Astrid R. Spain

Late one night during a vacation in Australia, Spain participated in a conference call from a hotel restroom so as not to wake her daughters, who were asleep in the guest room.

The episode illustrates what Spain sees as one of the most important characteristics for an intellectual property attorney: responsiveness.

“Working with companies that are on the cutting edge of developing products or getting more funding or acquiring other companies, there is really no such thing as saying ‘I’m going to be unavailable for two weeks straight.’ That just doesn’t fly in this business,” Spain said. “I learned a long time ago that you can’t go completely off the grid.”

Spain’s practice is focused on strategic patent portfolio management for companies in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industries. She has represented startups and well-established companies, and frequently assists clients with developing business-oriented IP strategies.

One longtime client, Sera Prognostics Inc., developed the first clinically validated blood test to predict early in pregnancy the risk of premature birth. Early in the 10-year-old company’s history, Spain designed its patent portfolio and has handled the firm’s IP concerns ever since. She recently represented Sera in all IP aspects of a $40 million Series C funding round.

The company’s investors include Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is working with Sera to bring its PreTRM Test to developing nations.

“That is an incredible test to bring to the market because it enables earlier and proactive interventions,” Spain said.

The attorney provides similar services for Epic Sciences, which she represented last year in the IP aspects of a Series D funding round totaling $40 million. The firm is developing a portfolio of blood-based tests used to characterize various types of metastatic cancer cells to guide treatment choices.

“I really feel blessed doing the job I do because I get to work with clients who develop these groundbreaking technologies that really improve these patients’ lives, not just in the U.S. but — potentially — globally,” Spain said.

Like many in her practice area, Spain’s background is in science. She earned a graduate degree in biology before deciding her attention span was not suited for life as an academic, which may have entailed spending years working on a single problem, she said.

“In this job, I get to learn about not only the newest technologies, but I also get to switch between many different interesting projects, sometimes on a daily basis,” she said. “That’s both challenging and rewarding.”

— Mark Armao