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Legal Strategies from Discovery to Market with Wilson Sonsini
December 10, 2026 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
(CST)
Description
OverviewWilson Sonsini, one of the nation’s leading legal advisers to technology, life sciences and growth companies, returns to Iowa.Choose from three interactive sessions focused on:
- Business formation and venture capital
- Intellectual property
- Regulatory strategy
Each of the three sessions include:
- Insights from Wilson Sonsini attorneys with perspectives from industry and University of Iowa leaders
- Small-group discussions where participants can explore questions relevant to their own work
Attend one, two or all three sessions — each is FREE and open to registered participants.
Agenda
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Business Formation & Venture Capital
Matthew Meyer, Philip Oettinger, Bill Willis
Explore the foundational building blocks necessary to turn a promising idea into a fundable company. This session will cover when to consider forming a startup, key decisions around financing, ownership and company structure and how to attract investors interested in investing in early-stage companies.
12:30 PM - 02:00 PM
Intellectual Property
Sara Patak, Alex Key, Leslie Williams, Marie Kerbeshian
Learn how a strategic approach to developing intellectual property can help protect discoveries and create more value as they move toward the marketplace. This session will explore key considerations around formulating patents to protect your inventions as well as understanding licensing pathways and process, including visibility to how companies can work with UIRF (the technology transfer office) to navigate the commercialization process.
2:30 PM - 04:00 PM
Regulatory Strategy
Eva Yin, Leslie Williams
Explore how regulatory strategy can shape every element along the path from invention to commercialization, particularly for life sciences and health-related technologies. This session will examine the importance of how a focus on the regulatory pathway at company outset can positively influence product development, clinical trial strategy, reimbursement and commercialization strategy while avoiding common regulatory pitfalls.