Lee & Hayes opening law firm in Vancouver

Spokane intellectual property law firm Lee & Hayes soon will open its fifth office, in Vancouver, Wash.

The company, which focuses on patent work primarily for tech companies, will have a three-person location to work with companies in the Portland area.

CEO Shaun Cross said the decision to open there came as Lee & Hayes worked to hire Portland-based IP attorney Kevin Lemond.

Lemond will direct the Vancouver office once it opens its doors in June, Cross said.

The firm, founded in 1994, has offices in Spokane, Seattle, Austin, Beijing and Taipei.

For the second year in a row, Intellectual Asset Management magazine named Lee & Hayes the country’s No. 1 patent law firm based on patent quality.

The rankings, published in the May issue, also placed Lee & Hayes as the top IP firm in the information technology industry. The companies it has represented include Amazon, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and Boeing. Area clients include Advantage IQ and Signature Genomics.