Writer’s Block Is Dead: Drew McElligott on AI in Legal Practice

The Business-First IP Playbook: David Hyams on Mapping Value and the Limits of Generic AI

In this episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with David Hyams, Co-Founder and Chief Business Development Officer of Longship Legal, to explore what happens when a patent attorney stops asking, "Is this patentable?" and starts asking "What is this business actually worth?" Drawing on a career that spans big law in Boston, in-house roles at Bose and AOL, and a CleanTech start-up, David brings an unusually holistic lens to IP: one that treats patents, trade secrets, contracts, and copyright not as separate disciplines, but as a matrix of legal tools in service of a company's real intangible assets. David walks through the founding philosophy behind Longship Legal: that too many companies are spending serious money getting patents granted without ever connecting those documents to actual business value. He explains why the first conversation with any client has to start well before IP, with questions about how the business makes money, who its customers are, and what truly differentiates it in the market.  On AI, he's clear-eyed: it's a powerful accelerator of business processes, but it cannot replace the strategic human judgment an IP department needs. He also draws a sharp distinction between general LLM tools and proprietary legal AI built on restricted data sets, and why that difference matters enormously in practice. 👨‍💼 About the Guest: David Hyams is Co-Founder and Chief Business Development Officer of Longship Legal, a digitally native, AI-forward IP firm he co-founded in 2023. With a career spanning big law, in-house roles at Bose Corporation and AOL, and IP boutiques, David brings a uniquely holistic perspective to intellectual property, one built on understanding the business before the patent.  🔧 Sponsored by DeepIP — your patent intelligence platform, from idea to enforcement. 🛎️ Subscribe to hear more real stories, evolving practice, and the future of IP law.

Closing the Gap: Emily Teesdale on IP Strategy, Collaboration, and the Fractional Model

In this episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with Emily Teesdale, Founder of Pivot IP, to explore what fractional IP leadership actually looks like, and why smaller engineering companies are leaving serious value on the table without it. Drawing on more than 20 years in the field, including senior in-house roles at Airbus and GKN Aerospace, Emily makes a compelling case that IP strategy and patent prosecution are not the same thing, and that confusing the two can cost companies far more than they realize. She walks through the real risks hiding inside collaboration agreements—from confidential information that lingers on company servers long after a project ends, to IP ownership structures that can leave a business permanently beholden to a former partner. Emily also unpacks the three silos she sees most often—within companies, between in-house and external counsel, and across collaborating organizations, and explains why the biggest one is also the hardest to fix. On AI, she's pragmatic: use it, but know what it can't do. Human judgment, she argues, is still the thing no contract review tool can replicate. 👨‍💼 About the Guest: Emily Teesdale is the founder of Pivot IP, an IP strategy consultancy serving small and mid-sized engineering companies. A UK Chartered and European Patent Attorney with over 20 years of experience, Emily has held senior in-house IP roles at Airbus and GKN Aerospace. At Pivot IP, she works on a fractional or project basis, helping engineering companies build and protect IP strategy without the overhead of a full-time hire. 🔧 Sponsored by DeepIP — your patent intelligence platform, from idea to enforcement. 🛎️ Subscribe to hear more real stories, evolving practice, and the future of IP law.

Writer’s Block Is Dead: Drew McElligott on AI in Legal Practice

In this episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with Drew McElligott, Counsel at Crowell & Moring, to explore what AI actually looks like inside a modern law firm—and why, as McElligott puts it, “writer’s block is pretty much dead.” From litigation and Hatch-Waxman strategy to medical device innovation and firmwide AI rollouts, Drew shares a grounded, practical view of how artificial intelligence is reshaping legal work without replacing legal judgment. He reflects on AI as a drafting partner—one that turns lawyers into editors rather than first-drafters—while also digging into the realities of trust, training, and governance. From vetting tools for confidential use to comparing AI’s evolution from a “summer associate” to a “fourth-year,” Drew offers a candid look at what’s working, what still needs refinement, and why the genie isn’t going back in the bottle. 👨‍💼 About the Guest: Drew McElligott is Counsel at Crowell & Moring, where he focuses on patent and trademark litigation for leading pharmaceutical, medical device, and consumer products companies. He was recognized in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® – Intellectual Property Law (2021). He has extensive experience in federal court litigation and inter partes reviews before the USPTO. Prior to practicing law, Drew conducted cardiovascular research at Loyola University. 🔧 Sponsored by DeepIP — your patent intelligence platform, from idea to enforcement. 🛎️ Subscribe to hear more real stories, evolving practice, and the future of IP law.

Counting ROI or Chasing Hype: Stephanie Curcio on the True Test of AI in Patents

In this episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with Stephanie Curcio, CEO and co-founder of NL Patent, to explore how AI has evolved from concept-based prior art search to touching every stage of the patent lifecycle. Stephanie reflects on her journey from patent prosecution to legal tech founder and what she’s learned from being an early mover in AI for IP. She also digs into the real ROI of AI tools, why efficiency isn’t the only metric that matters, and how firms should think about ethics, security, and the quiet comeback of the build vs. buy debate. From sneaky “AI features” in legacy tools to modular tech stacks and in-house workflows, Stephanie shares a candid view of where AI in patent practice is today—and where it’s headed next. 👩‍💼 About the Guest: Stephanie Curcio is the CEO and co-founder of NL Patent, an AI-native platform for searching and analyzing patent data. A former patent attorney, she has held leadership roles within the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Emerging Technologies Committee and serves on the advisory board of IP Watchdog. 🔧 Sponsored by DeepIP [https://www.deepip.ai/] — your patent intelligence platform, from idea to enforcement. 🛎️ Subscribe to hear more real stories, evolving practice, and the future of IP law.

Building a Tech-Forward Patent Practice: Phil Harris on Automation and AI

In this episode of IP Innovators, host Steve Brachmann sits down with Phil Harris, Equity Partner and Patent Practice Group Leader at Holland & Hart, to trace his journey from mechanical engineering to leading one of the most tech-forward IP teams in the Mountain West.  Phil shares how his firm built custom automation and AI tools to streamline prosecution—from managing IDS filings to analyzing office actions—and how in-house innovation has transformed the way patent professionals work.  👨‍💼 About the Guest: Phil Harris leads Holland & Hart’s Patent Practice Group, focusing on cutting-edge technologies like AI, wireless communications, and medical devices. With over a decade at the firm, he’s helped shape how automation and AI are integrated into patent law practice. 🔧 Sponsored by DeepIP [https://www.deepip.ai/] — your patent intelligence platform, from idea to enforcement. 🛎️ Subscribe to hear more real stories, evolving practice, and the future of IP law.