This week, I continue my written interview with leading patent litigator Wendy Verlander, founder of an exciting new IP litigation boutique, Verlander LLP. It is always a pleasure to share with this readership the perspectives of fellow IP litigators, especially when they have a record of both legal and entrepreneurial success — which Wendy has in spades. The ever-changing nature of our profession can be both daunting and exciting, but it is the courage of IP lawyers, like Wendy, who are willing to start new ventures that helps to ensure that IP practice remains a vital and forward-looking area of law.
Now to the remainder of my interview with Wendy. As usual, I have added some brief commentary to Wendy’s answers below but have otherwise presented her answers to my questions as she provided them.
Gaston Kroub: How do you think your experiences at Blackbird and Wilmer will inform your practice at Verlander LLP?
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Wendy Verlander: Both experiences have really contributed to our vision of the new firm.
My years practicing at Wilmer taught me how to achieve the best result for the client. Of course, when you have a firm of about 1,000 lawyers, you don’t worry about issues such as bandwidth and limited resources. But being exposed to just about every issue that could possibly come up in a case is directly transferable to our current practice, particularly when it comes to understanding which of those issues are truly the important ones. The same is true for my partners at the firm. We’ve practiced in the biggest firms, on some of the most complex cases, from filing to trial and appeal, and are comfortable standing up in a courtroom.
At Blackbird, we took that mindset and applied it to a small operation. We have conducted our litigations in a highly efficient way to achieve the quality and results without the high costs of big firm litigation. We really perfected our ability to narrow the issues down to those we think are most important to the case. It’s been a great lesson in “less is more” and that you don’t need large teams to get big results. We’ve also developed a great collaborative environment with smaller teams that make it easier to make decisions, adapt to changing circumstances, and frankly, just get along better.
But above all else, we have a great appreciation for what really matters to clients because, at Blackbird, we are the client. So often, clients and their lawyers have a sort of adversarial relationship. But, it doesn’t need to be that way. Our experience at Blackbird allows us to truly understand a client’s needs and concerns and how to best address them.
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Our goal at the new firm is to combine all of that knowledge and experience from our time in Biglaw, such as mine at Wilmer, and Blackbird, to provide truly efficient and effective legal services with client needs at the forefront, but at a significantly reduced cost.
GK: It is always a compelling proposition for clients to hear that their lawyers have “been in their shoes” and know what it takes to get results in an efficient manner. At the same time, modern-day patent litigation often presents a scenario where there can be a significant resource imbalance between the parties in the case, most often in the form of a megadefendant with a veritable army of both in-house and outside counsel ready to squash any patent assertion efforts. When confronted with such a challenge, plaintiff lawyers like Wendy who know how the defendants and their law firms like to operate can offer patent holders a distinct advantage. At bottom, the combination of experiences that Wendy and her partners bring to bear is formidable, and it should be very interesting to see how they synthesize those experiences on behalf of Verlander LLP’s clients.
What makes a firm like yours attractive to Biglaw refugees — both clients and lawyers — looking for a fresh alternative?
WV: For clients, we provide a Biglaw-quality product at a small firm price. As I mentioned, our experience at Biglaw firms combined with our understanding of clients’ needs is unique. We have the ability to look at litigation in a new way that doesn’t waste time or money but achieves the same results. We’re nimble and able to easily adapt to the changing needs of a case. Particularly during these tough times, clients are looking for a better approach.
For lawyers, we combine the important work of a big firm with the benefit of a more collaborative and less stressful environment of a small firm. And, because we are small, our lawyers get opportunities that aren’t often offered to most IP lawyers. Our lawyers frequently go toe-to-toe with some of the most respected lawyers in the business and argue before some of the most respected district court and appellate judges. And, particularly with a small firm, if the client succeeds, the firm succeeds, including all the lawyers, which is not necessarily the case in bigger firms.
We believe this novel approach is the way of the future, that clients and colleagues alike will want to adopt.
GK: While the boutique model may not be for everyone, there is no doubt that it does offer some compelling advantages to motivated IP litigators. In fact, I would argue that many of the more successful IP litigation groups at Biglaw firms draw their success from adopting a boutique firm approach within the confines of a larger entity. But nothing beats the nimble nature of boutique practice, both in terms of allowing developing talent to flourish more quickly and in giving experienced lawyers the ability to shape their practices to focus on what is most important to them and the clients they want to serve. It will be very interesting to see how Verlander LLP puts some of Wendy’s viewpoints to work — and whether it can attract the talent to match its ambitions. I am bullish, but I also acknowledge how managing growth can be a challenge for any small firm. Either way, the ride should be an exciting one for Wendy and her partners.
My thanks to Wendy for the insights and cooperation, especially so close to the launch of her new firm. I wish her and her partners the best of luck with the new firm and have no doubt that we will hear of their successful efforts on behalf of Verlander LLP clients early and often. I am always open to conducting interviews of this type with other IP thought leaders, so feel free to reach out if you have a compelling perspective to offer.
Please feel free to send comments or questions to me at [email protected] or via Twitter: @gkroub. Any topic suggestions or thoughts are most welcome.
Gaston Kroub lives in Brooklyn and is a founding partner of Kroub, Silbersher & Kolmykov PLLC, an intellectual property litigation boutique, and Markman Advisors LLC, a leading consultancy on patent issues for the investment community. Gaston’s practice focuses on intellectual property litigation and related counseling, with a strong focus on patent matters. You can reach him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter: @gkroub.