Jeffrey D. Hsi, PhD

Overview

Jeffrey Hsi's practice is devoted to all aspects of commercialization of technology. As a scientist/inventor, entrepreneur, and counselor, Jeffrey has experience from all of these perspectives. His practice includes corporate counseling, formation and execution of intellectual property strategy, and patent prosecution and opinion work in the areas of chemistry, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, health and beauty, agriculture, animal health, nutraceuticals, polymers, diagnostics, and medical devices. He also advises on issues of, and is experienced in establishing infrastructure for, development of intellectual property. 

Jeffrey's clients include multinational chemical and pharmaceutical companies, emerging biopharmaceutical companies, venture capital and financial institutions, and academic and governmental research institutions throughout the world.

Jeffrey is an invited speaker internationally on various intellectual property issues and has lectured at the Harvard Extension School and at MIT Sloan School of Management. He is a co-inventor on two US Patents and co-author of numerous scientific publications and presentations.

Jeffrey has previously served as Corporate Counsel at Amgen Inc. and as Patent Counsel and General Counsel at Kinetix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (now Amgen Inc.). Before attending law school, he served as a Senior Scientist, Medicinal Chemistry at The R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute (Johnson & Johnson), as a Research Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina and as an Undergraduate Research Scientist at the Upjohn Company.

Experience

• Jeffrey has designed and established global strategies for patent portfolios in alignment with business goals for entities from start-ups to large multinational corporations as well as universities and non-profit research institutes. Because of Jeffrey’s deep experience in technology transfer, he is adept in integrating patent strategy with complex business transactions to position patent portfolios to maximize value in commercial and R&D collaborations and partnerships.     
• Jeffrey has considerable experience in patent prosecution matters. He has prepared and prosecuted patent applications relating to pharmaceuticals (both approved and candidates in clinical trials), drug design/discovery technologies, nutraceuticals, medical diagnostics, and biotechnology. Jeffrey also is experienced in specialty chemical and polymer technologies, medical devices, food and agricultural technologies, and business methods. 
• Jeffrey also has experience in transactional matters including negotiation and establishment of licensing and R&D collaboration agreements, manufacturing and supply agreements, due diligence studies, venture capital funding, merger and acquisition, and technology acquisitions. 
• As in-house counsel to a biopharmaceutical start-up company, Jeffrey established and guided the company's patent law department, including formation of worldwide corporate intellectual property strategy and internal intellectual property policies. Jeffrey also advised on aspects of corporate and business development activities. The start-up was ultimately acquired by a major U.S. biotechnology company.

Activities

Jeffrey currently serves as Board Chair of the Fred T. Korematsu Institute in San Francisco, CA, is on the Board of Directors of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (Asian American Justice Center) in Washington, DC where he serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Policy and Programs Committee, is on the Board of Directors of the Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) in Boston, MA, where he serves on the Programs Committee, Investment Committee, and is Chair of the Nominations Committee, and is an Advisory Committee member for the Asian Community Fund at The Boston Foundation. Jeffrey also regularly participates as a volunteer in the Election Protection Projects of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF).

Jeffrey is former President of the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM) and served on their Executive Board for seven years, and he previously served on the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Board of Governors. He was also Co-chair of the NAPABA 2009 National Convention Host Steering Committee in Boston and served on the NAPABA Committee on Regional Conferences.

Jeffrey served on the Rutgers Law School Deans’ Advisory Council, and he previously served as a member of the Rutgers Law School Minority Student Program (MSP) 50th Anniversary Alumni Committee, as a member of the Rutgers Law School MSP Legacy Alumni Campaign Committee, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of Kalamazoo College, where he served on the Audit Committee and the Finance Committee.

Jeffrey also served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s “Light the Night – Boston”. Jeffrey is an avid tennis player and volunteered with the Massachusetts Special Olympics State Games (tennis), having previously served on its Tennis Management Team.

Recognition

Jeffrey is ranked among the top 1% of most active attorneys in biotech patent prosecution by Patexia, Inc. He has been listed repeatedly in “Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Patent 1000 - The World's Leading Patent Practitioners” and in Thomson Reuters' “Super Lawyers” in Massachusetts for intellectual property. In addition, he is named to The Best Lawyers in America®. 

Jeffrey was a 2018 Honoree of the Rutgers Law School Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA), was a featured alumnus in the 2018 video “MSP50 – Our History and Our Path Forward” and “MSP50 Reflections” Program as part of Rutgers Law School’s 2018 MSP50 Celebration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Rutgers Law School Minority Student Program (MSP) (The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) awarded the MSP50 Celebration its highest honor—the Circle of Excellence Grand Gold Award), was a 2017 Honoree and keynote speaker at the Rutgers Law MSP Banquet, and was the recipient of the 2017 Community Service Award from the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts (AALAM).