2013 Distinguished Alumni Award: Chad A. Landmon

Chad Landmon is Co-Chair of Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP’s Intellectual Property Practice and Chair of the FDA Practice Group. He is recognized as a leading advocate for pharmaceutical companies before FDA and premier patent litigator and counselor on issues involving the development and marketing of generic drugs and human tissue. He has a rare knowledge of intricate FDA processes and litigating complex patent cases involving drug products throughout the country.

Chad graduated as an Honors Scholar, summa cum laude, with a B.A. in political science and economics in 1996. After graduation, Chad enrolled in the University of Connecticut School of Law, where he graduated, with honors, in 1999. Chad was a Notes and Comments Editor of the Connecticut Law Review during his tenure at the law school.

Chad has spent most of his career with Axinn, joining the firm in its third year of infancy when it only had about a dozen attorneys. Being in such an environment led to a baptism by fire for Chad, and he was given an enormous amount of responsibility. Chad was an important part of the fledgling intellectual property and FDA groups at the firm and was an integral part of growing the firm’s pharmaceutical practice.

Today, Chad represents clients in lawsuits and administrative actions involving the FDA and defends clients in significant patent cases. He defended companies developing a generic version of the ADHD drug Adderall XR ($1 billion-plus in annual sales) and the painkiller OxyContin ($2 billion-plus in annual sales). His victories include a recent ruling in a case involving client Watson Laboratories that has been cited as the first time a court ever ordered the FDA to approve a marketing application for a drug. He also obtained dismissal of a false advertising case for Sun Pharmaceutical Industries relating to the blockbuster drug Protonix.

Chad regularly speaks at national conferences and writes extensively about a variety of FDA and patent issues impacting pharmaceutical and other life science issues. He was named one of only three “Rising Stars” in the nation for life science law by Law360, the Connecticut Law Tribune’s 2012 “New Leaders in the Law” list, the Hartford Business Journal’s 2011 “40 Under 40” list, and has been selected as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers for Connecticut and New England.

In addition to his legal work, Chad has been a dedicated public servant. In 2009, he was elected to the Board of Selectmen for the Town of Southbury, Connecticut, and he was re-elected in 2011. During his tenure, the Board has reduced Town spending, adopted a modern Code of Ethics, and implemented a new bid policy. He is currently serving on Southbury’s Rural Preservation Advisory Committee, and he is a past Vice Chairman of Southbury’s Charter Revision Commission. Chad has also been active in youth sports.

Chad is married to his high school sweetheart, Jessica, who also graduated from the University of Connecticut with a B.S. in accounting in 1997, magna cum laude. She currently serves as the Minister of Connections at the Cornerstone Church in Cheshire, Connecticut, along with numerous other volunteer activities. Chad and Jessica have two young children.