IP Boutique Gardner Groff Cuts Fees, Not Jobs

While many law firms are furloughing staff and slashing salaries, suburban Atlanta intellectual property firm Gardner Groff & Greenwald, PC is holding steady on headcount and pay, but reducing fees for new patent and trademark applications by 20%.

“By a combination of good planning and good luck, we find ourselves well positioned to help our clients weather the coronavirus storm,” said Art Gardner, the firm’s managing partner. The firm’s September 2019 office move reduced overhead and prompted the firm to restructure its IT systems to better accommodate remote working.

“We saw a lot of empty offices as our people preferred to work from home more and more over the past few years,” Gardner observed, “and we realized we just didn’t need the big Class A space anymore.” And the rent savings from the office move allowed the firm to invest in new technology and security upgrades to improve remote workers’ productivity. “It’s been a win-win-win,” he said, allowing clients better access to their information and to the firm’s attorneys, eliminating employee commute time in Atlanta traffic, and helping the firm remain financially sound.

So while the firm has been significantly impacted by the current situation, we’re still able to help our clients by announcing a 20% discount on all new patent and trademark applications in the month of May. “We listen to our clients,” Gardner noted, “and we know their budgets are being badly impacted by the coronavirus shutdown, but they still need to protect their brands and their inventions.” The firm is thankful to be in a good position to help, he said, and that “we don’t foresee the need to lay anyone off or cut salaries,” while doing so.

Prior to last year’s move, the firm had also adopted a paperless file system, transitioned to a cloud-based IP docketing system, upgraded its phone and internal communication systems, and fully implemented use of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s electronic filing system. At a time when many firms are scrambling to adapt to the new business realities brought on by the pandemic, Gardner commented, “we were already there.”

About Gardner Groff & Greenwald, PC

Gardner Groff® is an is an intellectual property law firm in Atlanta, Georgia, practicing exclusively in the areas of patent law, trademarks and service marks, trade secrets, unfair competition and copyright.  They assist their clients in procuring and maintaining intellectual property rights, enforcing those rights through litigation and alternate forms of dispute resolution, maximizing the value of their intellectual property through licensing and transactional counseling, and minimizing risk via opinion practice and design-around assistance.

As a small Intellectual Property boutique, they are better able to focus on responsiveness to their clients’ needs. The high quality of the services they provide is evidenced by the many awards and recognition their attorneys have achieved. While they are based in Atlanta, they service clients nationwide and around the world in all aspects of US, international, and foreign intellectual property law.

For more information, please contact Art Gardner at 770-984-2300, email info@gardnergroff.com, or visit the firm’s website at www.gardnergroff.com.

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