What are the IP industry disrupters?
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

What are the IP industry disrupters?

What working practices and new services could disrupt the way that businesses seek legal advice on IP, or IP prosecution services?

Last week we began a new series of articles and interviews in our Women in IP Network focused on different ways of working in the profession. We began with an interview with Louisa Fielding, a trade mark attorney who works as a freelance consultant.

Fielding used to work at a large London-based firm before she launched her own business. But as well as working under her own name, Louisa also works with a number of new networks that have been set up to match businesses in need of an attorney with freelance professionals in search of short-term assignments.

One of the networks she works with is K2, created by lawyers at Keltie. It gives her access to a back office and records system, assistance with marketing, and a network of patent and trade mark attorneys she can check in with, put together pitches with, and share know-how with.

The obvious upside for Fielding is flexibility: she can choose when to work and what work she wants to do. She may not be as accessible to her clients as a team of attorneys working at a large firm, but using a freelance consultant offers them other advantages. Without the need to service a smart city-centre office her rates are invariably cheaper than those of her salaried peers. She can also work in-house on temporary assignments without the client feeling like the joint is being cased by a seconded lawyer looking to win more work for his or her employers.

The interview made me think about whether these types of working relationships represent the future for the IP legal profession. A number of law firm partners have told me that fewer lawyers are willing to work the kind of hours or make the kinds of commitments they did just 20 years ago. Following the financial crisis, when many firms shrank and lawyers were let go, IP professionals realised that loyalty didn’t always run both ways. As Fielding told me, more of them want to set up on their own and take more control over the way they work. Factor in the potential cost savings for clients, and this could change the market for IP professionals.

But what other working practices and new services could disrupt the way that businesses seek legal advice on IP, or IP prosecution services? At Managing IP we want to find some of the cutting-edge developments that are shaping the future of the profession. Do let us know if you think the way you or your business works fits that description.

You can find out more about Managing IP’s Women in IP Network here.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Ireland joining the UPC would offer plenty of opportunities to local attorneys but there are fears that upcoming referendum could get ‘lost in the noise’
Attorneys at four firms reveal the business opportunities that stem from patent licensing agreements in the life sciences sector
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Counsel at four firms explain their lateral hiring policies and how they retain existing lawyers
Lori Gordon, who has joined from Perkins Coie, says she hopes to turn Goodwin into a 'premier' destination for PTAB work
The LMG Life Sciences Awards is thrilled to present the shortlist for the 2024 EMEA Awards.
Partners at LeanWill Law Firm, a newly launched domestic firm in China, discuss IP opportunities and which clients they plan to target
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP lawyer about their life and career
A survey of more than 25,000 in-house lawyers reveals that embracing technology could help law firms win new business
John Mulgrew, vice president of IP at Lenovo, says the EU's proposed regulation will readdress imbalances in the bargaining power of SEP owners and implementers
Gift this article