< PreviousFrom the beginning, U.S. presi- dents have been intimately in- volved in the protection of intel- lectual property. George Washington was a strong proponent of patent protection, asking Congress in the first ever State of the Union address to exercise its powers granted in the brand-new U.S. Constitution to enact laws protecting inventions (and the first U.S. Congress did enact a patent act). As it evolved, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office became an agency under the Department of Commerce, and thus under direct control of the executive branch of the federal gov- ernment. As its name implies, federal trademark registration is also handled by the same agency. On the other hand, the U.S. Copyright Office is part of the Library of Congress (which is the research arm of the U.S. Congress) although the Librarian of Congress is a presidential appointment (thanks to President Thomas Jefferson). There is no federal agency directly responsible for trade secret protection (but action on trade secrets could still fall some- where within the president’s purview via some sort of executive order – don’t underestimate the power of the presidency). While all this is very interesting (to IP lawyers, maybe), let’s briefly ex- amine the interaction of intellectual property and our U.S. presidents on a personal level. In other words, let’s review some experiences of our presi- dents as IP owners. LINCOLN’S PATENT It is common knowledge that Abra- ham Lincoln is the only U.S. President to have been issued a patent (well, all patent lawyers know that). U.S. Patent No. 6,469 issued to Lincoln in 1849 for a device for lifting boats over shoals (such as sand bars in the Mississippi River). Lincoln’s device was never manufactured, as is the fate of many patented inventions. Like Washing- ton, Lincoln was a champion of the U.S. patent system, famously assert- ing that our patent system “added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius.” Less well known is Lincoln’s 1858 evaluation of the importance of pat- ents, where he explained the three in- novations in the history of the world that surpassed all others: “[1] the arts of writing and of printing … [2] the discovery of America, and [3] the in- troduction of Patent-laws.” THE PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORS While only one U.S. president owned a patent as an inventor, all our presidents have been authors. As such, each may have enjoyed some measure of copyright protection. Some were fa- mous authors before becoming presi- dent. Senator John F. Kennedy won a Pulitzer Prize for his book Profiles in Courage. Donald J. Trump’s first book (with Tony Schwartz) was Trump: The Art of the Deal. The memoir/business advice book was a New York Times best-seller but alas, did not merit a Pulitzer. In 2016, Schwartz asserted that Trump played no role whatsoever in the actual writing of this book, and characterized Schwartz’s own writing of this book as his “greatest regret in life, without question.” In the last 50 years, authoring books after a presidency has become a rather big deal. For instance, former presi- dents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama received extremely lucrative book deals, but it was former President Gerald R. Ford’s memoir A Time to Heal that kick-started this significant revenue stream for former presidents. In a 1985 U.S. Supreme Court deci- sion, the Court held that The Nation magazine infringed on the copyright in Ford’s book by printing unauthor- ized quotations from the book sev- eral weeks before its 1979 publication date. Ford was reportedly paid nearly Personal Presidential (Intellectual) Property Z. PETER SAWICKI AND JAMES L. YOUNG | Intellectual Property Z. PETER SAWICKIJAMES L. YOUNG Mr. Sawicki and Mr. James L. Young are shareholders at Westman, Champlin & Koehler. Pete and Jim both have over 30 years of experience obtaining, licensing, evaluating and enforcing patents. Each has also developed an extensive practice regarding the clearance, registration, licensing and enforcement of trademarks. They work closely with clients to understand their values and business plans and provide customized and effective strate- gies for intellectual property asset procurement, growth, management and protection. To contact Z. Peter Sawicki, call (612) 330-0581 or call James L. Young at (612) 330-0495. Please email them directly at either psawicki@wck.com or jyoung@wck.com. ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA · V OL. 9 NO. 2 10$1 million in his first year out of office from book advances. THE PRESIDENTIAL TWEET Since we’re talking about presi- dentially created content and copy- right law, what do we make of the ever-evolving authorship of Presi- dent Trump’s tweets? Trump writes them (purportedly) so does he own the copyright rights to them? Prob- ably not, as they will likely be treated as “presidential records” and archived by the United States once he leaves the Oval Office. WHAT’S IN A NAME When it comes to brands and trademark protection, our current president has no equal. Until 2016, Trump personally owned dozens of U.S. trademark registrations based on the term TRUMP, and has applied for hundreds of registrations worldwide, all for a wide variety of goods and ser- vices. No president – sitting or former – has ever monetized his brand like President Trump. Surnames are not registerable as marks in the United States unless the U.S. Patent & Trade- mark Office concludes that the mark has “acquired distinctiveness” with respect to the identified goods and services. Third parties aren’t allowed to reg- ister a mark that includes the name of a living individual without that in- dividual’s consent. This has led to the rejection of numerous “presidential” trademark applications over recent years, such as for the marks DON- ALD CHUMP, TRUMP LIEBRARY, BROCCOLI OBAMA and BARACK TO THE FUTURE. And finally, what about presidents and their trade secrets? We don’t know any anecdotes about that, but we do know that once you occupy the Oval Office, you are privy to loads and loads of national security secrets. However, that’s not quite the same thing. “There is no federal agency directly responsible for trade secret protection (but action on trade secrets could still fall somewhere within the president’s purview via some sort of executive order – don’t underestimate the power of the presidency).”LAW FIRM OF THE MONTH After celebrating their firm’s 25th anniversary in October 2019, the attorneys at Hellmuth & Johnson are experiencing a time of affirmation and renewal. At this milestone, Managing Partner Chad Johnson takes a moment to reflect on the accomplishments of the past and articulate his vision for the future. When Johnson founded the firm with partner David Hellmuth back in 1994, both attorneys were eager young professionals, only two years into their careers. They opened an office, built their furniture from a box, and started out doing everything from answering the phones to representing clients. HELLMUTH & JOHNSON Celebrating a Minnesota Original BY H. K. WILSON ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA · V OL. 9 NO. 2 12HELLMUTH & JOHNSON PICTURED L-R: CHAD JOHNSON, BLAKE NELSON, DAVID HELLMUTH, J. ROBERT KEENA AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 13Today, Hellmuth & Johnson is ranked among the 25 largest law firms in Min- nesota, a distinction it has enjoyed for eight years. The firm has earned a repu- tation for multidisciplinary excellence in transactional law, litigation and appeals across practices ranging from construc- tion, finance, patent, trademark and copyright litigation; business and real estate; to trusts and estate planning. With 45 attorneys and 100 total personnel, Johnson says by far the firm’s greatest resource is its people. “The num- ber one reason why the firm has been able to consistently grow in the way we have is that we’ve been fortunate to hire very good people for 25 years,” Johnson says. “Blake Nelson was our first associate hire and became our first new partner. He’s been with us for more than 20 years. Rob Keena, Nancy Polomis and Ray Bonnabeau are rec- ognized as some of Minnesota’s top attorneys, and they have played a big role in helping us grow. When people look at Hellmuth & Johnson, they want to talk about what Dave and I did in starting the firm, and yes, we started it, but I always remind them that the path we’ve taken over 25 years was definitely influenced by great people along the way.” Having the right people in key leadership roles has also advanced the firm’s evolution. Johnson and Hellmuth have a history of leading with transparency, and they are still present at the office every day, both as practitioners and as champions of a brand known for good attorneys who keep clients at the forefront. “Our leadership group has long demonstrated the ability to tackle issues, see changes coming and make swift decisions to address those chang- es. They can talk frankly about the advantages and disad- vantages of each scenario in that decision-making process, and at the end of the day, reach consensus and move for- ward. I think everyone leaves the table feeling heard and that they have had an opportunity to contribute and shape the decisions made.” Others also have a voice, and Johnson emphasizes that there is a true “open door” policy within the firm. As- sociates convene for a monthly meeting that is a forum for discussing challenges in their working environment and suggestions for improving it. When those ideas are brought to Johnson, he strives to implement them. “From a business standpoint, we’re looking to be as efficient as we can be and give people the tools they need to do their jobs. In order to do that, we have to listen to our employees and what they want or need to advance in their careers. Giving people a clear path to advancement and ownership is an important piece of retention. We’ve also created an envi- ronment here that is very work-life balance friendly to our employees and attorneys.” In like manner, Helmuth & Johnson’s track record of cli- ent retention is a testament to its strength, and Johnson says he counts the firm’s clients and referral sources as part of its circle of good people. “I look back, and some of our best clients and referral sources are those that came early on in the firm’s existence and have grown right along with us. They have continued to be our champions in the com- munity, referring others to the firm and continuing to use us. In any professional business, relationships are key. As a law firm, our widget to sell is professional service and legal advice. But what elevates us is our relationships with the people we serve. We understand not only that our clients need a lawyer to handle litigation, business acquisitions, or real estate transactions, but what causes them to have that need. We focus on what our clients need from our services in order for them to have success.” Hellmuth & Johnson is not only an award-winning law firm, it is a successful business enterprise. In 2018 and 2019, David Hellmuth and Chad Johnson were named by “Minnesota Monthly” as among “The Most Powerful Business Leaders in Minnesota.” The list celebrates lead- ing business executives across a variety of industries for the impact they are making in their business communities and for their thought leadership in their respective fields. In addition, Hellmuth & Johnson is one of only two law firms ever to be recognized as one of “Minnesota’s 50 Fast- est Growing Private Companies” by the “Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal,” and the only one that remains in existence to this day. “The firm grew in revenue every year for its first 24 years, a trend that becomes more dif- ficult to sustain as the firm grows larger,” John- son says. “We’re very proud to be recognized not only as a law firm that ranks among the 25 largest, but as business leaders. In order to be successful, we’ve had to think of our law firm as a business. I look at the clients I’ve represented that have had great suc- cess around me, and I’ve learned as much from them as they have hope- fully gained from me. We strive to look at our firm from a business viewpoint, adopting solid business practices into the law firm environment in order to deliver high quality legal services to our clients while making sure our employees have the opportunity to advance.” Looking ahead, Johnson says he is bullish on the firm’s future growth. With five attorneys in the firm who are certified by the Minnesota State Bar Association as Real Property Law Specialists and the firm ranking as the ninth largest real estate law group in the state, Hellmuth & John- son will continue as a leader in real estate and construc- tion law. The firm has also anticipated practice areas where demand from clients is increasing, and it has expanded services accordingly. “Real estate remains one of the core areas of the firm, but there are other areas that we have CHAD JOHNSON DAVID HELLMUTH ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA · V OL. 9 NO. 2 14grown more recently and will continue to grow in the future,” Johnson says. “We’re doing a great deal of work in the banking, finance and insurance areas, and our mergers and acquisitions and business and corporate practices have become a larger piece of what we do. A few years ago, we started our class ac- tion group, and we’ve been involved in a number of large cases since. And many years ago, we identified e-commerce, information technology and intellec- tual property as areas where our clients needed more services from the firm. We will continue to grow in the areas of need for our clients.” As part of its 25th Anniversary ob- servance, the firm established the Hell- muth & Johnson Foundation. “This is actually an idea we had a couple of years ago, and we felt that our anniver- sary was the right time to introduce it. The H&J Foundation recognizes the law firm’s good fortune, with many years of high quality service and results for loyal clients. We recognize that our success affords us the opportunity to give back and support the community that has supported us for the last 25 years. We look forward to making an impact on that community.” The firm’s partners made an initial donation of $25,000 in recognition of the firm’s anniversary. Going forward, employees will support the foundation through annual and payroll gifts, which the partners will match dollar for dol- lar. “Making this foundation successful will be a team effort, and we expect this year’s contributions to be well in excess of $50,000. We have formed a commit- tee made up of about 10 people, includ- ing attorneys, staff and management, who will search out worthy opportuni- ties to make our impact through chari- table giving. We want the foundation to reflect the H&J family, giving our peo- ple a voice in where the H&J Founda- tion makes its charitable investments.” Johnson says the firm likes its place in the Minnesota legal community: a midsize, locally owned law firm. There are no grand plans to become a mega firm or part of a national brand. In- stead, with room to grow, Hellmuth & Johnson will continue filling its niche in the marketplace, as local attorneys serv- ing its clients with a value-based sys- tem. “As a midsize firm, we deliver the legal services our clients need, and we do so without the overhead and corpo- rate structure of much larger law firms, drawbacks that do not serve our clients or our people internally. Our clients ap- preciate doing business with somebody who is right here, just like they are, and whose organization has similar values to theirs. Our firm started and has been grown based on the values we deter- mined were important to us and our community of clients, and we’ve devel- oped a law firm around that message. We will continue looking for the best talent available so we can deliver high quality legal services to our clients.” Here’s to the next 25 years! At a Glance HELLMUTH & JOHNSON 8050 West 78th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55439 (952) 941-4005 hjlawfirm.com PRACTICE AREAS Agriculture Law Antitrust & Unfair Competition Appeals Banking, Finance & Workouts Business & Corporate Law Class Action Litigation Collections, Creditor Remedies & Bankruptcy Community Associations Complex Litigation Construction & Lien Law Construction Defects & Warranties Employment & Labor Law Entertainment Law Estate Planning Farm Transition Planning Information Technology & E-Commerce Insurance Coverage Insurance Litigation Intellectual Property Landlord Law Litigation Mergers & Acquisitions Mineral Rights & Royalty Claims Real Estate Law “Our clients appreciate doing business with somebody who is right here, just like they are, and whose organization has similar values to theirs.” AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 15SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2020 | 6 PM – 11 PM JW MARRIOTT MALL OF AMERICA | BL OOMINGTON, MN TABLE SPONSORSHIPS ARE JUST $2,500 SUPPORT THE CHILDREN’S LAW CENTER OF MINNESOTA EMAIL LL UKSAN@ACCGL OBAL.COM FOR GALA INFORMATION CELEBRA TION GALA 6TH ANNUAL SAVE THE DATE ASSOCIATION OF CORPORATE COUNSEL MINNESOTA CHAPTERWhile everyone loves chair massages and most can’t pass by a puppy petting booth at their annual bar meeting, the con- cept of well-being for lawyers extends beyond these one-off feel good activities. Well-being, as envisioned by the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, is a multifaceted, overarching term that incorporates both prevention of behavioral health impairments (e.g. substance use disor- ders, burnout, depression, etc.) and treatment for those who succumb to these impairments. Those in the latter group need targeted interventions and resources that can be accessed through their insurance, employee’s assistance program or state’s confidential lawyers assistance program. Mean- while, those interested in boosting their resilience in the interest of preventing future problems, or in simply priming their performance, are increasingly being presented with a dizzying array of tips and strat- egies. To effectively support one’s own well-being, the effort must be sus- tained over time and inclusive of multiple facets of health. From law school to retirement, lawyers should consider preservation of well- being to be part of both an ongoing duty of competence and a core competency, one that exists alongside knowledge of civil procedure and the rules of evidence. To understand the full spectrum of health it’s intended to reflect, the National Task Force adopted the World Health Organization’s defini- tion which provides that well-being is “a continuous process whereby lawyers seek to thrive” across all dimensions of life – emotional, oc- cupational, intellectual, spiritual, physical and social. In essence, for example, maintaining a connection to something greater than one’s self (spiritual) merits focus, just as striving for physical exercise and healthy eating. In May, the ABA and the National Task Force are promoting the first annual Lawyer Well-Being Week, with each day dedicated to differ- ent activities that support one’s development across all facets of well- being. While only a week, the event offers a window of time dedicated to heightened attention to the inherently human needs of lawyers and to the growing “lawyer well-being movement.” Readers can learn more at www.lawyerwellbeing.net. BREE BUCHANAN IS FOUNDING CO-CHAIR OF THE NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON LAWYER WELL-BEING AND IS A CO-AUTHOR OF ITS GROUNDBREAKING 2017 REPORT, THE PATH TO WELL- BEING: PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POSITIVE CHANGE. SHE IS A SENIOR ADVISOR WITH KRILL STRATEGIES, INC., PROVIDING CONSULTATION ON ISSUES RELATED TO LAWYER WELL-BEING AND IMPAIRMENT FOR MAJOR LEGAL EMPLOYERS. Lawyer Well-Being: A Multi- Faceted Movement BY BREE BUCHANAN “well-being is ‘a continuous process whereby lawyers seek to thrive’ across all dimensions of life – emotional, occupational, intellectual, spiritual, physical and social.” AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com 17The start of a new year is always an exciting time – new resolu- tions and plans, both personal and professional, new opportuni- ties to help people that come to your firm, and more. One thing we learned a long time ago is to hit an annual goal, you need to break it down into smaller, actionable chunks. With that in mind, we’ve put together some great quarterly goals for your 2020 marketing plan to help get you to the next level. Q1 GOAL – AUDIT YOUR INTAKE PROCESSES The first thing you’ll want to make sure you have in place is a solid intake process. A recent experiment done by Clio across 500 firms showed that 39% of firms didn’t answer their phone live, and of those 39% where a voicemail was left, 57% didn’t re- turn the voicemail within 72 hours. That’s a huge amount of potential lost business! How do you handle it when a potential cli- ent emails you? Starts a chat through your website? Calls you? You need to have stan- dards and processes around how you handle each of these intake venues, how you guide them through your process to become a cli- ent, and standards for response times. If it’s just you, these processes will come in handy when you’re so busy that it’s time to hire staff to help – if you already have staff, this will help set expectations and make your firm run smoothly. Q2 GOAL - REDESIGN YOUR WEBSITE Best practices for websites have come a long way in the past few years, and even if your site is only 3-5 years old, odds are it needs an overhaul. Marketing for law firms is a unique vertical, with specific best practices as well as rules set down by the Bar – you should select a marketing partner that specifically serves law firms, as opposed to a jack of all trades who may occasionally do a law firm’s website. EVERY LAW FIRM’S WEBSITE SHOULD: 1. Be mobile-responsive, or even be designed mobile-first (over 50% of traffic across our client base comes from mobile devices). 2. Focus on speed. For every second your site takes to load, you lose visitors, and it’s a ranking factor for Google. 3. Have a clear call to action – what do you want the visitor to do on your site? Make it obvious for them. In addition to making sure it’s fast, speaking to your target market, secure, and accessible on mobile devices, there are a myriad of differ- ent things that need to be in place from a technical SEO and accessibil- ity standpoint. A good marketing partner will handle all of this during the develop- ment of a new site, in addition to making sure Google Analytics and Your Firm’s 2020 Legal Marketing Plan BY BRIAN CRAIG ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MINNESOTA · V OL. 9 NO. 2 18Search Console are set up to properly track your traffic and conversion goals. Want to get even more metrics? Consider tracking phone calls, and tracking new consultation and case sources on a granular level to attribute spend to each part of your marketing plan. This will allow you to see what’s working and what’s not working, and optimize your spending based on that. Q3 GOAL - PUT A PROCESS IN PLACE FOR REVIEWS Ask your clients to review you. Make it easy by send- ing them a custom link for your Google My Business profile that goes directly to the dialog box to review your firm. If you aren’t sure how to create one, e-mail me, I’ll create one for your firm at no charge. Since most of your clients are going to come through Google My Business on the local side of things, that is where we recommend you focus your efforts. Q4 GOAL – START GENERATING CONTENT Ongoing content is a great way to stay in front of po- tential clients. You have lots of different options here – you can write quarterly, monthly, weekly, or whenever you want, as long as it’s on a consistent cadence. You can also either do it in house or have a trusted marketing partner write it for you. If you outsource it, make sure it’s to someone who knows how to write legal content and has all the content vet- ted by an attorney before it’s pub- lished. The best thing about this content is you can reuse it in multiple plac- es. Repost it occasionally on social. Change it slightly and repost it on a guest blog somewhere. Use them as content for your email newsletter. The possibilities are endless! GET STARTED NOW Getting started towards your goals is often the hardest part, but now is the best time to start putting things in place. When you’re looking back on progress at the end of the year, you’ll be glad you put in the work to get your firm where you want it to be in 2020. BRIAN CRAIG IS THE FOUNDER AND CEO OF LEGALSCAPES, A FULL-SERVICE DIGI- TAL MARKETING AGENCY THAT WORKS SOLELY WITH LAW FIRMS. DROP BRIAN A LINE AT BRIAN@LEGALSCAPES.COM, CALL (919) 646-8707, OR VISIT LEGALS- CAPES ON THE WEB AT WWW.LEGALS- CAPES.COM. www.AlmeidaPA.com Client Focused - Results Driven 20 ALMEDA Ad.indd 112/22/19 6:48 AMNext >