Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The Indianapolis office of Taft Stettinius & Hollister is bolstering its intellectual property practice by bringing aboard
four patent lawyers from rival Bose McKinney & Evans.
Chief among the new arrivals is partner Jim Coles, who will co-lead Taft’s IP practice with Margaret Lawson, who is
based at Taft’s Cincinnati headquarters. The others joining Taft are partners Ryan O. White and Anthony P. Filomena
II, and associate Stephen Rost. They begin Monday.
With these additions, Taft extends its services to Raleigh, N.C., where the attorneys have established a client base, according
to the firm.
“Certainly, Jim Coles is on the short list of anybody in town,” said Robert Hicks, managing partner of Taft’s
local office. “We’ve always had our eye on him but never pursued him.”
Coles, who led Bose McKinney’s IP practice, has 35 years of patent and trademark experience. He worked at the former
Jenkins Coffey Hyland Badger & Conard firm when it merged with Barnes & Thornburg in 1982. He remained there until
1996, when he joined Bose McKinney.
Coles said he had been in discussions with Taft’s leaders for about a year but decided to wait until he was satisfied
that the firm’s presence in Indianapolis was stable. Taft absorbed former law firm Sommer Barnard two years ago to establish
an Indianapolis office.
Taft now has more than 90 lawyers in the city, ranking it as the seventh-largest firm, according to Indianapolis Business
Journal statistics. With the new arrivals, the firm now has 13 intellectual property lawyers locally and 28 nationally, according
the firm.
“It just seems like a great place to work,” Coles said. “It’s exciting for me, because I’m
big into developing new client relationships.”
Besides Cincinnati, Taft’s Ohio offices are in Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton. It also has offices in Covington, Ky.;
Phoenix; and Beijing, China.
The firm’s additional resources and lawyers, as well as its larger client base, drew Coles to Taft, he said.
Any lateral moves lawyers make likely can be attributed to the soft economy, said Hal Moore, a partner at Indianapolis-based
Maginot Moore & Beck, an intellectual property boutique.
“It reflects that there’s definitely a tightening in the amount of work that’s out there,” he said.
“People are seeking to get to the places where they can leverage their skill set and their client contacts.”
The intellectual property practice area gained prominence in the early 1980s when federal courts began recognizing and enforcing
stronger patent-protection laws. A decade later, an explosion in software, computer and Internet usage had given rise to new
demand for patent, trademark, and copyright safeguards.
Patent attorneys typically have a technical degree in an area such as engineering, chemistry, or physics, and must pass the
United States Patent and Trademark Office examination.
Bose McKinney meanwhile is in discussions with intellectual property lawyers to replenish its practice, Managing Partner
Jeff Gaither said. The firm has six lawyers in its intellectual property group, including one patent lawyer in Indianapolis
and one part-timer in West Lafayette.
“We wish Jim and his group well and think this will be best for both firms,” he said.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.