Three Snell & Wilmer Attorneys Selected by San Diego Business Journal As 2023 Leaders of Influence in Life Sciences

SAN DIEGO (July 24, 2023) – Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that San Diego attorneys April Wurster, Sarah Hibbard, and Jaime D. Choi, Ph.D. have been selected by San Diego Business Journal as 2023 Leaders of Influence in Life Sciences. According to the publication, this list recognizes the top leaders of influence in life science in San Diego by acknowledging their contributions and commitment in the business community.

Wurster is an intellectual property partner who helps clients navigate complex issues related to law and technology. Her day-to-day practice focuses on protecting intellectual property and life sciences transactions across a diverse range of industries, including cell and gene therapies, diagnostic tests, and medical devices. She uses cross-functional knowledge and experience to build a thorough understanding of a company's business, employees, products, customers, and competitors to provide strategic guidance. Wurster works in new subject matter areas on a daily basis, assimilating information quickly and developing a deep understanding in those areas. She excels at distilling complex ideas into understandable concepts. Wurster is a member of Athena FEW Group, Biocom California (Cell & Gene Therapy Committee and Medical Device & Diagnostics Committee), Women in Bio, and SunLaw. She received her J.D. from University of California, College of Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings), and her M.S. in Molecular Biology and B.S. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from University of California, San Diego.

Hibbard is a corporate attorney and former in-house general counsel for a San Diego-based biotechnology company operating in the oncology space. She counsels life sciences and technology companies from formation through growth and exit, serving as a strategic advisor in the journey from research and development to commercial success. Hibbard draws on stealth start-up to multibillion-dollar company insights to serve clients, blending legal strategy, and planning with practical solutions. As a deal-maker, she represented companies on financings, licensing and tech transfers; collaborations; sponsored research and clinical research; and commercial transactions, as well as mergers and acquisitions. Hibbard is an active member of The Startup Legal Garage at University of California, College of Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) and serves as the current co-vice chair for Women in Bio. She received her J.D. from Thomas Jefferson School of Law and her B.S. from San Diego State University. 

Choi is an intellectual property partner whose practice focuses on patenting complex, interdisciplinary technologies and building strategic patent portfolios, with an emphasis on evaluating and mitigating risk from third-party patents. She advises clients in a variety of market sectors, including bioinformatics, medical devices, robotics, microfluidics, semiconductor fabrication, digital signal processing, photonics, advanced imaging, and fabrication of complex materials and devices that use them. Choi also has deep experience in disputes, including litigation, arbitration, licensing, and trade secrets. She received her J.D. from University of San Diego School of Law, her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and her B.A. in Chemistry from Rice University.