• The quality and experienced advice and legal services clients expect from a large law firm at a cost and with the individualized attention clients expect from an in-house IP attorney

• Direct communication with and accountability from your IP attorney

• Responsiveness measured in hours, not days or weeks

• Singular purpose of optimizing the value and competitive advantages realized by our clients’ intellectual property

• Experience representing entrepreneurs, startups, established businesses, and multi-national corporations in all aspects of IP law for more than 20 years

• Flexibility to offer a number of alternative fee arrangements, including flat or fixed fees and discounted billing rates, emphasizing value over billable hours 

Singular Purpose

Our clients’ intellectual property can be one of their most valuable assets, if not their most valuable asset, and it deserves the undivided interest of its intellectual property firm. Our singular purpose of progressing our clients’ innovations toward competitive advantages provides the level of attention our clients’ intellectual property deserves.

Integrity

We believe the advice and counsel you receive from your IP attorney is only as good as the candor, ethics, and integrity of the attorney. We also consider responsibility, service, respect, and fundamental fairness to be integral to the integrity of our firm.

Practical Advice

Based on decades of experience and sound, sensible judgment, we strive to provide pragmatic, common sense, and results-driven counsel for progressing our clients’ innovations toward competitive advantages.

Excellence

We are committed to providing exceptional advice and outstanding legal services. Exceeding our clients’ expectations relating to responsiveness, direct communication, and individualized attention is our policy and standard operating procedure.

Summary

Intellectual property attorney with more than 20 years of experience in patent and trademark preparation, prosecution, maintenance, defense, and enforcement in a broad range of technologies including mechanical, electro-mechanical, and business methods. Extensive experience with due diligence, patentability, freedom-to-operate, infringement, validity, and enforceability opinions, and negotiating/drafting IP-related agreements including license, joint development, and manufacturing agreements. 

Skills

• Counseling wide variety of clients including individual inventors, start-up companies, and multi-national enterprises in all aspects of intellectual property protection and enforcement

• Preparing and prosecuting both domestic and foreign patents and trademarks 

• Enforcing and defending domestic and foreign patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets 

• Managing and maintaining domestic and foreign patent and trademark portfolios and dockets 

• Negotiating and drafting IP-related agreements, including license, assignment, technology, and development agreements 

• Conducting IP due diligence for business transactions 

• Conducting patentability searches and infringement analyses 

• Preparing website terms of use and privacy policies 

• Publishing written content on IP-related topics 

• Public speaking engagements on IP-related topics 

• Developing new clients and growing existing clients 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Founder, BRIGHTWISE Law, Signal Mountain, TN (2023-present)
Member, Miller & Martin, Chattanooga, TN (2022)
Shareholder and Associate, Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, Chattanooga, TN (2000 to 2022) 
Associate, Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams, Chattanooga, TN (1998-1999) 
Associate, Schenck, Price, Smith & King, Morristown, NJ (1992-1998)

EDUCATION

Juris Doctor, 1992, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 
A.B., 1989, Lafayette College, Easton, PA, Engineering (Civil), Government & Law