Joanna is a patent litigation attorney and senior counsel in Merchant’s New York office with almost 20 years of experience in patent litigation. She has had a strong focus on Hatch-Waxman practice and has represented both brand and generic pharmaceutical companies in high-stakes Hatch-Waxman litigation involving a wide range of therapeutic products and drug formulations.
Joanna guides clients through all facets of litigation, from managing early discovery disputes, to depositions of scientific researchers and corporate leaders, to pre-trial advice and advocacy during injunction hearings and at trial. She has supported her clients' litigations through all stages with extensive experience overseeing fact and expert discovery, taking and defending depositions of fact and expert witnesses, meticulously crafting contentions relating to patent validity and infringement, expert reports, discovery and dispositive motions. She has appeared in federal courts throughout the United States advocating for her clients' positions. Beyond litigation, she is an experienced strategic advisor, helping clients navigate the pharmaceutical patent landscape and achieve settlements with clarity and confidence.
Joanna’s path to law began in science and grew through public service. As a student, she studied biology and chemistry and conducted research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on spatial learning and memory. After graduating, she joined the office of U.S. Senator John F. Kerry, where she worked on business and economic development initiatives. She later earned her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and began her legal career as a federal law clerk for Judge Lawrence Kahn in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.
Joanna’s time in law school was marked by several notable achievements, including membership in the Order of the Coif, the Jacob Burns Medal for Best Moot Court Oralist, and work with the Innocence Project, using DNA evidence to help exonerate those who had been wrongly convicted. Her current practice continues to reflect the same curiosity that first drew her to the intersection of science and law - turning complex ideas into practical, meaningful results.