Tom Hughes has more than 25 years of experience counseling clients across a broad range of technologies on intellectual property development, management and enforcement. Tom’s practice covers all aspects of patent law, including patent preparation and prosecution, patentability and freedom-to-operate opinions, global patent portfolio management, due diligences, and general patent counseling. Tom has actively participated in or directly led IP enforcement activities before U.S. District Courts and the International Trade Commission, and has managed IPR proceedings at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office as well as patent infringement actions and validity challenges in China and Germany.

Prior to joining Farber LLC, Tom was Vice President and Group Chief IP Counsel of several technology groups at Medtronic, most notably Medtronic’s Surgical Devices and Neuroscience Groups. This role followed 15 years of experience as in-house counsel for major medical device manufacturers, first at Covidien and then at Medtronic following its acquisition of Covidien. While serving in these roles, Tom specialized in developing global IP solutions to launch and commercialize a wide spectrum of medical device products, such as for example, surgical access devices like trocars, surgical staplers, powered devices, robotic surgical systems, and electrosurgery devices.

Prior to his in-house legal roles, Tom was in private practice for over 10 years at NYC-based firms Sofer & Haroun and Kenyon & Kenyon.

Tom received his J.D. degree from the Pace University School of Law and holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the New York Institute of Technology.

Tom is a registered U.S. patent attorney and is admitted to practice law in the states of New York and Connecticut.