Phelps Expands Market-Leading Southeast IP Practice With Addition of Three Lawyers
BATON ROUGE, La. — July 12, 2022 — Phelps welcomes partner Drew Patty and senior associate patent lawyers Mary Drabnis, PhD, and Chris Nichols, PE, to the firm’s IP practice. Their experience helps companies across the fast-growing Southeast region protect their intellectual property domestically and internationally. This move adds to the firm’s ability to help clients navigate the worldwide rise in IP filings and gain a competitive edge while avoiding infringement and preserving their interests.
Drew, Mary, Chris and their team of experienced paralegals and assistants bolster Phelps’ already market-leading IP practice. They join five distinguished IP partners that serve the region’s biggest innovators.
“We’re excited to welcome Drew, Mary and Chris,” said Ragan Richard, Managing Partner of Phelps’ Baton Rouge office. “Their vast IP experience builds on Phelps’ reputation as a leading legal resource for businesses from Texas to North Carolina.”
Drew walks clients through the full spectrum of IP issues, from protecting their patents to negotiating agreements for commercial use of their works. He frequently prosecutes U.S. and international patent, trademark and copyright applications and stays on top of industry trends to steer clients away from infringement risks and help them monetize their intellectual property. Additionally, he regularly counsels clients on data privacy and cyber concerns to further safeguard their work. His broad technical and legal knowledge complements the firm’s existing practice to serve clients in a wide range of industries, including the region’s growing petrochemical and specialty chemical sectors.
Pulling from their chemical backgrounds, both Mary and Chris provide clients with invaluable technical understanding of patent prosecution, patent application preparation and patent portfolio management. Their industry contacts and experience enhance the value of services to clients.
“Phelps offers compelling opportunities and support to grow our IP practices and our clients’ businesses,” Drew said. “Phelps’ strong presence in the Southeast will enable us to focus on serving clients across the region.”
Drew is recognized as a leading lawyer in the region and his addition strengthens Phelps’ IP capabilities firmwide. Based in Baton Rouge, he will also offer on-the-ground support to clients operating in North Carolina’s Research Triangle. Drew, Mary and Chris are permitted to represent clients across the globe before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, its Patent Trial and Appeal Board and its Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. For any questions, contact Ragan Richard at 225-376-0227.
About Phelps Dunbar
Phelps is a full-service law firm of more than 350 attorneys. We blend valuable traditions and progressive ideas to foster a culture of collaboration among our lawyers in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and London. Our six core practice groups — admiralty, business, health care, insurance, labor and employment, and litigation — work together to offer clients a progressive, diverse practice and partnership that handles a broad range of sophisticated business needs regionally, nationally, and internationally.
