DLA Piper welcomes Lisa LeCointe-Cephas as new chair of the Life Sciences sector
DLA Piper is pleased to welcome New York-based Lisa LeCointe-Cephas as partner and chair of the firm’s Life Sciences sector, which combines lawyers from multiple practice groups and geographies to provide holistic support from the lab to the marketplace.
LeCointe-Cephas is a seasoned legal and compliance professional with more than 15 years of experience in global law firms and the life sciences and pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, she spent several years at one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies in the role of Senior Vice President – Global Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, where she oversaw the company’s global compliance program and ensured adherence to laws and regulations across all regions and functions.
Leveraging direct industry experience, LeCointe-Cephas brings a practical, integrated and industry-centric approach to this role. Her practice will focus on crisis management, compliance, litigation, regulatory and enforcement challenges facing pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
“Lisa's unique talent, experience and leadership skills make her the perfect person to lead our Life Sciences sector practice into the next generation. We know our clients will greatly value her advice and counsel in a rapidly changing regulatory and compliance environment,” said Loren Brown, US vice chairman and chair of the US Disputes Practice.
“Lisa brings leadership and experience to our life sciences clients and to the DLA Piper team. We will all benefit from her years of experience as a C-suite executive navigating complex, multi-disciplinary legal and business challenges. I am delighted to have her join the firm in this key leadership role and we are excited to introduce her to our clients,” said Ilana Eisenstein, chair of the US Litigation practice.
LeCointe-Cephas is the latest addition to the firm’s expanding global life sciences capabilities. Within the last year, the firm has added Vernessa Pollard, who focuses her practice on FDA regulatory compliance, as well as former FDA attorney Perham Gorji and life sciences securities litigator Richard Zelichov.
DLA Piper’s globally recognized life sciences team has spent decades helping entrepreneurs, companies, innovators, and investors turn their most promising and disruptive ideas into successful businesses. Drawing on diverse backgrounds in the legal, financial, and medical sectors and beyond, our team brings a distinctive blend of experience to develop client-focused solutions. We understand the unique challenges life science companies face in securing funding, licensing and safeguarding intellectual property, establishing partnerships, bringing new products to market, opening new paths to profitability, and protecting existing innovation. Our approach delivers both strategic and practical counsel to clients, ultimately leading to better human outcomes.
