After a short stint in retirement, a longtime leader of Philadelphia's intellectual property bar, Roberta Jacobs-Meadway, has returned to the practice of law, joining Baker & Hostetler as of counsel.

Jacobs-Meadway retired from Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott in December. She had spent nearly a decade at the firm, having launched its Philadelphia IP practice in 2008. She became of counsel at Baker & Hostetler in mid-March.

“I had a number of clients who wanted me to continue to be available on a consulting basis and work on some projects I had been involved in previously,” she said, adding that Baker & Hostetler presented “an excellent fit for me for the last move of my career.”

Jacobs-Meadway, 67, said she spoke with Eckert Seamans about continuing her career there, but they could not reach an agreement on terms, so it was “time to move on.” She said she continues to hold the firm and its IP practice in high respect. Eckert Seamans did not respond to a request for comment.

Jacobs-Meadway “not only has been a trailblazer in the legal profession, but also brings decades of experience to our firm and will be able to serve as a mentor to some of the younger attorneys in our office,” Joseph Lucci, managing partner of Baker & Hostetler's Philadelphia office, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to welcome her to the firm.”

The clients who have reached out about consulting work span various industries, including higher education, retail and business-to-business marketing, Jacobs-Meadway said. She's also been approached about an expert witness project, she said.

But her practice will not be the same as it was when she was a law firm partner, she made clear. She may assist with litigation, but does not plan to try cases in court, she said. She said she also hopes to be a resource for other attorneys at Baker & Hostetler.

“It's important for attorneys at a certain point to transition books and also I think to transition the types of work,” she said. “I could have continued where I was doing what I was doing, but I think it was time to move to another stage.”

Jacobs-Meadway previously served as co-chair of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession and continues as a member of the commission's executive council. She was a recipient of The Legal's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

Reflecting on her time at Eckert Seamans, Jacobs-Meadway said, “we were able to put together a first-class practice group. We were a little bit slower in building up the patent side than might have been ideal, but I left the department and group in Philadelphia in very good hands.” 

Before joining that firm, she was a partner at Ballard Spahr, and at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld before that. At the beginning of her career, she was the first woman lawyer and first woman partner at Seidel Gonda and Goldhammer. And she was a founding partner of Philadelphia IP firm Panitch Schwarze Jacobs & Nadel (now Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel).