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[blakesq]

Hi All, 

Everyone once in a while, our family wonder why we are living in one of the most expensive states, that is cold, snowy and icey.  So, now we are thinking about moving to Coastal North Carolina (like Wilmington) or coastal Georgia (Savannah), and maybe even the  South Carolina coast.  I like GA and NC, because I believe I can waive into the bar there.  SC, I would have to take the Bar.  Florida, I hear it is very difficult to get past the board of examiners if you have any issues at all. 

So, I would love to hear any opinions on which of my proposed areas any of you would move a law practice.  Thanks in advance!  By the way, I am currently licensed in Connecticut, California and before the PTO.

[MYK]

SC doesn't have much in the way of R&D going on.  NC has the Research Triangle area (which I always associate with software, probably because of Red Hat), and GA has some things going on around Atlanta and Athens.

[blakesq]

Thanks MYK.  We are currently leaning towards Savannah.  Only 8 patent practitioners there, in a metro area of over 300K.  Of course, as you all know, you can be located remotely from your clients.  I probably have only met in person about 60% of  my current clientele.  So, do you think locating in an area such as Savannah would be too difficult to bring in business.  I don't think so, but I would love to hear others think. 

[bleedingpen]

Wilmington will be a tough place to setup because a few other attorneys have done so in recent years with mixed success AND most Wilmington-based clients will go to the Raleigh area for their patent work. 

[blakesq]

Bleedingpen, what happened with these patent attorneys in wilmington?  I would like to pick their brain, can you tell me who they are, or how i can find out?  you can email me directly if you don't want to blab about it here. 

[smgsmc]

SC doesn't have much in the way of R&D going on.  NC has the Research Triangle area (which I always associate with software, probably because of Red Hat), and GA has some things going on around Atlanta and Athens.

Research Triangle has also built up a strong presence in semiconductors, telcom, and pharma (all of which, unfortunately, are still undergoing a lot of churn). 

[turbotong]

Texas is a business-friendly state with low taxes.  Don't forget cheap land, cheap housing, and cheap cost of living.
The Dallas/Fort Worth region is tech friendly and has one of the country's largest airports.  Down south you have a lot of immigrants if you do immigration law.  Houston has international trade ties due to its ports.

[MLM]

Thanks MYK.  We are currently leaning towards Savannah.  Only 8 patent practitioners there, in a metro area of over 300K.  Of course, as you all know, you can be located remotely from your clients.  I probably have only met in person about 60% of  my current clientele.  So, do you think locating in an area such as Savannah would be too difficult to bring in business.  I don't think so, but I would love to hear others think. 

I love Savannah, it is a beautiful city and think it would be a great place to live.  Tybee Island is a close beach getaway; going to a Sand Gnats game is a fun way to spend a warm summer evening.  I don't think there would be many IP business opportunites there, though.  There is some manufacturing industry, a big port and I think some paper mills in the region.  See Savannah Chamber of Commerce.  Also, Savannah is rather isolated.  Chatham County is pretty much all there is.  Jacksonville and Atlanta are hours away by car.  Once you cross west of I-95 you are in deep rural Georgia.  Summers are brutally hot and humid.  So this might explain why there are only eight registered practitioners, and if they are active, I would bet most are not doing patent prosecution exclusively.  There are always quality-of-life tradeoffs.

[bleedingpen]

Bleedingpen, what happened with these patent attorneys in wilmington?  I would like to pick their brain, can you tell me who they are, or how i can find out?  you can email me directly if you don't want to blab about it here. 

Blake,

There just isn't enough work in Wilmington that isn't going to head west to the RTP area to sustain many patent attorneys.

As I understand it, the Wilmington market includes:

1 older patent attorney living off of his reputation in the field, but slowing down on the work;
1 newer patent attorney trying to make it in the field after a local firm tried the patent thing but it didn't work;
several patent attorneys practicing in other types of law;
a few in-house folks with GE and some chemical related work; and
several unemployed agents/attorneys.


Bottom line, I doubt you can "make it big" as a patent attorney in Wilmington.  RTP is the hotbed in NC for patent law and is about 2 hours from Wilmington. 

[blakesq]

what do you guys think about moving to Florida?  Seems like florida is underserved by patent attorneys.

[Pagent04]

There is a fairly new patent boutique that opened in Savannah - Johnson and Associates - that does a lot of prosecution work.  Not sure, but my guess is the vast majority of their clients aren't from Savannah.  They have a virtual business model.  Also, there is another virtual firm based near Ft. Lauderdale Fl, maybe Weston Fl.

[blakesq]

Thanks Pagent04, i saw that too. 

How about florida, anyone have any thoughts on Florida, maybe the Sarasota area?

There is a fairly new patent boutique that opened in Savannah - Johnson and Associates - that does a lot of prosecution work.  Not sure, but my guess is the vast majority of their clients aren't from Savannah.  They have a virtual business model.  Also, there is another virtual firm based near Ft. Lauderdale Fl, maybe Weston Fl.

[horsechute]

I talked to a patent attorney who worked in Florida about 8 years ago, and he said Florida was very difficult environment to practice in, because of the lack of business opportunities. Of course, that was 7 or 8 years ago, but I doubt it if things have changed that much. Also, according to a newspaper article I read recently, Florida was hit especially hard by the recession, harder than just about anywhere else, including Nevada, and although that is probably due to the fact that FL is largely a tourist based economy, it am sure it cannot help any.

[Master_Blaster]

Hi All, 

Everyone once in a while, our family wonder why we are living in one of the most expensive states, that is cold, snowy and icey.  So, now we are thinking about moving to Coastal North Carolina (like Wilmington) or coastal Georgia (Savannah), and maybe even the  South Carolina coast.  I like GA and NC, because I believe I can waive into the bar there.  SC, I would have to take the Bar.  Florida, I hear it is very difficult to get past the board of examiners if you have any issues at all. 

So, I would love to hear any opinions on which of my proposed areas any of you would move a law practice.  Thanks in advance!  By the way, I am currently licensed in Connecticut, California and before the PTO.

I've spent some time in Wilmington and on the coast down around Oak Island.

It's the sort of place that should be great, ie. Wrightsville Beach, ect, but is fairly marginal in terms of quality of life.  There is way too much tract housing and cookie cutter golf courses.  And in terms of wildlife, imagine swapping the Canadian Geese you see in CT for 'gators.  Instead of worrying about stepping on crap in the grass, you have too worry about the crap in the grass eating you.

When the Walmart opended outside of Oak Island it was a major event - the opening got similar press to the 14 foot alligator they pulled out of the Cape Fear River earlier in the year.

Personally, I'd pass.

It would, however, be a reat place to camp out as a work from home examiner.  But then again, so would Utica.