Carissa specialises in intellectual property law, particularly patent litigation with a split practice across the life sciences and technology sectors. Most notably, Carissa has a wealth of experience in telecoms litigation where she acted for Unwired Planet and Conversant – the leading Supreme Court judgment on standards essential patents and FRAND licensing. In parallel, Carissa has more recently focussed on life sciences patent litigation relating to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products acting for innovator and biosimilar clients.
Carissa regularly represents clients in proceedings before the UK courts and co-ordinates multi-jurisdictional patent actions before national courts in Europe and further afield. Carissa has a degree in Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry and utilises her technical field of expertise together with the law to develop case strategy for her clients. She gained first-hand experience of the life sciences sector prior to qualifying as a lawyer by working as a toxicologist for a publicly funded healthcare system. Carissa is widely published in leading industry journals and also speaks at events. She is a Chapter Leader for ChIPs Network UK, a Committee Member of the Competition Law Association and a committee member for the American Bar Association.
