Deborah M. Vernon, Ph.D.  (`95) 

Deborah M. Vernon, Ph.D. is an attorney on patent law and intellectual property.  She is a partner at McCarter & English, LLP.  Dr. Vernon received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Trinity College in 1995, her Ph.D. in Materials Science Engineering from Brown University in 2001 and a J.D. degree from Suffolk University in 2005.  Dr. Vernon’s doctorial thesis research concentrated on processing and analyzing ceramic materials.  While at Brown University, she developed new processing techniques for controlling grain growth during densification of nanophase ceramic compacts using chemical vapor infiltration and liquid phase infiltration techniques.

At McCarter & English, Deborah assists clients in obtaining and enforcing intellectual property rights both in the U.S. and abroad. She has experience in the technology fields of superconductors, photovoltaics, plasma science, ceramics, thin film technology, nanophase materials, medical devices, and mechanical engineering.  Deborah practice also includes conducting intellectual property due diligence in connection with corporate financing transactions, drafting licensing agreements, and performing patentability and product clearance studies.