Health Care Lawyer Joins Arnold & Porter

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 9, 2012 -- Arnold & Porter LLP announced today that former senior trade association executive and legal counsel, Diane Bieri, has joined the firm as a partner.  She will work with the firm’s FDA and health care practice and antitrust groups.

As Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Ms. Bieri was a leading advocate for research-based companies in the biopharmaceutical industry regarding a broad range of critical federal, state and international legal issues.  In addition to serving as lead counsel to the President and CEO and Board of Directors of PhRMA, Ms. Bieri collaborated with senior leaders of PhRMA’s member companies to set strategic priorities and advance policy positions that helped to facilitate and protect the development of medicines in the U.S. and internationally. 

“We are delighted to have a highly effective advocate like Diane join Arnold & Porter,” said firm chairman Tom Milch.  “Life sciences is a critical area for our firm, and her judgment and broad experience will be greatly welcomed by our clients in the field.”

“Diane’s proven ability to give needed counsel and, where necessary, to help litigate important disputes will also be particularly valuable to biopharmaceutical companies facing the toughest compliance, antitrust and intellectual property issues,” added Daniel Kracov, chair of Arnold & Porter’s FDA and health care practice group.

Among many accomplishments, Ms. Bieri led PhRMA and its legal team in successfully protecting research-based biopharmaceutical companies’ interests throughout the enactment of landmark legislation, including comprehensive health care reform, patent reform and expansion of the Food and Drug Administration’s authority to regulate the industry.  She also spearheaded a significant First Amendment victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Justices overturned a Vermont marketing statute, and managed PhRMA’s successful challenge to the constitutionality of a District of Columbia drug price control statute.

First joining PhRMA in 2004 and also serving as the association’s compliance officer, Ms. Bieri has worked closely with leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies to develop industry standards governing their interactions with both health care professionals and patients.

In 2009, PhRMA’s legal department under Ms. Bieri’s leadership received the “Outstanding Law Department Award” from the Washington Metro Area Corporate Counsel Association.  Prior to joining PhRMA, Ms. Bieri was an antitrust and commercial litigation partner at Howrey, LLP, in Washington, D.C.

 “Arnold & Porter presents a dynamic and highly-regarded platform that will make the most effective use of my consensus-building, compliance, and litigation experience,” said Ms. Bieri.  “I look forward to collaborating closely with my new colleagues and turning this opportunity to the advantage of the firm’s clients, many of whom I already know well and look forward to assisting in my new role.”

Ms. Bieri obtained her J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was also a member of the Georgetown Law Journal and recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for Torts.

Arnold & Porter LLP is an international law firm of more than 800 lawyers with offices in Brussels, Denver, London, Los Angeles, New York, Northern Virginia, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D. C.  The firm, founded in 1946, maintains more than 26 practice areas spanning a broad spectrum of the law, with a primary focus on litigation, transactional matters, and regulatory issues.