Patent Law Weblog

I am always amazed when I look at the weblogs referring traffic to this site. Today, I found someone who came to this blog from Patently Obvious, a legal weblog about, obviously, patent law. The author, Dennis Crouch, "is an attorney at the law firm of McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP in Chicago where his practice focuses on patent law in the areas of mechanical and electrical engineering." After reading his bio, I am certain he is a lot smarter than me, but what impressed me most was the last line, "Dennis Crouch grew up on a farm near Pittsburg, Kansas." One of my grandfathers farmed, as did two of my uncles. My other grandfather taught High School Ag, has a small truck farm, and still works (at 94 years of age) for the U.S.D.A. as a crop surveyor. I never grew up on a farm, but I remember fondly the times I spent with my uncles on theirs. I am sure that Dennis' impressive resume has won him his share of clients, but am more certain that his farming background has helped him relate to many in a way his formal education never could.

Comments

[James]

I saw that you have a page that discusses patent-related resources at http://thenonbillablehour.typepad.com/nonbillable_hour/2004/04/patent_law_webl.html. I wanted to suggest adding www.freepatentsonline.com to the page. This web site has free PDF downloading (instead of having to page through TIFFs like at the US PTO). It is by far the best free patent searching site.

[Dennis Crouch]

p.s. I just looked at your bio -- you have lots of those glossy credentials too.

[Dennis Crouch]

Matthew.
--Thanks so much for the glowing review – you brought back some good memories of home. Sometimes when I’m driving along Lake Shore Drive here in Chicago, I look across the lake and see by parent’s big field of prairie waiving in the wind.
--I agree with you 100% that any client looking for an attorney should quickly look past any glossy credentials and try to figure out the level of the candidate’s skill set and character.