Kevin Buckley, J.D.

Founder & Senior US Patent Attorney

kevin@torreypineslaw.com
main: +1 (858) 869-1250

Kevin Buckley is an accomplished patent and transactional attorney, and the founder of Torrey Pines Law Group. He has more than 20 years of experience as a Biopharma and Digital Health executive and lawyer. He is currently an advisor to Aquillius Ventures, a MedTech venture capital firm, and is also a MedTech Accelerator Advisor at UCSD's Institute for the Global Entrepreneur. Prior to becoming an attorney, he was a biochemist studying immuno-oncology, RNA-derived antiviral therapeutics, and bioinformatics systems.

Kevin has handled complex intellectual property, transactional, and FDA regulatory matters in what is now the world’s largest global law firm, Dentons. He also founded the Life Sciences Practice at Spencer Fane LLP, a large national law firm, where he focused on international IP and technology transactions.

He has been a member of executive teams in the largest US university research foundation, in a commercial-stage international biopharmaceutical company, in a SaMD company marketing AI-enabled breast cancer detection, and in an AI-enabled precision medicine company.

He created Torrey Pines Law Group to help his clients bring lifesaving, enduring, and commercially valuable technologies to market.

His clients include healthcare, life sciences, digital health, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, in vitro diagnostics, specialty chemical, artificial intelligence (AI), and convergence technology businesses. The "convergence" often includes Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning (DL), Natural Language Processing (NLP), computer vision, neural networks, generative adversarial networks, generative AI, and complex algorithms.

He successfully implements pharmaceutical lifecycle management, product lifecycle management, and worldwide patent portfolio development strategies. In addition, he regularly conducts IP due diligence related to international in-licensing and out-licensing transactions inbound and outbound to Europe, China, Canada, South America, Mexico, Korea, and Japan. He has also conducted due diligence related to investment funding, mergers, acquisitions, licenses, and Initial Public Offerings.

Kevin has also assisted with drafting and negotiating contracts related to distribution, supply, manufacturing, licensing, reseller, collaboration, joint venture, clinical trial, product marketing, data use, safety, pharmacovigilance, right of reference, and myriad other agreements. He engages a trusted network of local, state, and international tax, securities, corporate, regulatory, and litigation counsel when required.

Areas of focus

• Intellectual Property, transactional, and regulatory counseling (FDA and USDA)
• International patent preparation and prosecution
• IP and commercial transactions
• Technology licensing
• Investment funding and due diligence
• Legal opinion drafting (Freedom-To-Operate (FTO), patentability, patent validity, patent infringement, Paragraph IV certification, safe harbor, etc.)
• Pharmaceutical Lifecycle Management
• Product Lifecycle Management
• Litigation avoidance
• Litigation support
• IP infringement litigation

Kevin has also been an academic advisor to entrepreneurship centers at the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton, Law, and Medicine) and Washington University in St. Louis. He was also an Adjunct Professor at Washington University School of Law where he taught a Biotechnology Law intersession course.

When he is not in the office, you can find Kevin hiking the California backcountry, or harvesting protea and olives on his farm. What he loves most, however, is spending time outdoors -- every single day -- with friends and family.

Kevin received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry/Chemistry from UC San Diego where he was an undergraduate Research Scholar. He then received a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law and Policy, which later merged with the University of Pittsburgh Law Review.

Distinctions

Kevin has been selected by his peers for inclusion in:

• The Best Lawyers in America® - Biotechnology Law
• Philadelphia's Best Lawyers
• SuperLawyers Rising Star
• St. Louis Magazine Best Lawyers
• St. Louis Business Journal "Who's Who in Technology"
• St. Louis Business Journal "40 Under Forty"

Jurisdictions

Kevin is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (2000), and is admitted to practice law in Missouri (2001) and Pennsylvania (2011). He is also admitted to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (2014).