To start off Monday, May 4, Managing IP attended a business breakfast hosted by Ukraine-based IP boutique Mamunya IP.
During the event, partners Ganna Prokhorova and Oleksandr Mamunya spoke to clients and colleagues about IP strategies in a fragmented world.
Prokhorova noted that heightened geopolitical tensions, an explosion in the counterfeiting market, and artificial intelligence (AI) advancement are increasingly impacting how law firms shape their IP strategies.
AI, for instance, is prompting law firms to hire attorneys with high technical literacy, she noted.
Prokhorova said that along with technical literacy, an attorney’s ability to be “resilient, flexible, and curious” will make them more attractive in the market.
One attendee noted that their firm’s biggest challenge is to get attorneys to understand and implement technology in their practice in a productive yet cautious manner.
Mamunya then turned the conversation toward Ukraine’s IP landscape, having been altered with Ukraine’s ongoing war with Russia.
He said the war has brought turbulent times not only for Ukraine’s population and economy but also its legal operations.
However, Mamunya noted that “IP never stopped”, with firms and clients continuing to file applications at the country’s IP office.
Building a law firm’s brand
Following that event, we attended an INTA panel session on social media trends that law firms should pay attention to.
Fernando Polo, co-founder and CEO of Good Rebels, a digital marketing firm, shared how firms can stand out in an era of information overload and digital chaos.
He added that clients are now using AI tools, including ChatGPT, to help them decide which law firm to partner with.
While it’s not fully understood how AI picks which firms to recommend, according to Polo, having a strong online presence can only help position your firm more competitively in the market.
Polo encouraged firms to take advantage of the tools they have access to, including LinkedIn, TikTok, and podcasts.
However, he noted that a standard pitfall that lawyers encounter, when they are looking to build their firm’s digital brand, is posting generic comments or “showing off” their accomplishments instead of providing valuable information to their audience.
Lara Kayode, founding partner O. Kayode & Co in Nigeria, said she has been guilty of this in the past.
“Sometimes we are quick to post. For example, I am at INTA in London, so I take a picture and post it quickly. Now, I think it’s necessary to take time out and think about the kind of information you want to put out there.”
Isabel Pato, partner at Elion in Spain, said the biggest challenges in building a firm’s online presence is finding the time to create valuable, informative content, while also sounding authentic.
Kayode added that her firm tackles these challenges through partnering with another organisation whose responsibility is to build the firm’s online presence.
She emphasised that her firm does not give entire creative control over to the partnering organisation.
“We don’t just let them do everything. We have a voice.”
Polo concluded saying firms that are able to create educative, authentic, and clear content will stand out in the IP market.
Question of the day
Each day, our team is also asking attendees a set question on how they make the most out of the Annual Meeting.
Today, we asked how delegates balance normal workloads with the demands of the conference.
Jay Suh, partner SungAm Suh International Patent & Law Firm in South Korea, said he tries to wear “two hats” in conference season. “I wear my conference hat for three hours a day. After that, I take off the conference hat and put my work hat on.
“So, I make sure that my time is well-balanced between the two and focus on one thing at a time. It is hard, but you have to get used to wearing different hats.”
Karen Abraham, head of IP at Shearn Delamore & Co in Malaysia, has attended INTA for more than 25 years.
In that time, she noted, she has curated a “format of restructuring” rather than balancing her daily workload around the conference.
She explains: “Before the month of the conference, I adopt a front-load and triage approach. This entails conducting a hard audit of my active matters, prioritising and expediting matters that need to be addressed, prepared in advance and hopefully concluded before the conference.”
This approach includes bringing forward deadlines and, where possible, delegating non-critical advisory work to the rest of her team to mind the fort while she is “buried in the packed INTA schedule”.
She adds: “Receptions are the social and fun part of the conference, but sometimes downtime is needed to head back after a day of meetings and to check emails and connect with the office back home for a few hours before heading out to see friends and colleagues at the events they are hosting, later in the evening.”
Luiz Edgard Montaury Pimenta, senior partner at Montaury Pimenta, Machado & Vieira de Mello in Brazil, said achieving the balance is “one of the most difficult parts of attending conferences” as regular work does not stop and the conference takes almost the whole day.
“I normally reserve a few hours before going to bed to review and respond to calls, emails, etc., and during the day focus on the conference demands,” he said.
Gabriel St-Laurent, senior associate at BLG in Canada, welcomes the challenge of balancing his usual workload with the excitement and demands of the conference.
“Planning is key,” he said. “I organise my schedule before the conference begins, prioritising urgent tasks and setting clear boundaries for when I’ll be available. Communicating with colleagues about my availability also helps keep things running smoothly at the office.
“INTA itself is energising and offers valuable networking and learning opportunities, so I try to make the most of both worlds by remaining flexible and focusing on efficiency.”
The INTA Annual Meeting runs from May 2 to May 6 at the ExCel in London.
