"Zarian Midgley Passes the Year Mark," Idaho Business Review (Oct. 27, 2008)
Click Here for PDFJohn Zarian, Peter Midgley and Rex Johnson were told their dream of establishing a mid-size law firm specializing in Intellectual Property and Patent Law would never work in Boise.
"There simply is not enough business," they were told.
However, the conventional wisdom simply did not ring true to the trio, who believed the facts told a much different story.
"Twenty-five years ago, Fortune 500 companies had 85 percent of their value anchored squarely in bricks and mortar," said John Zarian, managing partner of Zarian Midgley. "Today, it is the intellectual property that accounts for approximately 85 percent of those same companies’ value."
Zarian added that successfully securing, enforcing and defending intellectual property assets, especially patents, is what ultimately brings value to companies and their shareholders today.
On Oct. 1, 2007 – armed with their convictions, personal experience, the knowledge that Idaho ranks first in the nation for the number of patents issued per capita, and a five-page business plan – Zarian, Midgley and Johnson began building a firm.
In one year’s time, that firm has grown from just three lawyers and a part-time assistant, to nine lawyers (including six patent attorneys), a patent agent, and seven additional staff, which makes Zarian Midgley the largest Intellectual Property firm in Idaho.
The firm takes pride in the diversity of technical degrees held by its senior legal team. Zarian Midgley’s registered patent attorneys, patent agents and lawyers hold degrees in electrical engineering, computer engineering, physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, genetics, molecular and cellular biology, aeronautical engineering, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing engineering.
The firm also has attracted patent attorneys and other lawyers with extensive training and experience at major law firms – including Howrey, Sonnenschein, Perkins Coie, Knobbe Martens, Finnegan Henderson, Hewlett-Packard, and IBM – and in major markets such as L.A., San Francisco, Houston and Washington, D.C. One patent attorney, Matt Whipple, is a former patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
"With our backgrounds, we are able to offer the same high quality work as some of the heavy hitting national firms," said partner Peter Midgley, "but our size and location bring clients much greater efficiency and service, rounding out an excellent overall value proposition."
The model is working. In fact, Zarian Midgley has attracted significant attention from major corporations outside Idaho. The firm has handled IP litigation matters in a number of jurisdictions – including Utah, Texas, Georgia and California – representing companies such as ViewSonic. Recently, when BMW, Mercedes, Ford, Volvo, and Jaguar Land Rover were sued for patent infringement in Idaho, they retained Zarian Midgley as their Idaho counsel.
In July, impressed with the firm’s expertise and ability, MSI Global Alliance invited Zarian Midgley to join the organization’s international association of legal and accounting firms, which has more than 250 members in 100 countries. And increasingly, as word spreads, Zarian Midgley is attracting clients here in Idaho. The firm recently filed two major patent cases for Idaho clients, and has been engaged by several Idaho companies to manage their patent and trademark portfolios.
Established in 2007, Zarian Midgley (www.zarianmidgley.com) is a boutique law firm specializing in intellectual property matters (especially patent law), intellectual property litigation, and complex business litigation. The firm’s registered patent attorneys, patent agents, and lawyers hold technical degrees in electrical engineering, computer engineering, physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, genetics, molecular and cellular biology, aeronautical engineering, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing engineering. The firm’s objective is to provide the high-quality representation expected of large firms, with greater efficiency.