James R. Sobieraj
An intellectual property firm with deep roots in Chicago is celebrating its centennial this year. But don’t expect the lawyers there to sit reflecting on the past — they plan to open their first office overseas this year.
On Jan. 1, Brinks Gilson & Lione turned 100 years old. It was first founded as Wilkinson & Huxley in 1917 by lawyers George L. Wilkinson and Henry M. Huxley in the since-demolished First National Bank Building at 38 S. Dearborn St. Fast forward a century and the firm has grown from two lawyers to about 140, with its headquarters now at NBC Tower at 455 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive, six other offices around the country and another one soon to open in China.
The firm’s growth has bloomed in conjunction with the development of IP law, a course that wasn’t even taught in many law schools around the country when current Brinks President James R. Sobieraj joined the firm in 1982.
While plenty had changed in the firm’s 65 years before then, the market of IP law has seen plenty of developments in the past 35 years.
“When I started in 1982, patent law was still considered a relatively arcane area of law,” he said. “I recall, when in my third year of law school, talking with my classmates … when I said I was going into patent law, some of them didn’t even know what it was.”
At the time, patent lawyers earned on average about 10 percent less than those in general practice firms, Sobieraj said. He had received job offers from some of those firms, but passed.
“When I interviewed at the firm [that is now Brinks] I saw a number of like-minded professionals who were really highly motivated and passionate about intellectual property law,” he said.
At the time, Brinks — then known as Hume, Clement, Brinks, Willian & Olds Ltd. — had 25 attorneys, and Sobieraj said there were only one or two general practice firms in Chicago that had any patent attorneys. It was common practice that those larger firms would refer their IP cases to Brinks.
Then, things changed. In 1982, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was established, which made it harder to invalidate patents and easier for companies to establish patent-infringement claims, Sobieraj said. They could obtain significant damage awards, among other matters that led to more work for patent lawyers.
“In the 1980s, our biggest challenge as a law firm was finding enough people to do the work,” he said. “It was just a scramble to find enough hours in the day and enough people to handle all the work that was coming in.”
That also changed quickly, as other firms gained appreciation for intellectual property and patent rights casework. Large firms started their own departments, often turning to boutique or midsize firms to recruit their new talent — Brinks included, Sobieraj said.
“We’ve really been a breeding ground for patent attorneys in Chicago. Most of the other IP firms and general practice firms have people who are Brinks alumni,” he said. “We always prided ourselves and saw it as part of our responsibility to be a leader in the profession and in the community.”
Despite the abundance of patent attorneys at other firms today, Sobieraj said Brinks has been focused on maintaining its core identity in IP work.
“It’s remained committed to its values, it’s commitment to IP. We’ve had no shortage of suitors who have wanted to acquire us or merge with us over the years,” he said. “We appreciated their interest and we’re impressed that they wanted to do that, but it’s not what we want to do, we want to stay 100 percent committed to intellectual property.”
The firm’s growth has come under the guidance of a number of leaders, according to a history of the firm published by the firm in honor of its centennial. In addition to Wilkinson and Huxley, a few of the firm’s prominent attorneys included James P. Hume, who provided patent advice to physicist Enrico Fermi — who created the world’s first nuclear reaction and worked on the Manhattan Project — and Gerrit P. Groen an active trademark litigator.
Henry L. Brinks joined the firm in 1954 and continues to practice there today. The firm’s name was changed to begin with Brinks in 1998, one of 11 name changes since the firm’s founding.
The firm boasts having more attorneys who have served as presidents of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago than any other firm. Sobieraj also cited several current partners who hold leadership roles within a number of IP-focused and pro bono groups.
“You go back in our history, we’ve always had lawyers in these leadership positions,” he said. “It’s part of our culture. My predecessors did it and instilled on me and the current partners here that this is important, this is what sets us apart from other firms. We just don’t come here and try to make as much money as we can and go home. We see our roles as bigger than just serving our clients.”
He also cited a “deep roster” of patent attorneys who are experienced in areas of science and technology that’s also led to the growth of the firm over recent years.
As the firm’s moniker changed, so did the practice of IP law, which required the creation of special practice areas, such as in trademark law.
Sobieraj noted that the firm has also seen many landmark changes in the industry, ranging from the Lanham Act in 1946 to the Defend Trade Secrets Act passed in 2016.
Aside from its legal history, the business side of the firm has also seen its fair share of changes. In 1970, it was one of the first larger firms in Illinois to reorganize as a professional corporation. Sobieraj said his firm was one of the first to move out of the Loop and north of the Chicago River in the 1970s, setting up shop in the IBM Building — now the AMA Building — in 1974. In 1989, Brinks became one of the first firms to move east of Michigan Avenue when it became one of the main tenants at NBC Tower.
Inside the office, Sobieraj recalled Brinks being one of the first firms to provide every lawyer with a computer in the early 1980s, earning the firm a front-page feature in the National Law Journal. He said while other firms were still using typewriters, Brinks was already using word-processing software.
And beyond the material tranformations, Brinks has also seen the makeup of its staff transform. According to statistics provided by the firm, Brinks was the first IP firm in the Midwest and the second in the country to receive the Thomas L. Sager Award for diversity from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.
“We’ve always wanted to be at the forefront of changes in the profession, and that’s just continued over the years,” Sobieraj said. “Our firm not only is based on protecting the innovations of our clients, but the firm itself has always had a culture of innovation and change in Chicago and in the legal profession.”
Looking forward, the firm is preparing to open an office in Shenzhen, China. The city, just north of Hong Kong, has become known as the “Silicon Valley of China.”
Sobieraj said Brinks will be the first U.S. firm to open an office there.
The expansion was part of an effort led by Brinks partner Gustavo “Gus” Siller Jr., who was recently named the firm’s president-elect.
Sobieraj called Siller the “visionary” responsible for launching the firm’s efforts to expand overseas by asking the board of directors 10 years ago to form a China task force that could look into developing plans and a roster of Chinese clients.
“It’s very exciting. It’s a great opportunity for the firm. We’re very optimistic about the future,” Sobieraj said. “The common theme I saw through the last 100 years, and also which continues to point to the future, is this is a firm that’s always had a passion about IP and embracing innovation and always being forward-looking. That’s our direction as we move forward.”