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Imhoff finds worldwide demand

By: JESSICA STEPHEN//September 17, 2014//

Imhoff finds worldwide demand

By: JESSICA STEPHEN//September 17, 2014//

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Benjamin Imhoff,  partner,  Andrus Intellectual Property Law LLP,  Milwaukee
Benjamin Imhoff,  partner,  Andrus Intellectual Property Law LLP,  Milwaukee

Benjamin Imhoff is following through on his theory that becoming a patent law attorney, rather than someone who works in a lab, is the best way to keep up on evolving technology.

“I’m working with scientifically technical stuff that I’m applying every day, just in a different way than you might traditionally think of when you’re in engineering school,” said Imhoff, who earned an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering before becoming an attorney.

He now is an equity partner with Andrus Intellectual Property Law LLP, a Milwaukee firm with engineers and attorneys who deal with, among other things, computers, fluid dynamics, molecular biology, genetics, and civil and mechanical engineering.

“By being in patent law, I can work with a large number of clients, coming from a large number of backgrounds in different industries, and see what’s at the forefront of a lot of different areas,” Imhoff said. “I come at it a little bit more from a business side, but that’s one of the pieces that I enjoy.”

Imhoff’s involvement with the International Trademark Association has led to work with clients from around the world, and that has made him an asset to the firm, said Joseph Kuborn, a partner with Andrus.

“He’s been going to these conferences every year and developing relationships with these firms worldwide,” Kuborn said. “… And he ends up having a really good working relationship with those inventors, taking what we do and, I wouldn’t say dumbing it down, but helping engineers who don’t deal with the patent process understand what we do.”

But Imhoff’s work, particularly the traveling, requires a balancing act at home.

“I think it’s always a work in progress,” said Imhoff, who has two boys, ages 2 and 3, with wife Colleen Tierney, an English teacher. “Having both of us working, it’s always a matter of working out trade-offs. It takes a really great partner to be able to understand and work out those schedules.”

So far, Kuborn said, Imhoff has made a strong impression on those around him.

“Ben has been here since he was a first-year law student, and we made him a partner as soon as we make anybody,” Kuborn said. “He was on that track from day one.

“And he is now in the role of being able to mentor young people.”

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