James W. Hill is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, based in the Orange County office.  James is a member of the Intellectual Property, Media & Technology Department and focuses his practice on patent prosecution and litigation, strategic counseling, intellectual property due diligence and licensing in the areas of medical devices, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, software, and signal and imaging processing.

Before joining McDermott, James practiced in the areas of patent prosecution, technology transactions and intellectual property litigation in Orange County.  James is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. 

Prior to law school, James practiced medicine in the Boston area and worked as a lead consultant in a medical malpractice law firm where he performed case analyses.  He received his medical residency training in internal medicine, and then in diagnostic radiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  He was awarded a fellowship in interventional neuroradiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. 

James is the author of articles in medical journals and the co-author of four chapters in a neurosurgical textbook.  He has done significant research in the areas of hemoglobin biochemistry, ophthalmology, digital radiography, intraoperative MRI for neurosurgical applications, image fusion techniques for CT, MRI, PET scanning, and arteriography, and radiosurgery for malignant brain tumors.  He is currently enrolled in the master of science in electrical engineering program at the University of Southern California, with an emphasis in signal and image processing.  James was named among the Daily Journal's 2008 Top 25 Portfolio Managers.  He was also named a 2007 Southern California Super Lawyer - Rising Star in intellectual property law as chosen by his peers and through independent research performed by Law & Politics.  Approximately 2.5 percent of the best up-and-coming attorneys in the region are named to the Rising Stars list.  This is the fourth year James has been selected for this recognition which is published in Los Angeles magazine.  (View a list of articles, speeches & seminars)

James earned his J.D. (cum laude) from Boston University Law School and his M.D. (with honors) from Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.

James is a member of the California State Bar and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  He is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Licensing Executives Society.

Practices & Industries

• Intellectual Property, Media & Technology
• International Trade Commission
• Licensing
• Life Sciences & Medical Device Litigation
• Life Sciences & Medical Devices
• Life Sciences - IP
• Litigation - IP, Media & Tech
• Patent Prosecution
• Technology Transactions
• Trade Secrets
• Trademark/Brand Protection & Enforcement

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