Hybrid practices are not a novel concept. Arguably, the solo general practitioner started it all. General practitioners deserve their flowers for being the blueprint for the modern hybrid practice. Ever the legal polymath, the solo general practitioner arose out of necessity and has stayed because of attorneys committed to serving their communities’ unmet legal needs and, in some cases, being the solution to limited access to legal services. However, as time went on, technology advanced, we learned more about marketing, client avatars, and niching, and attorneys began to specialize. These days, it is more common to see attorneys only practicing one area of law. Your trusts and estates attorney does not practice business law, and your family attorney does not practice criminal law.
Although we are in an age when attorney specialization is dominant, the hybrid practice is not far behind and is growing in popularity. Hybrid practices combine the legal interests and skill sets of the practitioner to better serve the unique needs of specific clients. Personally, my passion for business and working with creatives and entrepreneurs in the United States and abroad guided my decision to start my hybrid intellectual property (IP) and business immigration law firm, Launchbird Legal. Trust me, I know it sounds like an oil-and-water pairing, but the two practice areas are complementary and can intersect.
My passion for business came at an early age. True, I played with dolls, but playing store was my game of choice. My mother’s clothes and other odds and ends I acquired from around the house were my products. My sister and I would take turns cashing each other out on our checkout counter that moonlighted as an ironing board. This early fascination led to business camp in high school, a baking business in college, and now my law firm and other entrepreneurial pursuits. While my passion for justice and fairness guided me to law school, my pursuit of both IP and immigration law was guided by my fascination with the intersection of law, business, and the arts.
Being an entrepreneur gives me a unique perspective when advising my clients. Working with entrepreneurs and creatives is rewarding and shapes the core of my practice. Being an attorney for entrepreneurs gives me the unique privilege of being both their legal guide and guardian. My firm assists them in scaling with purpose and strategically reaching their business goals. Counseling changemakers, tastemakers, and risk-takers is our jam! Where a hybrid IP and immigration law practice is concerned, these clients can come in different forms—whether an Indian tech entrepreneur launching a start-up in the United States, a fashion designer from London with a successful foreign brand wanting to open a flagship boutique in New York City, or a Brazilian content creator expanding their multimedia brand into the U.S. market.
In the context of an IP and immigration law hybrid practice, you will serve two kinds of clients. One type will have both IP and immigration needs, whereas the other will have either individual IP or immigration needs, but not both. Intellectual property is the lifeblood of any business and the assets that fuel the bottom line. For someone coming to the United States to start a business or buy an existing business, intellectual property is an asset that always needs to be considered. Whether the client is introducing and expanding an existing brand into the U.S. market or starting a new business from scratch, all of those ideas, processes, know-how, branding elements (e.g., logos, taglines), and content needs to be protected from the start.
Let’s return to the hypothetical clients discussed above, starting with the Indian tech entrepreneur who’s launching a start-up in the United States. The tech entrepreneur will require assistance applying for an E-2 Treaty Investor visa. They will also need to secure trademarks for their company name, logo, tagline, and products, as well as copyright protection and licensing agreements for any code they developed. This particular visa requires the tech entrepreneur to show a significant investment in the U.S. economy as well as prove the viability of their start-up. Filing (and subsequently obtaining) the trademark and copyright applications in advance not only assists in showing that they are serious about establishing their company in the United States when applying for their visa, but it also helps them when seeking funding from U.S.-based early-stage investors.
The English fashion designer wanting to open a flagship store in New York City could possibly be eligible for an O-1 visa, which is available to individuals with extraordinary abilities in the arts, business, or sciences. Due to the territorial nature of trademarks and copyrights, the designer would require trademark protection for their brand elements and copyright protection for their unique designs in the United States. The brand’s trademarks and copyrights would help build their O-1 case by demonstrating the commercial success and distinctiveness of their creations. Coupled with the brand’s and the designer’s international reputation, awards, and press coverage, these trademarks and copyrights provide evidence of their extraordinary abilities.
The Brazilian content creator expanding their multimedia brand into the U.S. market could also be eligible for an O-1 visa. This content creator has a popular podcast and vlog whose international footprint continues to grow and receives sponsorships from international brands. As the content creator seeks to expand further into the U.S. market, they need to protect their intellectual property by trademarking the name of their podcast, vlog, multimedia company, and possibly their own name. The content creator would also need to protect their digital content (podcasts and videos) with copyrights. Remember, because this content creator is applying for an O-1 visa, which requires proof of extraordinary achievements, the creator would need to show high levels of recognition in the digital media space and international collaborations to meet these requirements.
These examples where both IP and immigration needs are intertwined illustrate how IP protection can be essential to the business immigration process, especially for entrepreneurs and creatives looking to establish or expand their ventures in the United States.
As with any practice, a hybrid IP and immigration law practice is not exempt from challenges. These challenges lie in your firm’s tech stack, team training, and overall financial investment. Where technology is concerned, compared to a firm that practices in only one area of law, a firm practicing in two requires more technology and case management tools—in my case, tools that can support both IP and immigration matters. As general case management tools go, each firm owner is going to have their preference. I have discovered that it is a futile feat to attempt to find one tool that does everything. It is important to recognize the shortcomings of your case management tool and find other supporting tools to help get the job done. Consider your own workflow, as well as the technological abilities of your ideal client. In my firm, not only do I have my general case management tool, but I also have subscriptions to multiple programs that support IP research and portfolio management, immigration research and secondary educational resources, form builders, and other social media and marketing management tools. The combination of this curated list of tech tools helps me manage both IP and immigration cases.
Another challenge that arises is team training. It is rare to find someone who is knowledgeable in both practice areas of immigration and intellectual property. This is true no matter if you are hiring an intake specialist or an associate attorney and often requires the bifurcation of the practice areas for administrative efficiency, which ultimately requires more team members. As you expand your practice, a lot of time and money goes into training. I have discovered that the key team member who needs to have a working knowledge of both practice areas is the intake specialist. Armed with this knowledge, your intake specialist can properly segment incoming cases and guide the potential client down the right funnel.
Having this type of practice also requires a greater financial investment in team training, conferences, and continuing education for attorneys and staff. You must stay up-to-date with training in two practice areas. You end up attending twice as many conferences as the attorney who practices in only one area of law. Each conference serves a different purpose, ranging from networking and business building to continuing education. None of these challenges and pressures are unmanageable.
There are a few best practices to consider when running a hybrid IP and immigration law firm, specifically in the areas of marketing and conferences. When marketing this particular hybrid firm, you must know your audience. You are not always talking to one potential client who needs both services; often, you are talking to two different clients who need either IP services or immigration services. In my experience, structuring your marketing efforts for the latter scenario is easier because, as in most situations, the hybrid client who needs both immigration and IP services will not be aware that they need both. As in most practice areas, the client does not know the true scope of their legal needs before their case is evaluated by the attorney. It is helpful to create two client avatars, one for your ideal immigration client and another for your ideal IP client. Get specifics on who they are, what hypothetical services they need, how much they make, where they take in information (e.g., newspaper, social media, radio, etc.), and their likes and dislikes and buying behavior. Creating such detailed avatars will help you decide how to tailor your messaging and how to allocate your marketing efforts and budget.
Plan for conferences in advance. You can’t be in two places at once. Different conferences will serve different business-building purposes. Conferences will be geared either for interacting with potential clients or networking for community and referrals. Consider the size of the conference as well. I have found that smaller conferences afford the opportunity to build stronger connections. For intellectual property, I recommend focusing on conferences related to entrepreneurship or related to the industry that your ideal client is in. For immigration, I enjoy attending conferences that are immigration law–focused. Choose strategically to maximize value.
Despite being challenging at times, having a hybrid practice is not rocket science. In fact, solo general practitioners have been occupying this space for some time. When going into a hybrid practice, figure out what you are passionate about and how your particular skill set can serve a niche within practice areas that overlap. Allow yourself to think outside of the box. Just because others are not doing it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. Particularly, working with entrepreneurs and creatives is at the core of this kind of hybrid practice. It goes without saying that having an interest in these industries is a baseline requirement for practicing in this hybrid area. Your own passion for business and creativity uniquely positions you to better serve your client. The hybrid practice model continues to evolve, highlighting the growing need for flexible, adaptable law firms that are open to cross-practice collaboration.
