Gina Shishima joined Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.'s Austin location in 2000. As a lawyer in the firm's Intellectual Property & Technology Department, Ms. Shishima's practice is in the area of patent law--both transactional and litigation--with a primary focus in the biotechnology field. She has patent prosecution experience that includes preparing and prosecuting utility patent applications, as well as involvement in reexaminations, interferences and European oppositions. Other experience includes a wide variety of involvement in patent litigation matters and licensing issues. In addition, Ms. Shishima has experience in patentability opinions, freedom to operate evaluations, intellectual property due diligence and competitive technology assessments.

In the course of her patent litigation and prosecution work, Ms. Shishima has worked on a variety of areas in biotechnology and pharmaceutics such as: diagnostics and prognostics, gene and protein therapies, small molecule therapies, virus-based applications, therapeutic formulations and delivery systems, vaccine applications, transgenic organisms, drug screening, molecular biology reagents and pharmacogenomics. In addition, her litigation and prosecution experience extends into the areas of medical devices and apparatuses (including PET scanning technology, radiation phantoms, stents and microfluidics sensor technology), business patents and computer hardware.

• Co-counsel in patent litigation matter involving DNA technology
• Co-counsel in pre-filing investigation for patent infringement action against generic manufacturer in paragraph IV ANDA certification case
• Co-counsel in patent interference matter involving cancer gene therapy in which other party conceded priority
• Co- and lead counsel on due diligence for prospective buyer in areas of biotechnology and medical devices
• Lead counsel for re-examined patent covering commercial technology in area of pharmacogenomics
• Lead counsel on drafting and prosecuting patent applications on core technology for several biotechnology companies
• Lead counsel on drafting and prosecuting patent applications in area of biotechnology and medical devices for universities and companies
• Lead counsel on successful appeals before Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences
• Co-counsel for large company in settlement of patent infringement lawsuit
• Contributing counsel for patent owner in defending against opposed European patent
• Contributing counsel in successfully opposing European patents

• American Bar Association
• American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
• Austin Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
• Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM)
• Austin Asian American Bar Association (AAABA), council member and committee chair
• State Bar of Texas, member of Asian Pacific Interest Section
• National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
• Travis County Bar Association
• Pro bono work for the Texas Life Science Center (TLSC)
• Pro bono work on habeas corpus petition

• The Best Lawyers in America, Biotechnology Law and Intellectual Property Law (2006 - 2010)
• "500 New Stars, New Worlds," Lawdragon (2006)
• "Rising Star," Law & Politics (2004, 2007)

• "Ethics and Equitable Conduct: Procuring Enforceable Patents," Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) Professional Development Program web seminar, January 26, 2010
• "Offensive/Defensive Use of Ex Parte Reexamination, " Practising Law Institute, San Francisco, California, January 11-12, 2010
• "Patent Strategy Considerations for Medical Diagnostic and Treatment Claims," Fulbright  & Jaworski LLP web seminar, July 14, 2009
• "The Role of Intellectual Property in Personalized Medicine," ABA-IP Section Annual Meeting, Alexandria, Virginia, April 2009
• "How To Protect in vitro Diagnostic Inventions in Light of In re Bilski," Licensing Executive Society (LES) Winter 2009 meeting, San Antonio, Texas, February 2009
• "Fundamentals of Effective Patents," Corporate Executive Board's General Counsel Roundtable teleconference, July 2008
• "Evolving Patent Strategies: Top Ten Questions To Ask When Filing and Prosecuting," Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) meeting, San Diego, California, February 2008
• Panelist, Texas Diversity Council, Women in Leadership, Austin, Texas, February 2008
• "Patent Issues Related to Biodefense Product Development and Licensing," Great Lakes Regional Center of Excellence Workshop, Chicago, Illinois, August 2006
• "Exerting UT Ownership Rights: When and How," University of Texas Technology Management Council Meeting, Austin, Texas, June 2006
• "Intellectual Property: Patenting an Invention," Austin Legal Secretaries Association, Austin, Texas, May 2005
• "Patents 101," Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) Central Division meeting, Omaha, Nebraska, July 2002
• "Business Method Patents," Berkeley Technology Law Journal lunch seminar, Berkeley, California, 1999

1998 - J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley
1995 - Ph.D., Molecular Biology, Princeton University
1989 - A.B., Biochemistry, Columbia University

While attending Boalt Hall School of Law, she was a member of the California Law Review and an associate editor for the Berkeley Technology Law Journal. Ms. Shishima is a member of the Texas bar and admitted to practice in the Western and Eastern Districts of Texas and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Gina enjoys spending time with her husband, a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, and their three young children -- a son and twin girls.