* Why I Respect Wolf Greenfield

A large Boston law firm with a founder who cares.

Over six years ago, I founded Clock Tower Law Group and immediately faced the challenge of a marketing launch that coincided with the events of September 11, 2001. It was pretty quiet here during the shock and recession that was the fall of 2001. With the help of friends, family, and intestinal fortitude, we recovered from those events (a story which the ABA Journal documented in 2003).

One of the things that I did during the fall of 2001 was write letters to experienced patent attorneys and agents in New England. I wrote many letters and got few replies. One reply, however, made a lasting impression on me, and that was from Wolf Greenfield founder David Wolf. He told the story of how he founded and grew Wolf Greenfield based on “treat[ing] each client as if he/she were the only client you have.”

My clients have told me success stories and horror stories about large Boston law firms. I have had good and bad experiences with large Boston law firms. Each of these experiences leaves a lasting impression, for better or for worse.

I had the pleasure of telling this story last night to a group of students at Tufts University in Emily Durand Woodward’s “Intellectual Property in Business and Society” class, where I spoke with Wolf Greenfield’s Ilan Barzilay. But I thought the story deserved a wider audience.

David Wolf could have easily ignored or responded to with a form letter. But he didn’t. His mentoring and advice are appreciated and remain relevant to this day. Thank you, sir.