Maryellen joined Beck & Thomas P.C. in August 2016 as counsel to the firm and has provided intellectual property counseling to clients as an attorney in private practice for the past 19 years. Before joining Beck & Thomas, Maryellen had her own IP law firm, and she previously was a partner in the international law firm, Reed Smith LLP. As a U.S. patent attorney with a B.S.E. in chemical engineering and work experience as a process engineer at Rohm and Haas, Maryellen brings industry experience to her legal work for chemical, pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Her clients have included those in the following areas: pharmaceuticals, dermatological products, medical devices, catalysts, specialty chemicals, consumer products, animal repellents, health care services and process equipment.

Maryellen’s expertise includes IP strategy development and implementation; patent prosecution, including reexaminations and reissues; patent opinion work; negotiation of complex IP transactions; trademark prosecution; trade secret counseling; patent, trademark and trade secret litigation; and other intellectual property counseling. She has appeared before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences for pharmaceutical and specialty chemical clients, among others.

Maryellen provides IP counseling to management, general counsel, and researchers. Her forte is working with the in-house team to address the client’s overall business goals, not just the particular IP issue at hand.