Lighting fires in minds: Lippes Mathias partner on inspiring the next gen

Welcome to the latest instalment of Managing IP’s ‘Five minutes with’ series, where we learn more about IP practitioners and professionals on a personal and professional level.

This time, we meet Matthew Asbell, partner at Lippes Mathias in New York City.

Innovators launching or expanding their products or services reach out to me to protect what usually becomes the business's most valuable assets: what they create. Whether it is an artistic work, a technological invention, a brand or reputation, they want to make sure others won't profit unfairly from their blood, sweat, and tears as well as avoid the landmines of trespassing on others’ rights where one costly mistake could shut them down.  These are the concerns of the entrepreneurs I represent and where I do my best work as a lawyer and business ally.

There is no typical working day, but if there were, it would begin while I’m still asleep because communications come in from Asia, Europe, and Africa over emails, sometimes over WhatsApp or WeChat.  By the time I have awakened and commuted to my office, my inbox is barraged.  I then have several meetings throughout the day with new and existing clients and colleagues. Afterwards, there is a lot of time spent prioritising and reprioritising tasks between the official deadlines to be met, the pressing client requests, and the numerous ongoing projects.  I plough through whatever items are the highest priority of the day, and hope to have time leftover to get ahead on longer-term demands; but every day is different because it ranges from what industry we are operating in, who is making the request and what level of understanding they have of the area of law and any authorities in front of whom I need to appear.

I have clients that are preparing pitches and launches of their new mechanical or software inventions, the ground-breaking of an arts education centre, the global adoption of a name for the latest, greatest large language model. I am also dealing with disputes, writing and responding to letters or proceedings about who can or cannot use a name, brand or logo, image without permission in one or many countries.  I am also filing responses to refusals of applications by trademark offices.

Yes, both. Sometimes you have to prioritise one big piece of work over many little things, but at any given moment there are 50 or so different high-priority items that I have to find time to address. 

It’s very exciting to light a fire in the mind of a student or young attorney, to impress a client with out-of-the-box thinking and unusual and inventive strategies or solutions.  Another exciting aspect is working with people from different educational and cultural backgrounds from all over the world - working with the different styles in which people approach issues, and translating between them. The most stressful part is the pressing requests from clients or requirements from adjudicators with urgent deadlines, especially when the best information and evidence is not always available, organised, or conveyed on time.

The most successful IP practitioners are great communicators, but maybe that’s not the right word - they are great empathisers who listen and address what they hear in a thoughtful and caring way, mindful of the right lingo and language to use and the different expectations, different financial limitations, and varying levels of knowledge in specific areas of those with whom they communicate.  They also find a balance between being over or under-reliant on AI and different technologies.  Depending on who you are dealing with, you have to adjust your language to (1) make sure that you understand what's important to your clients; (2) reassure them of that understanding by adjusting to address their priorities; and (3) make sure they can understand what you are telling them and the basis for your reasoning.

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen even highly sophisticated clients wrongly assume that their rights, approaches and actions in their home country somehow apply throughout the rest of the world;  or mistakenly believe that just because information is accessible or because they can take a particular action, they can do so without preparation and anticipation and without consequence.

My mother is still practising as a highly specialised doctor in her mid 80s, while maintaining her long-term love for the arts, language, and culture.  I’m also inspired by real innovation, creative thinking and problem solving, and thoughtfulness.

I probably wouldn’t be a lawyer at all.  Maybe I would be a musician, a doctor, a chef, an influencer, a television or radio personality, or a full-time podcaster (I currently have a podcast called Intangify that really excites me).  I would definitely not be bored, but I’d have to have multiple dimensions!

Know why things inspire or interest you. Swerve through life - an indirect path may better equip you, even if it is a bit slower getting to your objective.

Be creative, think outside the box, pave your own path, be multidimensional