(Washington, D.C./March 20, 2012) The law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, has named Susan Elizabeth McBee Chair of the Firm's Life Sciences Intellectual Property Team.

Ms. McBee, a shareholder in Baker Donelson's Washington, D.C. office and a member of the Firm's Intellectual Property Group, is a registered patent attorney and concentrates her practice in the field of chemistry and biochemistry. She has 24 years of experience in patent portfolio management for large Fortune 500 companies and has a depth of experience in mergers, acquisitions and licensing assessments involving intellectual property assets. A graduate of George Mason University School of Law, Ms. McBee previously owned a patent search company and worked as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the field of polymer chemistry/light sensitive materials.. She is a member of the American Intellectual Property Lawyers Association and the Frederick County, Maryland and American Bar Associations.

As leader of the Life Sciences Intellectual Property Team, Ms. McBee will oversee 20 attorneys and paraprofessionals across the Firm who focus on chemistry, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and other life science and engineering related fields.

"Susan has been an invaluable member of Baker Donelson's IP Group, and has led the explosive growth of our Life Sciences IP practice," said W. Edward Ramage, Chair of Baker Donelson's Intellectual Property Group. "We are confident that she will continue spearheading our efforts to provide the highest quality IP services to our clients in the Life Sciences sector."