Five minutes with ... Jeanna Wacker, partner at Kirkland & Ellis

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Five minutes with ... Jeanna Wacker, partner at Kirkland & Ellis

Wacker, Jeanna_Official.jpg

Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP lawyer about their life and career

Welcome to the second instalment of Managing IP’s new series, ‘Five minutes with’, where we learn more about IP lawyers on a personal as well as a professional level. This time we have Jeanna Wacker, partner at Kirkland & Ellis in New York.

Someone asks you at a party what you do for a living. What do you say?

I usually say I am a trial lawyer, which means I go to court, and I focus in life sciences-related patent litigation. The case example I have recently been giving is the patent litigation we are handling for Moderna relating to their Spikevax COVID vaccine, as most people are familiar with the company and product.

Talk us through a typical working day.

I have a child in elementary school so my typical work day may be a bit different than others. I generally log in early to go through late-night emails and emails from foreign clients before school dropoff. I prefer working from the office so I then spend the day at the office until I try to leave to have dinner with my family. Most evenings I end up logging back in and working until around 10pm or 11pm.

What are you working on at the moment? Does one big piece of work usually take priority or are you juggling multiple things?

Currently I am working on a number of matters for companies including Moderna, Bristol Myers Squibb, Alcon, Boehringer Ingelheim, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Samsung Bioepis. It ebbs and flows on cases depending on when I need to be in court or filing a particular motion. On a given day I can be working with my team on several at once.

What is the most exciting aspect of your role and what is the most stressful?

The most exciting aspect of my role is going to trial, which can also be the most stressful. I really enjoy challenging situations with multiple moving pieces and trial is my opportunity to put all those pieces together and tell our story to the judge or jury.

Tell us the key characteristics that make a successful IP lawyer.

To be a successful IP trial lawyer you have to be able to explain complex technology and concepts to a layperson which can be very challenging. For me, that can often mean understanding medical and pharma topics well enough that I can explain them easily to a judge or jury.

What is the most common misconception about IP?

The most common misconception about IP is that you have to be a nerdy scientist with a PhD to be an IP lawyer. Having a science background can help, but it is also helpful to have individuals on the trial team who are better able to view our case themes from the standpoint of the trier of fact, who generally does not have a science background.

What or who inspires you?

I have worked on a team for almost 20 years with two very successful senior female IP trial lawyers. It has been great to practise most of my career on diverse teams with people like them.

If you weren’t an IP lawyer, what would you be doing?

I would travel the world if I weren’t an IP lawyer.

Any advice you would give your younger self?

I am very happy with my career path, which wasn’t entirely planned. The advice I would give my younger self is to live in the moment more and try not to stress as much about the future.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

A complaint by the European Commission over China’s SEP practices and news of a new president at Nokia Technologies were among the top talking points this week
Brian Rosenthal explains how he and his team secured a rare directed verdict of non-infringement from Texas judge Alan Albright
US sources say they’ve had positive experiences working with Coke Morgan Stewart, and that her past experience at the office means there'll be no nasty surprises
At least four firms have made investments in transactional IP lawyers to help push deals in the life sciences and other tech sectors over the line
Louis Ederer, who worked at Arnold & Porter for 18 years, says he was excited to go back to a place where he already knew a lot of people
Practitioners and law firms should keep their eyes peeled as the shortlist for our annual Awards is set to be released
Shoosmiths, which hired a six-person IP team from Locke Lord to kick-start the year, says it is not finished there
The USPTO’s latest search tool has improved since it was first launched, though counsel still have to take care when trying to get optimal results for their clients
Scott Palmer, who took 16 lawyers with him when he moved from Perkins Coie to Loeb & Loeb, reveals how his Beijing-based team has hit the ground running
Coke Morgan Stewart previously spent 10 years in various USPTO roles before joining O’Melveny in 2023
Gift this article