While the firm’s roots date back to the mid 1980s, Edell, Shapiro & Finnan, LLC emerged from a predecessor firm in 2002. The firm was founded by Ira Edell, Stuart Shapiro, and Patrick Finnan with a vision to build upon a small but strong foundation based on exceptional technical expertise, superior quality, and a distinctive culture that promotes employee satisfaction and low turnover.  Almost immediately, ESF began to attract new clients and attorneys, leading to more than doubling in size in less than 5 years. Over the course of two decades, the firm has continued to experience steady growth, averaging nearly 10% growth annually to reach our current size of about 50 people.

Starting from a technical base primarily focused on electrical and mechanical arts, including communications, semiconductors, software, and medical devices, ESF expanded its expertise to encompass virtually all technologies, including a wide range of chemical and biotechnical/life sciences fields.  Along the way, we’ve added attorneys who are former litigators, in-house IP counsel, patent and trademark examiners, and engineers and scientists with significant field experience.

ESF has continuously expanded and diversified its IP expertise beyond patent and trademark preparation and prosecution.  Working with clients in highly contentious markets, early on, ESF developed a large freedom-to-operate practice that involves evaluating product designs, investigating competitors’ patent portfolios, and advising clients about potential infringement risks.  We cultivated relationships with litigation firms, leading to a thriving practice in litigation-related services such as preparing complex non-infringement and invalidity opinions and filing reissue applications and complicated certificates of correction.

By 2010, ESF had developed a thriving post-grant practice, successfully handling numerous Ex Parte and Inter Partes reexamination proceedings. With the advent of AIA post-grant procedures such as Inter Partes Review (IPR) and Post-Grant Review (PGR), ESF developed a robust post-grant practice, handling dozens of IPRs with a phenomenal success rate representing both petitioners and patent owners.

In 2012, having outgrown its original office, the firm upgraded to its current office location, enabling the potential for still further growth in a single contiguous space.

In recent years, we have rapidly expanded our IP due diligence services that support mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs.  Our extensive interactions with in-house counsel have allowed us to develop a reputation as experts in strategic counseling, and ESF is frequently entrusted with IP licensing and transaction matters, including the handling of several 8-figure settlement agreements.

Our high retention rate is critical to building strong relationships with our clients and ensuring that the same core team of attorneys and staff have served the same clients over many years. Some of the world’s leading innovators entrust us with their intellectual property matters.  Our strategic and forward-thinking management strives to build on our successful history to lead the way to the future!