling and prosecution, licensing deals, and the legal aspects of company operations. The Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics gives her a technical fluency that helps when patent claims touch complex biology. Her in-house roles expanded into cross-functional work, including compliance, corporate filings, and operational decision-making.
She currently practices at Federation Bio. Her current practice centers on intellectual property strategy, corporate governance, and operational legal matters at the company.
