Erin Dunston

Erin M Dunston is a Partner at Panitch Schwarze. Over the course of her over twenty-year career, her practice has been a purposeful mix of patent prosecution and litigation. Having handled many patent litigations, Erin recognises how every word in prosecution may ultimately be analysed by the fact-finder and thus strives for efficient, law- and science-driven prosecution. Her extensive prosecution experience, in turn, is invaluable when analyzing prosecution documents and issues as part of a litigation. With a background in biochemistry, she concentrates her practice primarily in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and associated computer technology.

In terms of patent prosecution, counseling, and strategy, Erin learns her clients’ businesses and how a given project will advance the client’s business objectives, from both offensive and defensive standpoints. Erin also works closely with clients to satisfy budget constraints and assist in leveraging and monetizing patent assets.

To date, Erin has handled more than 20 district court litigations and more than 25 inter partes reviews (IPRs) and more than 40 interferences before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (P.T.A.B). Assisting both patent owners and putative infringers/petitioners, this experience ranges from pre-filing analyses all the way through appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Her deep experience in patent law has been recognized by several leading IP organizations and awards programs. Erin has been selected for inclusion among The Best Lawyers in America each year since 2018. She also has been recognized in IAM’s Patent 1000 list – a best-in-class listing of patent prosecution, licensing, and litigation practitioners. For several years, including for 2021, she has been named an IP Star by Managing Intellectual Property and a Leading Intellectual Property Lawyer by Chambers USA. Erin also received Lawyer Monthly’s Women in Law 2016 Award for her contributions to the practice of biotechnology law.