McDermott Partners Veleka R. Peeples-Dyer and Vernessa Pollard Recognized in Savoy Magazine’s 2018 List of "Most Influential Black Lawyers"

WASHINGTON, DC – McDermott Will & Emery partners Veleka R. Peeples-Dyer and Vernessa Pollard have been named among Savoy Magazine’s 2018 Most Influential Black Lawyers. Featured in the Summer 2018 issue, the list includes partners at prominent law firms and corporate and general counsel from Fortune 1000 corporations who are noted for their legal leadership, professionalism and diverse skills.

Peeples-Dyer and Pollard are co-leaders of McDermott’s Food and Drug Administration practice, where their deep industry and subject-matter experience have strengthened the Firm’s capabilities and service offerings in the fast-paced and highly-regulated life sciences industry.

Peeples-Dyer counsels biopharmaceutical companies on FDA regulatory, compliance, and enforcement matters and global healthcare compliance matters. Peeples-Dyer utilizes her fifteen years of senior in-house legal and compliance department experience to provide strategic advice and counsel on a wide range of matters for biopharmaceutical companies, including assisting in the development and implementation of corporate compliance and ethics programs. She speaks regularly at conferences on FDA regulatory and global compliance matters.

Pollard advises companies on regulatory, compliance, enforcement and policy matters involving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, health information technology and digital health solutions, services and software. Previously, she served as an associate chief counsel for enforcement at the FDA and obtained the FDA’s first administrative civil money penalty judgment for violations of the Medical Device Report requirements. She has been ranked by Chambers USA since 2014 and included in The Best Lawyers in America since 2015.

Committed to advancing the legal profession in the health care field, both lawyers are active members of the American Health Lawyers Association. Peeples-Dyer is also a member of Women in Bio and the National Association of Women Lawyers. Pollard serves on the Food and Drug Law Institute’s Medical Products Advisory Committee and is former co-chair of its “Medical Devices and Diagnostics Committee.”