IP Innovators

In this episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with Scott Kelly, Founding Partner and Head of Practice at KellDann , to explore what happens when a patent attorney decides that "good enough" AI-drafted patents aren't good enough. Drawing on nearly 17 years in the field, including three years as a USPTO examiner and 13 years at Banner Witcoff, Scott brings a practit...

In this episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with David Hyams, Co-Founder and Chief Business Development Officer of Longship Legal , to explore what happens when a patent attorney stops asking, "Is this patentable?" and starts asking "What is this business actually worth?" Drawing on a career that spans big law in Boston, in-house roles at Bose and AOL, and...

In this episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with Emily Teesdale, Founder of Pivot IP , to explore what fractional IP leadership actually looks like, and why smaller engineering companies are leaving serious value on the table without it. Drawing on more than 20 years in the field, including senior in-house roles at Airbus and GKN Aerospace, Emily makes a compelling case that I...

In this episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with Drew McElligott, Counsel at Crowell & Moring , to explore what AI actually looks like inside a modern law firm—and why, as McElligott puts it, “writer’s block is pretty much dead.” From litigation and Hatch-Waxman strategy to medical device innovation and firmwide AI rollouts, Drew shares a grounded, practical view of how ar...

In this episode of IP Innovators , host Steve Brachmann sits down with Stephanie Curcio , CEO and co-founder of NL Patent , to explore how AI has evolved from concept-based prior art search to touching every stage of the patent lifecycle. Stephanie reflects on her journey from patent prosecution to legal tech founder and what she’s learned from being an early mover in AI for IP. She also digs into...

In this episode of IP Innovators , host Steve Brachmann sits down with Phil Harris , Equity Partner and Patent Practice Group Leader at Holland & Hart , to trace his journey from mechanical engineering to leading one of the most tech-forward IP teams in the Mountain West.  Phil shares how his firm built custom automation and AI tools to streamline prosecution—from managing IDS filings to analy...

In this episode of IP Innovators , host Steve Brachmann sits down with Mark Kesslen , Partner and Chair of the IP Group at Lowenstein Sandler , to trace his path from electrical engineering to chief patent counsel on Wall Street—and how that fintech vantage point shapes his practice today. We dig into LabMorgan’s early online payments bets, the ripple effects of State Street → Alice → Recentive ,...

In this episode of IP Innovators , we sit down with Aaron Capron, partner and head of the Patent Office Practice at Finnegan, to trace his unconventional path from Lockheed’s GPS labs to leading one of the busiest patent prosecution teams in the U.S. 🛰️⚖️ Aaron shares how a cold call from a headhunter changed his career, what he learned as a USPTO examiner (think: video games and slot machines), a...

In this episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann talks with Chris Agrawal, Managing Partner at Bookoff McAndrews, about his journey from sifting through stacks of physical patents at the USPTO to building a cloud-first, tech-forward IP practice. 📂➡️🤖 Hear how Chris navigated law school while working full-time, helped launch a lean, prosecution-focused firm, and is now piloting generative A...

In this first episode of IP Innovators, veteran patent attorney Paul Hunter, Partner and Electronics Practice Co-Chair at Foley & Lardner, shares his journey from filing patents using fax machines to leading an AI-accelerated practice. A candid look at how real careers adapt—and thrive—as technology transforms the future of IP law. 👨‍💼 About the Guest: Paul Hunter is a leading IP attorney wi...