Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/1365049
14 www.canadianlawyermag.com/inhouse FEATURE PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY has never been more critical in the current climate, as court closures and delays have led to a rise in infringement cases. Voted by readers, Canadian Lawyer's Top 10 Intellectual Property Boutiques offer a wide range of services to meet the needs of clients of all sizes and from varied sectors. Among our top 10 boutiques, Alberta and Calgary-based Hicks Intellectual Property works with various businesses from startups to large corporations across multiple industry sectors. A team of lawyers, patent agents and trademark agents with diverse backgrounds and experience lead the firm. "Our inventors really like working with Hicks," says Heather Mueller, executive vice president of IP at NCS Multistage, a client of Hicks. "They are very responsive and articulate and just get to the point. They feel like a strategic partner rather than a law firm." Hicks has also handled global patent work for Ensign Energy Services Inc. for the past four years. "We really appreciate their responsiveness and their technical expertise," says Justin Louie, senior legal counsel at Ensign. Also named among our top 10, Belmore Neidrauer LLP represents many Canadian and multinational corporations in IP cases. Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson has been outsourcing its pharmaceutical patent litigation to the Toronto-based firm for 15 years and now works closely with Peter Wilcox. He has been a partner at the firm since 2012. "Peter is very efficient and responsive, and he knows how to run a trial really efficiently," says Diane Yee, vice president of patent law at Janssen. "He knows how to line up his associates and how to canvass and engage the expert witnesses quickly and very efficiently." Robic LLP is another firm to be named among our top 10 intellectual property boutiques. Operating in Montreal and Quebec Top 10 Intellectual Property Boutiques Clients value responsiveness and expertise in leading IP boutiques HOW WE DID IT Canadian Lawyer asked lawyers, in-house counsel and clients from across Canada to vote on the top intellectual property and labour and employment boutiques for last year's rankings. They were asked to rank their top firms from a preliminary list, with a chance to nominate a firm that was not included on the list. To be considered in the vote, firms must have at least 80 per cent of their business come from intellectual property or labour and employment. The final rankings were determined through a points system, in which firms were rewarded on a sliding scale for the number of first to 10th-place votes received. The quantitative results are combined with feedback from respected senior members of the bar and in-house counsel when applicable. City, the firm's expertise covers all aspects of IP prosecution, IP enforcement, technology transfer and commercialization. "The lawyers at Robic know their IP issues very well, and they know us very well," says Bernard Rochette, vice president and general counsel at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, one of Robic's many clients. "It's important when you work with an external firm that they know their client very well." Rochette has been outsourcing most trademark matters to Robic for several years, including registering and modifying trade- marks. "They are experts in the field, and they are pleasant people who are fun to work with, so it's a good relationship," Rochette says.