Back to Use Cases

Before you send a case to a new foreign partner firm, it’s important to evaluate their experience, client base, technical expertise, and relationship with peer law firms. IP Pilot’s Analyze feature makes this due diligence straightforward and data-driven.

To Assess a New Foreign Associate Firm

1. Open the Associate Law Firm’s Profile

  • Click Analyze on the left navigation bar.
  • Select Law Firms.
  • In the search bar, enter the name of the associate law firm.
    • If there are multiple entities for the firm, you can select more than one or just pick the relevant entity.
  • If you do not find the firm at the top, scroll to the bottom of the results, and check the Unconfirmed Law Firms section, as the entity may be listed there

  • Click the arrow on the right side to open the law firm profile.

2. Set Year Type and Time Period

  • On the Overview page, confirm the Year Type is set to Prosecution Year.
  • Select the appropriate time period for your analysis.

3. Filter by Client’s Country

  • Scroll down to the Clients’ Country chart.
  • Select your client’s country to filter for cases relevant to clients from that particular country.
  • This narrows down the data to show only the work the associate law firm has done for clients from your client’s country.

4. Review Important Clients

  • Below the Client’s Country chart, you’ll see a list of all Important Clients the associate law firm has represented from the selected country .
    • View the volume of patent and trademark filings handled for each client.
  • This gives you an idea of the firm’s experience with clients similar to yours.

5. Assess Technical Expertise

  • Scroll further down to filter by Technical Field or IPC (International Patent Classification).
  • Select your client’s area of interest (e.g., Pharmaceuticals, Software, etc.).
  • You’ll now see data relevant to your client’s industry, confirming whether the partner has deep expertise in that field.

6. Examine Case Exchange Data

  • Go to the Case Exchange tab and confirm the Year Type is set to Case Exchange Year.
  • In the International Case Exchange chart, select Received Cases to see how many cases the associate law firm has received from the client’s country in your selected time frame.
  • Review the Sent and Received Cases Over Time chart to see the trend of incoming cases from the client’s country. Is their volume stable, growing, or declining?

7. Check Trusted Partner Law Firms

  • Remove the applicant’s country filter (if not needed), and select your country in the Sending Representative’s Country chart.
  • Scroll down to the Important Partners chart. Now, you’ll see which law firms from your country have historically trusted this associate law firm with their outbound cases.

8. Leverage the Network Overlap Feature (IP Pilot Pro Only)

  • On the law firm’s profile, click on the Insights tab.
  • Use the Network Overlap feature to enter your firm’s name.
  • This will show you:
    • The overlap in networks between your firm and the associate law firm.
    • Mutual clients or firms both of you have worked with.
  • Use this information to reach out to current partners who can share their experience or even introduce you to the new potential partner.

Example Scenario

Suppose your U.S.-based firm wants to find out if “Maple Leaf IP” in Canada is a good partner firm for your client in the U.S.:

  • Go to Analyze > Law Firms and search for “Maple Leaf IP.”
  • Confirm the Prosecution Year and pick the last three complete years.
  • Under Clients’ Country, select United States.
  • Review the list of U.S. clients represented by Maple Leaf IP and see their patent/trademark work volume.
  • Further filter by your client’s technical field.
  • On the Case Exchange tab, look at received cases from the U.S. and trends over time.
  • Check Important Partners for U.S. law firms that have worked with Maple Leaf IP.
  • Use Network Overlap to find mutual contacts and consider asking for a referral.

Best Practices & Tips

  • Check Both Patent and Trademark Experience: Review both filing types to ensure well-rounded and relevant expertise.

  • Look for Industry Alignment: Filtering by technical field ensures the partner has a track record relevant to your client’s needs.
  • Network Leverage: Use network overlap and mutual contacts for referrals and insights; trusted introductions can smooth the partnership process.
  • Monitor Trends: Prefer firms with stable or increasing case inflows and good feedback from other firms in your country.

Need help analyzing a potential partner? Contact our support team at support@ip-pilot.com.