Foley & Lardner LLP has once again proven that its unique offering of a large intellectual property (IP) practice within a general practice (GP) platform resonates with clients. Foley has risen in the rankings to secure the number three spot — placing number one among GP firms — of all law firms in total U.S. utility patents issued. In addition, the firm received top rankings in areas important to the energy, health care and life sciences, innovative technology, and manufacturing sectors.

Integration as Competitive Differentiator. Foley provides a unique offering of an IP practice within a GP firm that is the equivalent in scale and strength of any of the largest IP boutiques in the world. A differentiating factor is the integration of this practice within a GP platform. Foley's IP Department is one of the three departments in the firm's organizational hierarchy and sits side by side with the other large departments of Business Law and Litigation. Most GP law firms do not have the IP department postured in this manner.

Foley's 1,100+ attorneys and agents across 25 offices fully embrace the firm's strategic pillars of one team, sector focus, and client lens approach to client engagements to further make the integration of Foley's IP with a GP platform even more powerful.

One Team. Practice integration fuels Foley's one team approach, allowing us to not only serve nearly all of our clients' needs but do so in a flexible and integrated manner. This is due to the firm's deep bench of attorneys across many different areas including M&A, antitrust, commercial litigation, compliance, regulatory, tax, public affairs, employment law, and more that can be called upon based on client needs. With the range offered by Foley's IP Department, the firm is able to provide patent counselors across technologies and sciences from A to Z: trademark, copyright, and advertising assistance; IP litigation; and technology transactions, licensing, cybersecurity, and data privacy consultation. The IP team not only serves many of the world's leading companies in technology and science, but also works in collaboration with the firm's Business Law and Litigation Departments to provide comprehensive services that take into account the impact of IP on each client's business objectives.

As an example, in the context of a strategic transaction, Foley can select from among its 300+ IP lawyers, patent agents, and paraprofessionals to identify the team members with the right experience and technology background to work alongside our business lawyers, litigators, and others to provide tailored counseling for the entire spectrum of legal and business aspects of the transaction.

Client Lens. One of Foley's strategic pillars is having a client lens. That is, addressing our clients' business challenges from their viewpoints while providing legal counseling and services. Foley's lawyers are more than trusted legal advisors, they are business advisors who counsel and guide clients through their challenges. Within a GP platform, Foley's IP lawyers become more client lens-aware than our competitors as they learn how IP impacts our clients' business interests. Context matters. This holistic approach to IP counseling helps ensure that Foley's clients' needs and interests are properly addressed.

Sector Solutions. Foley's sector approach engages clients with cross-practice teams of attorneys who are situationally fluent in the business challenges our clients face and will face in the energy, health care and life sciences, innovative technology, and manufacturing sectors. Foley's sectors are the framework through which Foley delivers top legal talent, using innovative services to solve business problems. Foley's IP practice is a core and integral part of Foley's sector approach as our IP lawyers and patent agents have a deep understanding of the technology and science underlying our clients' products and services. This enables our sector teams to understand not only the business and legal challenges of our clients, but also the technology and science forming an important part of the client lens. In fact, Foley's IP Department is not only a top patent filer but also a top filer for the technology and science inventions driving the energy, health care and life sciences, innovative technology, and manufacturing sectors. This interdisciplinary approach to IP law allows the firm to provide clients with the full range of services needed to protect their intellectual property rights and interests.