Richard A. Kaufman

Partner/Retired

Richard A. Kaufman

Partner/Retired

Richard Kaufman is a retired partner and corporate lawyer with Foley & Lardner LLP. His practice included structuring and negotiation of strategic partnerships and collaborations, technology transfers and licenses, spin-out transactions, manufacturing agreements and clinical research agreements, as well as engagements for financings, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

Formerly, Richard was co-chair of the Life Sciences Industry Team, managing partner of the San Diego office, vice chair of the firm’s Private Equity & Venture Capital Practice and a member of the Transactional & Securities and Chemical, Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Practices.

Richard has significant experience with a wide variety of corporate and securities transactions for companies in the life sciences industry, including developers of drugs, biologics, medical devices and discovery and informatics tools.

For 14 years, he served as general counsel of public life sciences companies engaged in the development and manufacture of proteins, peptides, small molecules and medical devices, as well as predictive in silico drug discovery tools.

Richard was a partner with Heller Ehrman LLP before joining Foley in 2008. Prior to joining Heller Ehrman, Richard’s in-house positions included general counsel to Trega Biosciences, Inc.; senior vice president, corporate development and law at Integra LifeSciences Corporation; vice president, secretary and general counsel at Telios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and executive vice president, secretary and general counsel at Invitron Corporation, a spin-off of Monsanto Company. Prior to moving in-house, Richard was a partner at Peper, Martin, Jensen, Maichel and Hetlage in St. Louis, Missouri, where he practiced for nine years. Previously, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert E. Seiler, Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court.

Representative Experience

Richard has represented clients in, among other matters, dozens of strategic partnership, licensing and collaboration negotiations with companies including Novartis, Hoffmann – La Roche, Amgen, Genentech, AstraZeneca, Wyeth, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Chiron, Biogen, Genzyme, Baxter, SmithKline, Warner-Lambert, G.D. Searle, Ciba-Geigy, Chugai, Astellas, Ono and others. He has been responsible for the negotiation of well over 100 manufacturing and development agreements for biologics, drugs and medical devices and for the negotiation of hundreds of clinical trial agreements, agreements with clinical research organizations and other clinical development service providers.

 

Awards and Recognition

Richard has been peer review rated as AV Preeminent®, the highest performance rating in the Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ system.

Richard has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© since 2007 in the field of Biotechnology Law and was named the 2021 Biotechnology and Life Sciences Practice “Lawyer of the Year” in San Diego by Best Lawyers®.

In 2010 – 2014 and 2016, The Legal 500 recognized Richard in the category of patent licensing and transactional and again for his work in health care – life sciences in 2013, 2015 and 2016, mergers, acquisitions and buyouts in 2014 and M&A/corporate and commercial – venture capital and emerging companies in 2015.

He has also been named by LMG Life Sciences as a Life Science Star in the fields of licensing and collaborations, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate law.

Affiliations

  • Member of the board of directors, BIOCOM (2008-2013)
19 August 2021 Press Releases

Foley Attorneys Recognized in 2022 Best Lawyers in America

Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that 236 of the firm’s attorneys from 18 U.S. offices have been recognized in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America©, and 46 lawyers from 13 offices were included in the Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch list. Additionally, 14 of the firm’s attorneys received the special designation of “Lawyer of the Year,” an honor earned by only one lawyer in each practice area and metropolitan region.
20 August 2020 Press Releases

Foley Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2021 List

Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that 20 of its attorneys earned Best Lawyers 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” recognition in their respective practice areas. In addition, 243 of the firm’s attorneys from 18 offices have been listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2021. Another 51 of the firm’s attorneys from 14 offices have been named to the new category of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, which recognizes associates and other lawyers who are earlier in their careers for their outstanding professional excellence in private practice.
15 August 2019 Press Releases

Foley Attorneys Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America 2020 List

Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that 20 attorneys earned Best Lawyers 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” recognition in their respective practice areas, receiving the top nod from Best Lawyers. In addition, 233 of its attorneys from 18 offices have been listed in The Best Lawyers in America 2020.
06 December 2018 Events

5th Annual Business of Personalized Medicine Summit

In the 15 years since the Human Genome Project was completed, the genomic revolution has spurred immeasurable excitement and support surrounding the promise of personalized medicine, setting high expectations for a new era of health care and rapidly transforming the field into a multi-billion dollar industry.
15 August 2018 Press Releases

Foley Attorneys Recognized In The Best Lawyers in America 2019 List

Foley announced today that 27 of its attorneys earned <EM>Best Lawyers 2019</EM> “Lawyer of the Year” recognition in their respective practice areas. In addition, 242 of the firm’s attorneys in 19 offices have been listed in <EM>The Best Lawyers in America 2019</EM>. <BR>
05 June 2018 Events

2018 BIO Reception: An Evening at the Intersection of Old Meets New

Foley is pleased to host its annual networking reception at the 2018 BIO International Convention in Boston on Tuesday, June 5, in partnership with the Personalized Medicine Coalition.