My new favorite law student understands the embedded patent attorney concept

One of the most interesting and delightful people I met at LexThink is Jeremy Blachman, the 3L Harvard Law student behind Jeremy’s Weblog and Anonymous Lawyer (if you’re a lawyer who reads blogs and you’re not reading that one, start.  Now.).  Jeremy’s an interesting guy, and stands to be the first legal blogger to monetize his blogging experience (the whole book deal thing).

Yesterday, I read Ernie’s post about Jeremy, nodding my head in agreement through the entire thing.

Then I read the post Jeremy made this morning about the Attorney-Client relationship and my jaw dropped.  He’s not a patent guy, but his post shows amazing insight on the need for the Embedded Patent Attorney.  He hits it head on…one of the major problems in legal services today is that lawyers are not interested in the long term relationship.  He discusses a comment from another LexThink attendee about lawyers:

[they] don’t want to learn about the business, don’t want to really work with the client and develop a relationship as an advisor, and don’t really want to act as a team

Nope.  Most lawyers don’t.  They want to get in, bill the daylights out of a matter, and get out.  Punch the ticket and jump on the next train.

But that’s where the Embedded Patent Attorney comes in.  That concept is focused squarely on learning the client’s business and forming a long-term relationship.

Jeremy takes it a step further…suggesting that firms need some sort of Customer Relationship Management.  I don’t think he’s talking about golf at the country club with $700 partners once a year.  I think he’s really suggesting someone who learns everything there is to know about a client’s business and acting as a triage for their matters (maybe with a golf outing thrown in here and again).

Jeremy has never practiced a day of law in his life.  He probably never will.  Yet he gets it.  Amazing.