When the name Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione comes up the word Chicago is not far behind. Which makes sense because that is where the intellectual property law firm is headquartered.
What isn't widely known is the firm's Ann Arbor office is its biggest, and it's growing. Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione recently added another attorney to its Ann Arbor office, bring its number of lawyers to 18 and total staff to 28. All of them are working to keep up with the growing amount of work in the southeast Michigan area.
"There just seems to be a lot of entrepreneurial energy in Ann Arbor," says Steven Oberholtzer, managing partner of the Ann Arbor office for Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione. "We expect that to continue."
Much of the office's work comes from technology spinning out of the University of Michigan. Everything from software to material sciences need patents, trademarks and other intellectual property protection as they grown into startups or parts of larger businesses.
Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione also does a lot of work in the automotive industry, working with new technologies in automotive connectivity to increasing fuel efficiency. The total amount of work from the auto industry is up 20 percent in the last five years. The law firm also does a lot of bio-technology and life sciences work even though Pfizer pulled up stakes years ago.
"The professionals who left Pfizer are now starting their own companies," Oberholtzer says.
Source: Steven Oberholtzer, managing partner of the Ann Arbor office for Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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