Laura Orlando
Laura is the Managing Partner of Herbert Smith Freehills' Milan office and leads the firm's global Intellectual Property practice as well as its EMEA Life Sciences practice.
A recognised thought leader in intellectual property law, Laura is appreciated by clients and peers for her innovative and strategic expertise, particularly in the life sciences sector. She excels in handling high-profile, multi-jurisdictional patent cases, including those under the SPC Regulation and before the Unified Patent Court (UPC). Her advice is crucial to major pharmaceutical companies in managing patent expirations and securing market leadership through effective patent lifecycle management, obtaining marketing authorisations and navigating data exclusivity provisions.
Laura's ability to deliver proactive, innovative legal solutions extends across a wide range of industries, including food, chemicals, consumer goods, telecommunications, media and technology (TMT), electronics, fashion and industrial design.
Throughout her career, Laura has received numerous accolades and is consistently ranked in the top tier of prestigious legal directories, is regularly listed among the top 50 lawyers in Italy and as one of the 50 most inspiring female legal professionals in Italy.
Laura serves as Executive Secretary of the Life Sciences Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Italy and is a dedicated mentor and legal angel to numerous innovative start-ups. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Laura's involvement with 'The Charge of the 101'ers', a non-profit initiative supporting female-led startups, underscores her commitment to fostering leadership and growth among women in business and law.
Accolades
- "Lawyer of the Year” at the Legalcommunity IP & TMT Awards 2023 and 2024
- Ranked amongst Italy's 50 Lawyers of the Year 2018 – 2023 by Legalcommunity
- Recognised as one of Italy's 50 most inspiring female professionals at the Inspiralaw Awards (2022, 2023, 2024) by Legalcommunity
- Winner of the International Client Choice Award for Life Sciences (2022-2023) and Intellectual Property: Patents (2018, 2021)
- "Lawyer of the Year - Thought Leadership" and "Lawyer of the Year - Life Sciences" in 2022, "Life Sciences Lawyer of the Year" 2018 and 2020, "IP Lawyer of the Year“ 2019 at the Legalcommunity IP Awards
- "Life Sciences Lawyer of the Year (Pharmaceuticals)" 2021, "Life Sciences Lawyer of the Year (Biomedical)" 2018 and 2020, "Food Lawyer of the Year" 2019 at the TopLegal Industry Awards
- Recognised as one of the 300 World's Leading IP Strategists by IAM Strategy 300 (2019 - 2023)
- Highly Ranked in Chambers & Partners for Life Sciences and Intellectual Property in Italy
- Recognised as "Leading Individual" by Legal500 EMEA for Healthcare and Life Sciences and as "Hall of Fame" in Intellectual Property
- Recommended as a leading IP lawyer by international and Italian directories including MIP's Expert Guide to the World's Leading Patent Law Practitioners, IAM Patent 1000, WTR 1000, Who's Who Legal
"Laura is brilliant and has a clever way of looking at things – it’s never solely legal advice; she offers a wise, interdisciplinary approach." Co-leading the life sciences sector in EMEA, Laura Orlando is "an absolute superstar." (Legal 500 EMEA, 2023)
"Laura Orlando is very practical, decisive and extremely experienced, with sound judgement in terms of strategy. She has a brilliantly clever way of looking at issues; she sees a matter from various angles and adapts advice to the client’s needs – it is never solely legal advice, and she offers a wise and interdisciplinary approach. Laura is an inspiration to those around her." (WTR 1000, 2023)
“Business-like, pragmatic, yet sophisticated, the way in which she masters the case and deals with everyone involved is admirable, be it the judge or the other side’s counsel.” “Creative strategies, key advice and terrific support – Laura is one of the best lawyers you could have by your side.” (IAM Patent 1000, 2023)
"Laura is a top-level professional in life sciences. She is pragmatic and flexible." "It is truly inspiring to work with Laura for the proactivity and precision she demonstrates in supporting the client." "Laura Orlando is a formidable counsel." (Chambers Europe, 2023)
Background
Laura graduated with honours from the University of Pavia and the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and holds a doctorate in Contentious Law from the University of Bologna.
She is admitted to the Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione).
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- assisting Gilead on the Europe-wide dispute concerning the SPC for the HIV drug Truvada including the implementation of the CJEU decision on combination SPC
- assisting Eli Lilly on a number of patent and regulatory matters, including most recently advising on a major patent dispute concerning a leading anti-psoriasis product.
- assisting leading Italian vaccine-developer AchilleS Vaccines on IP and regulatory aspects relating to a new platform for streamlining the research and development of new vaccines and a research project for the development of human monoclonal antibodies against COVID-19
- assisting the US Government, Millennium (Takeda) and Janssen (Johnson&Johnson) in a patent validity and infringement lawsuit at the Court of Milan against a German manufacturer in relation to a leading anti-cancer pharmaceutical product
- assisting JC Bamford Excavators Limited on a multi-jurisdictional patent validity and infringement case concerning telescopic handlers
- advising Lundbeck on a variety of patent and regulatory law matters in relation to medicinal products for the central nervous system
Sectors
Services
