Avant Law Group, Erickson Kernell will merge to form IP law firm AVEK - Kansas City Business Journal - Kansas City Business Journal
Two Kansas City-area law firms specializing in intellectual property will combine to create a new firm.
Leawood-based Avant Law Group and Overland Park-based Erickson Kernell IP LLC will merge on Jan. 1 to create AVEK IP. The new firm will have 13 lawyers, including 12 who are registered patent attorneys. Overall, AVEK will have 24 people in two offices because both firms plan to stay in their current locations for at least the next two years. Both firms have clients worldwide, including North America, China, Denmark, Germany and Scandinavia.
Each firm has its strengths. Avant Law is experienced in conducting Inter Partes Review proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that question the validity of existing patents in an attempt to invalidate them. Erickson Kernell focuses more on litigated cases and trademark filings. Both firms have experience handling patent prosecution involving mechanical devices, electronics and software. Erickson Kernell also has an attorney with a background in biology, so it can handle biotech cases, too.
“The strength of the merger is that we each have the core competencies, but we each have our separate strengths that should help us work well together,” said Kent Erickson, who co-founded Erickson Kernell in 2003. “This adds to the depth of talent we can use to better serve our clients and address their needs.”
Justin Poplin, who co-founded Avant Law in April 2020 with two other former attorneys from Lathrop GPM LLP, said the merger gives both firms a little more bandwidth to take on cases, though neither firm was interested in growth just for growth’s sake.
“If it hadn’t been a situation where we trusted the other firm and were very comfortable with the people and the skills they bring to the table, this wouldn’t have happened,” Poplin said. “So we’re not looking to merge again and double our size in the next two years or anything like that. We’ve all been in big firms and saw some of the pitfalls for big firms, so we’re not looking to become a huge firm. Right now, we are just looking to make sure we can keep doing really good work for clients and keep them happy.”
source: https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2021/12/14/avant-law-erickson-kernell-merger-ip-patent-firm.html
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