Steven C. Petersen

Mr. Petersen serves as the General Counsel and Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Newlight Technologies, Inc. Mr. Petersen is responsible for building and maintaining a robust worldwide patent portfolio as well as managing all of the company’s day-to-day legal matters. Prior to joining Newlight, Mr. Petersen was the General Counsel of Vical Incorporated, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, serving as legal advisor to the CEO and executive team on contractual matters, legal governance, IP due diligence, and all matters related to domestic and international intellectual property. Earlier in his career he built a successful practice as a partner at Hogan Lovells, LLP, a leading global law firm providing business-oriented legal advice to clients around the world. As a member of the firm’s intellectual property group, he worked extensively with early stage biotechnology companies to implement strategies for the protection, management and licensing of intellectual property assets. He also advised clients on the scope, infringement, validity and enforceability of U.S. patents, assisting in risk assessment, enforcement of IP rights and the defense of claims of infringement of third party IP rights. Mr. Petersen earned a J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, a B.S. in biology from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and worked towards an M.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of Utah. He is admitted to the Colorado Bar, and is registered to practice as a patent attorney before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.