Our People
Kathryn R. Doyle, Ph.D., J.D. - Partner and Chair
Patrick J. Kelly, Ph.D., J.D. - Partner
Justin C. Allen, M.S., J.D. - Partner
Dennis Haas, Ph.D., J.D. - Partner
Quang D. Nguyen, Ph.D., J.D. - Partner
Joshua M. Warminsky, B. Eng., J.D. - Associate
Domingos J. Silva, Ph.D. - Patent Agent
Alia Orbin, Ph.D. - Patent Agent
Pallab Singh, Ph.D. - Scientific Advisor
Debbie Coccia - Office Manager
Darryl Pratcher - Senior Paralegal
Lisa Sapovits - Paralegal
Rebekah Sigler - Docketing Specialist
Kathryn R. Doyle, Ph.D., J.D.
Partner and Chair
Kathryn has extensive experience in the Life Sciences industry as an academic scientist, a patent agent and a lawyer. Kathryn began her career as a virologist and cell and molecular biologist, and made the switch to patent law over 20 years ago. She worked her way through evening law school as a patent agent and very quickly developed a loyal client following in both the university and small and large biotech company sectors. Prior to forming Riverside Law, Kathryn was head of the Life Sciences Team and co-chair of the women's committee at Drinker Biddle & Reath.
Kathryn is well versed in all aspects of life sciences patent law, including all biotechnology-related areas in medicine, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, genomics, devices and tools. Her clients include biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies as well as venture capitalists and universities. She is experienced in patent procurement, post-grant procedures, due diligence, infringement and invalidity opinions, licensing, as well as strategic counseling and patent portfolio management. She also provides assistance in patent litigation. Kathryn has been an invited speaker at many national and international conferences and is a core faculty member of the BIO Boot Camp since its inception in 2005. The BIO Boot Camp is a forum devoted to helping entrepreneurs acquire the expertise to launch biotech companies.
Prior to her legal career, Kathryn completed postdoctoral studies at Yale University and the University of California, Irvine. She was a member of the faculty at both California State University Fullerton and the Medical College of Pennsylvania. She taught virology and cell and molecular biology to undergraduate, graduate and medical students. She was an adjunct professor at Temple Law School teaching biotechnology law. Kathryn earned a bachelor's degree in 1974 in microbiology and a master's degree in virology in 1976, both from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. She earned her Ph.D. in 1979 from Colorado State University. She received her J.D. from Temple University School of Law in 1996. Kathryn is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, the U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Chambers USA 2010 ranked Kathryn in Intellectual Property Law, lauding her as "a clear thinker and an excellent attorney."
Kathryn currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Nathaniel Adamczyk Foundation and the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia
KATHRYN DOYLE, Partner/Chair
215-268-3872 ext. 108
Patrick J. Kelly, Ph.D., J.D.
Partner
Pat's experience in the Life Sciences industry began as an academic scientist culminating in the successful completion of his Ph.D. in molecular biology at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Pat began his career in patent law in 1991 when he joined an intellectual property boutique working as a patent agent by day while attending law school in the evening.
Following law school graduation, Pat developed a robust practice advising pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and scientific instrumentation companies and venture capitalists in all facets of patent law. His extensive experience includes working as on-site intellectual property counsel to pharmaceutical and scientific instrumentation companies; conducting validity, due diligence, and freedom-to-operate studies; formulating and maintaining biotech IP estates; and preparing and prosecuting patent applications related to the Life Sciences industry. Pat also represents clients in several of the biotech incubators in Pennsylvania, as well as academic clients. He has a deep understanding of numerous scientific disciplines, including biochemistry, immunology, virology, proteomics, genomics, transgenic animals, drug delivery systems, and the preparation of proteins by recombinant DNA methods.
Pat's legal experience includes serving as acting director of intellectual property for a major pharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for a wide variety of patent matters, including review of invention disclosures, due diligence studies, freedom-to-operate studies, review of licensing agreements, and related patent matters. He also held the role of on-site patent counsel for the life sciences and chemical analysis division of a leading manufacturer of scientific instruments and analysis equipment.
Pat loves to teach and currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University, where he frequently lectures on issues related to Life Sciences patent law. Pat is also a frequent speaker at Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business on patent related matters.
Pat earned a bachelor's degree in Biology from Georgetown University in 1984 and his masters degree in applied molecular biology from the University of Maryland in1986. Pat obtained his Ph.D., in molecular biology in 1991 from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his law degree (cum laude) from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law in 1997.
Pat is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Pat is member of the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Association, the Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association and is a former faculty member of the continuing legal education program on biotechnology and the courts for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute.
PATRICK J. KELLY, Partner
215-268-3893
Justin C. Allen, M.S., J.D.
Partner
Justin has extensive experience in the medical devices industry. While academically trained as a molecular biologist, his legal training as a patent attorney occurred in the mechanical and electrical arts, including software systems and its integration with hardware. This combination of knowledge and experience allowed Justin to develop a unique skill set that is perfectly situated for handling the diverse range and crossover of technologies found throughout the medical device industry.
Justin focuses his practice on strategic counseling, opinions and licensing, and the preparation and prosecution of patents, trademarks and copyrights. He also has experience in the litigation of intellectual property matters. Justin further assists clients in a variety of other contractual matters, including licensing and procuring investment.
Justin is a part-time instructor at the Bryn Athyn College in Bryn Athyn, Pa., and has often been a featured speaker on intellectual property issues for other academic institutions and business groups. Justin earned a bachelor's degree in 1996 from the University of Arizona and a master's degree in 2000 from MCP Hahnemann School of Medicine, both in the field of molecular and cell biology. After working several years as a research scientist for E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont), he entered law school and received his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law in 2005. Justin is admitted to practice in New Jersey and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
JUSTIN ALLEN, Partner
215-268-3881 ext. 101
Dennis Haas, Ph.D., J.D.
Partner
Dennis has broad experience in the Life Sciences industry. Before joining Riverside Law, Dennis worked as an associate in a large Philadelphia-based law firm and as patent counsel in the biopharmaceuticals group of a large multinational pharmaceutical company. Prior to earning his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2007, Dennis completed doctoral studies in molecular microbiology and immunology at the University of Southern California in 2003. His doctoral research was focused on the genetic modification of hematopoietic progenitor cells and the expression of transgenes during hematopoiesis. He is well versed in life sciences patent law, including biopharmaceuticals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, genomics, and medical devices. He is experienced in patent preparation and prosecution, post-grant procedure, due diligence, preparing infringement, non-infringement and invalidity opinions, as well as strategic counseling and patent portfolio management. Prior to earning his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2007, Dennis completed doctoral studies at the University of Southern California in 2003. Dennis earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from East Stroudsburg University in 1996. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
DENNIS HAAS, Partner
215-268-3904 ext. 112
Quang D. Nguyen, Ph.D., J.D.
Partner
Quang began practicing patent law in 2003 as a patent agent, focusing mainly on the Life Sciences. Quang received his bachelor’s degree in biology from West Chester University in 1997 and his Ph.D. in molecular biology and genetics from Temple University School of Medicine in 2003. While at Temple, Quang investigated the role of cellular signaling during embryonic stem cell differentiation and the role of JNK scaffolding proteins in tethering signal transduction proteins to cytoskeletal proteins and transcription factors in the laboratory of Dr. Premkumar Reddy. Quang’s industry experience includes several years as a molecular biologist at DuPont where he generated bacterial and yeast knockout strains, and as a research assistant at a biotech company where he developed hybridoma cell lines.
Quang has many years of experience as a patent agent and focuses on the procurement of patents for a wide variety of clients. Quang also has particular experience in inventorship/ownership disputes having assisted in a major stem cell litigation for many years. Quang completed law school at the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2011. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
QUANG D. NGUYEN, Partner
215-268-3885 ext. 106
Joshua M. Warminsky, B. Eng., J.D.
Associate
Josh has broad experience in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. After obtaining his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering with a minor in biomedical engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in 1995, Josh worked as a bench chemist and process engineer in the specialty chemical industry. Later, Josh was a process chemist and project manager in the small molecule pharmaceutical industry. Josh’s technical expertise includes organic and inorganic chemistry, chemical process equipment and instrumentation, and material science.
Prior to joining Riverside, Josh worked for GlaxoSmithKline while attending law school as an evening student. Josh graduated cum laude from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2011, where he was a member of the Temple Law Review. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
JOSHUA M. WARMINSKY, Associate
215-268-3770 ext. 116
Domingos J. Silva, Ph.D.
Patent Agent
Domingos is a registered patent agent with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, chemical, material science and biochemistry areas. Domingos graduated from Pontifícia Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1988 and a B.S. in Industrial Chemistry in 1989. He earned a doctorate in Organic Chemistry from Princeton University in 1994, studying the roles that carbohydrates play in DNA binding and recognition by glycoconjugates. Domingos was a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT, studying the enzymology of ribonucleotide reductases and their inactivation by mechanism-based inhibitors. He has 12 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, first as a senior research scientist at Incara Research Labs in New Jersey, developing solid-phase synthesis of novel carbohydrate-based antibacterial agents, and then as a senior scientist and manager at GlaxoSmithKline, developing novel drugs in the antibacterial and oncology areas.
As a patent agent, Domingos has experience in drafting and prosecuting applications, counseling clients, performing prior art searches, and drafting patentability and freedom-to-operate opinions. He is currently an evening student at the Temple University Beasley School of Law, with an expected graduation date of Spring 2013. He is fluent in Portuguese and has a good understanding of Spanish.
DOMINGOS J. SILVA, Patent Agent
215-268-3886 ext. 105
Alia Orbin, Ph.D.
Patent Agent
Alia is a registered patent agent with more than nine years of industrial and academic research experience in organic chemistry. She received her bachelor's degree in biology from Yale University in 2002 and her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012. Alia's graduate research focused on the total synthesis of natural products, with efforts directed toward the synthesis of two biologically active molecules. Before graduate school, Alia worked as a research associate for a small molecule drug discovery company. As a member of the medicinal chemistry research group, she experienced the drug discovery process first-hand and was an inventor on several patents and patent applications.
ALIA ORBIN, Patent Agent
215-268-3784 ext. 115
Pallab Singh, Ph.D.
Scientific Advisor
Pallab has numerous years of research experience in the fields of neuroscience, biotechnology, and bioengineering. Pallab received his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering with a minor in biology from the University of Rochester in 2004. He earned a Ph.D in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011, where he investigated the role of NMDA receptor subtypes in the neuronal response to traumatic brain injury. During his graduate work, Pallab worked at the Center for Technology Transfer at the University of Pennsylvania where he performed technology assessments, conducted patentability evaluations, and wrote marketing material for a wide variety of inventions in the life sciences, physical sciences, and medical device fields.
Pallab Singh, Ph.D.
Scientific Advisor
215-268-3759 ext. 114
Debbie Coccia
Office Manager and Assistant to Kathryn Doyle
Debbie has worked with the Doyle team for many years and her experience spans the gamut. She handles client reports, docketing, prosecution, billing and general office operations.
DEBBIE COCCIA, Office Manager
215-268-3873 ext. 102
Darryl Pratcher
Senior Paralegal
Darryl has over twenty years as a patent prosecution paralegal and has been with the Doyle team for over eleven years. Darryl handles all procedural matters related to patent procurement.
DARRYL PRATCHER, Paralegal
215-268-3876 ext. 104
Lisa Sapovits
Paralegal and Assistant to Justin Allen, Dennis Haas and Quang Nguyen
Lisa has worked as an assistant and a patent paralegal for many years with the Doyle team. Lisa has extensive experience in all matters related to patent and trademark prosecution.
LISA SAPOVITS, Paralegal
215-268-3874 ext. 103
Rebekah Sigler
Docketing Specialist and Legal Assistant to Justin Allen, Domingos Silva and Yuqi Li
Rebekah has worked as a legal assistant for over 14 years in the Philadelphia, PA area. Rebekah has extensive experience in all matters related to patent and trademark prosecution, and also shares responsibility in the docketing of patent and trademark matters for Riverside.
REBEKAH SIGLER, Legal Assistant
215-268-3899 ext. 110