IP boutiques suffer in the US while larger firms grow teams

Corporate counsel behaviour - particularly a new willingness to settle and to accept calculated risks - is leading to fewer patent cases that get fought to the end and, therefore, less work for specialist boutiques, according to BTI Consulting.

22 June 2015

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Michael Rynowecer, president of Massachusetts-based BTI Consulting, said: 'Up until a couple years ago, there were no real big settlements in IP litigation. Everything was fought tooth and nail to protect your IP, and you never knew what a court case's effect on your product line was, so you didn't want to settle. Now corporate counsel has more information, and with some recent rulings and settlements, there's an increased comfort with understanding the risks.'

Boutiques

In Detroit, for instance, five of the top ten law firms dedicated mainly to IP lost lawyers in the 18 months up to January. By contrast, ten of the 13 largest general practice law firms either increased their numbers or stayed the same in IP in the same period. Detroit-based Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn is one such firm. Howard & Howard is another.

Patent suits

BTI Consulting believes that larger firms - with a larger range of specialist lawyers - might be able to deal better now with the highly specialist requirements involved in taking the most complicated patent lawsuits. Source: Crain's Detroit Business