THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY TO COMPETE GLOBALLYCase Study

THOMSON IP MANAGEMENT SERVICES

SUMMARY

LaRiviere, Grubman & Payne, LLP proves that bigger isn’t always better through the insight of one of its founders, the use of the right IP management software, and quality service only a firm that specializes in IP can provide.

The success of LaRiviere, Grubman & Payne (LGP), a 29-person / 10-attorney boutique intellectual property law firm based in Monterey, California, USA, lies in the three “L’s”: location, love and leverage. “Think big—think global—even if you’re not,” preaches David LaRiviere, a principal and partner at the firm. “Success will come when you find a place you love, work you enjoy doing, and when you leverage world-class tools and systems to meet the needs of clients around the globe.”

This is exactly how LaRiviere runs his firm. After falling in love with Monterey and knowing that was where he wanted to live and work, he focused on building the patent and trademark practice at the firm beginning in 1986. In doing this, he brought with him a proven, best-of-breed docketing system (now called Thomson IP Manager®), from his time spent at Hewlett Packard, and the right people to oversee and evolve it to meet an international clientele’s needs.

“Our docketing system, Thomson IP Manager, from Thomson IP Management Services, allows us to be ‘anywhere’ and still provide exceptional service and information to our clients.

“Our docketing system...allows us to be ‘anywhere’ and still provide exceptional service and information to our clients.”

— David LaRiviere, Principal & Partner, LaRiviere, Grubman & Payne, LLP

We have access to the tools and resources necessary to compete internationally, without excessive overhead,” said LaRiviere.

Today, the firm has several hundred clients and maintains between 5,000 – 10,000 patent rights annually around the world. Its ‘think big, stay small’ philosophy has paid off, especially given global economic pressures. “We do as much international work as we do work nationally, which helps to balance the economic waves,” said LaRiviere. “The firm was founded on and continues to maintain the notion that our patent practice is international. Our docketing system, Thomson IP Manager, is what allows us to do this.”

THOMSON IP MANAGEMENT SERVICES

THOMSON IP MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Thomson IP Manager (and its preceding versions IP MasterSM, PC Master and DOS) has been the answer to LGP’s desire to look big while staying focused on IP—and to winning clients in Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

With the Thomson IP Manager portfolio management solution, LGP is able to manage patents, trademarks, licensing agreements, invention disclosures, due diligence actions and litigation matters before the patent and trademark offices, and in court—all in one, central system, producing reports that equal or surpass those of larger firms. The docketing managers even track prospective customers in the database, noting needs and potential follow-up, which helps keep the firm’s pipeline rich and flowing.

Thomson IP Manager offers numerous benefits to LGP and its clients. First is the ability to collaborate globally, regardless of where a client is based geographically and the time zone in which they reside. The software’s secure, web-based system gives clients access to their data, whenever they need it. LGP further extends this benefit by allowing clients to look up certain matters on their own (such as when a patent will issue after official fees were paid) without having to contact the office. This translates into a cost savings for the client and time savings for LGP, enabling the latter team to focus on more strategic matters.

“By showing our clients the variety and complexity of tasks Thomson IP Manager is capable of handling, and giving them access to the system, we increase customer confidence in our services despite being a boutique firm,” said LaRiviere. “We simply could not compete globally on the scale we do today if it weren’t for Thomson IP Manager.”

Couple this with their exceptional service and industry expertise, and LGP has a winning combination that is hard to ignore. “We are able to produce docket reports in half the time, and with twice the accuracy, of competitors in the IP space,” said LaRiviere.

LESSONS LEARNED

The right tools and technology are most •important for competing internationally. Thomson IP Manager, the premier intellectual asset management software from Thomson IP Management Services, enables IP law firm LGP to compete globally because of its various modules (patents, trademarks, licensing, conflicts, disclosures, due diligence actions and litigation matters), exceptional reporting functionality and collaboration capabilities.

An international clientele can help to •alleviate economic pressures. LGP is testament to the fact that by diversifying its clientele beyond geographic borders, a firm extends its prospect pool and somewhat insulates itself against economic pressures more commonly affecting firms with only a national focus.

Size does not matter when it comes to •global success. It is not only the large law firms who can woo and win international clients. Smaller, more specialized firms like LaRiviere, Grubman & Payne can—and do—too, as a result of staying focused on their practice areas and offering exceptional service. Marry this with the right software, Thomson IP Manager, and prospective clients around the world are hard pressed not to consider the firm as an option.

ABOUT THOMSON IP MANAGEMENT SERVICESBusinesses and law firms at the forefront of intellectual asset management partner with Thomson IP Management Services. The business’ solutions—Thomson IP Manager, IP Payments and IP Rules—integrate state-of-the-art portfolio management technology, comprehensive services and a world-class IP rules collection to provide unparalleled support of patents, trademarks, licenses and other intellectual assets.

“We simply could not compete globally...if it weren’t for Thomson IP Manager.”

— David LaRiviere

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