Partner
Chartered Patent Attorney
European Patent Attorney
UPC Representative
UK Design Attorney
BSc Biochemistry, University of Sheffield
PhD Structural Biology, University of Sheffield
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Laura is a Partner in the Life Sciences and Chemistry team. She has a broad academic background in biochemistry and specialises in patent matters relating to biotechnology, precision medicine, immunology, gene therapy, synthetic biology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, molecular biology, stem cells and regenerative medicine, diagnostics, medicinal chemistry, and chemical technology such as petrochemicals and catalysts.
She enjoys working with early stage companies, spinouts and SMEs, and providing strategic and practical advice and support. She often speaks at conferences on patent matters and undertakes mentoring and advisory roles for accelerators and incubators in the medical technology and healthcare spaces.
In addition, she handles prosecution for several large US universities and has played an instrumental role in helping them to achieve patent protection in Europe and the UK. This includes conducting oral proceedings before the European Patent Office at the examination, opposition and appeal stages. She is accomplished at drafting, filing and prosecuting UK, European and International patent applications, as well as conducting freedom-to-operate analyses, patent landscaping reviews and due diligence investigations.
Laura also has extensive in-house experience, having been seconded part-time to the patent department of a leading oil and gas company for five years, where she managed several patent portfolios across a variety of subject-matter areas. She understands the importance of developing a commercially relevant intellectual property portfolio and is skilled in liaising with inventors and business managers to ensure the portfolio reflects the evolving needs of the business.
Whilst being primarily based at the London office, Laura regularly spends time in Galway having helped to establish Keltie’s presence in Ireland.
Laura joined Keltie in 2007 and became a Partner in 2018.
Laura graduated from the University of Sheffield with a PhD in Structural Biology, specialising in the determination of protein structure using the technique of X-ray crystallography. A period of her PhD was spent working for a large pharmaceutical company.
27.08.2025
Leading the way in life sciences IP: Q&A with Laura KehoeKeltie is rated as ‘Outstanding’ in the 2025 WIPR UK Patents Rankings. This ranking recognises the top firms in UK patent law for their expertise, reputation and client service. This is a powerful endorsement of Keltie’s expertise in supporting innovation across a wide range of sectors, including life sciences, chemistry, software and engineering. Keltie’s team has long been known for its collaborative, commercially grounded approach to IP, and this ranking is a reflection of that continued success.
30.04.2025
The ’dos and don’ts’ when filing EU Customs Applications for Action (AFAs)Keltie moderated the EUIPO and Irish Customs webinar which focused on the ‘dos and don’ts’ when filing EU AFAs. This interactive session was well attended by Intellectual Property (‘IP’) rights holders as well as legal representatives. The aim of this session was to raise awareness and encourage IP rights holders to adopt a proactive approach by filing AFAs in order to mitigate the risk of infringing and counterfeit goods crossing borders and reduce the need for filing Ex-officio AFAs where goods have been seized but AFAs are not in place.
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