Debbie completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours majoring in chemistry from the University of Melbourne before commencing her training as a patent attorney in 1988. She registered as a patent attorney in 1993 and became a principal of Griffith Hack in 2003.Debbie has primarily practised as a patent attorney in the fields of chemistry and pharmaceuticals. She has extensive experience in the drafting and prosecution of both local and overseas patent applications.
Debbie also handles patent oppositions and other litigation matters and regularly provides advice on patent strategy and due diligence and opinions on patentability, validity and infringement. Her clients range from leading Australian research organisations, universities and start-up pharmaceutical, medical device and chemical companies to large multi-national corporations. Debbie often visits her overseas clients giving presentations to their in-house attorneys on developments in Australian patent law and practice.
From 2009-2011, Debbie had the role of National Practice Group Leader of the Life Sciences & Chemical Group and was elected to the Board of Griffith Hack in November 2011. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia and a member of AusBiotech, BioMelbourne Network, Royal Australian Chemical Society, Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand, Asian Patent Attorneys Association, Association of International pour la Protection de la Propriete Intellectuelle and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Being responsible for a team, Debbie also spends her time mentoring and training younger attorneys.
