Intellectual Property Insights from Fishman Stewart
Volume 21, Issue 5
Celebrating 25 Years
When Michael Fishman and I started working together, the practice of law was deeply entrenched in traditionalism. Attorneys were expected to follow a lockstep approach to compensation and advancement, with strict lines of demarcation separating partners, associates, and non-attorney professionals within a law firm. Firm leaders rebuffed efforts to invest in technological tools to simplify and promote the more efficient practice of law for the benefit of fellow professionals and clients. Anything that reduced billable hours was seen as wasteful and unnecessary.
Recognizing that we wanted to approach the practice of law in a fundamentally different way, Mike and I became business partners together on March 1, 1996. Seeds we planted a quarter of century ago now flourish, resulting in a 2020 banner year for Fishman Stewart.
Decades-long investments in technological tools such as cloud-based billing, docketing, and document management, and full digital access to firm files to facilitate remote working and enhanced customer service paid off handsomely, as we seamlessly transitioned to a fully work from home mode last March. Our 2019 implementation of Microsoft® Teams ended up being prescient in retrospect, facilitating communication and reinforcing our firm culture. I anticipate we will be continuing our “all hands” Teams-based weekly meetings long after things return to whatever becomes the new normal, while promoting one-on-one and smaller group “water cooler” interactions. The enhanced sharing of ideas and the ability to promptly translate them into action for the benefit of our colleagues and clients has been exhilarating.
Moreover, despite the ongoing challenges of Covid-19, we continue to welcome new professionals to Fishman Stewart; a half-dozen individuals will have joined us in the first quarter of 2021 alone. One of our incoming clerks was the 2020 winner of the firm’s endowed IP scholarship with Wayne State University law school, while an experienced attorney stationed in Chicago previously worked for the firm as an intellectual property legal assistant. My profound thanks for the development of our new firm intranet, which includes resources ranging from covid-19 protocols to how to send/receive faxes from one’s e-mail along with a series of “how-to” videos that are being prepared to promote virtual onboarding of our new colleagues.
Another accomplishment of 2020 was the launch of our bi-weekly Fish Tank® newsletter. Readership continues to grow with each edition and now numbers in the thousands. Pursuant to multiple requests and associated suggestions, we have finally named the fish mascot on the masthead of each Fish Tank® newsletter. We are pleased to introduce you to Sir Finnegan, known as Finny to his family and friends. A Finny plush toy will be available later this year. In the meantime, Finny’s backstory will be shared on our entirely re-imagined web site, which we will be launching in the next 6 to 8 weeks.
More substantively, the new fishstewip.com website will be much more user focused, including a wide range of resources to facilitate innovation and creativity on your own terms and at no cost. Among the resources we are developing are a series of informative white papers known as “Tacklebox Insights” to complement videos that we continue to post on our YouTube® channel.
As we pivot to our next quarter-century, we reaffirm our commitment as a premier provider of intellectual property services. Thank you for giving us this opportunity.
Student Essay Contest Winners
Congratulations to the promising engineering students who won the 2020 Engineering Society of Detroit writing contest sponsored by Fishman Stewart. The third annual contest invited students from Michigan universities to submit essays on various contemporary topics. The first-place winner, Grace Zalubas, will receive recognition at the 2021 Gold Award Reception and a $1,000 scholarship from Fishman Stewart for her essay on how she weathered the COVID-19 pandemic as a student and how this obstacle sparked innovation. Runner-up winners, Noah Baliat and Dana Marie Lefevre, also wrote student-perspective essays about academic success during a pandemic. The common takeaway from all the essays is that we can expect strong and intelligent future leaders from academic classes that faced unprecedented adversity.
Read the full essays in Tech Century magazine HERE.
Introducing Andrea Calvert
Please join us in welcoming our new attorney, Andrea J. Calvert. Andrea advises clients on all aspects of trademark and copyright law. Her practice includes worldwide trademark clearance, prosecution, enforcement, and portfolio management, trademark and copyright litigation in federal courts, and representing clients in opposition and cancellation proceedings before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. She also represents clients in domain name disputes. Andrea’s experience spans a range of industries, from global financial services to fashion and hospitality brands.
Before joining Fishman Stewart, Andrea was an associate at an intellectual property-focused law firm in Chicago. While in law school, she worked in-house alongside intellectual property counsel for a major, Midwest-based fashion brand. She earned her J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago where she received the CALI Award for Excellence in Loyola’s Intellectual Property Colloquium and was recognized as an Outstanding Intellectual Property Fellow.
IDENTIFYING, SECURING AND ADVANCING CREATIVITY®
