32 - Identifying & Protecting your Intellectual Property

Our guest for this #PoisedforExit episode is Steve Baird; shareholder and practice area leader for his Intellectual Property team in the Minneapolis office of global firm Greenberg Traurig. Steve's interest in the law did not follow a straight line. Being from a family of educators (his parents and siblings are all teachers of some kind) he naturally gravitated toward wanting to educate people, just not as a teacher. 

He spent some time in college in a Pharmacist program and through that experience met several patent attorneys. It was then that his path to practicing law began, with a strong interest in IP. 

Fast forward, Steve is a prominent leader in his department and specializes in Trademark Law and Brand protection for privately held companies.  He enjoys the value he brings as a trusted legal adviser to his client relationships and uses his love for education in teaching them what, why, and how to protect their brand assets. His thought leadership and expertise are well received in his department and by his colleagues and associates. Being the recipient of many types of awards, you'd think he'd have an ego problem, but not this guy. He's as humble as they get. 

His award winning  "Duets Blog" boasts 900 posts over the past 12 years! He's interviewed some pretty famous thought leaders, like Seth Godin, who's also been a guest blogger for them!  Steve says his guiding principles as a trademark expert and leader of his team are to help his clients understand what they need and why, without demeaning legal jargon that can drive distance between attorney and client. He also believes that creative problem solving works a lot better with creative people than forcing a remedy that no one likes or wants. You can learn more about protecting your IP by listening to this episode now.

Find Steve here: https://www.gtlaw.com/en/professionals/b/baird-stephen-r
Find Julie here: https://www.poisedforexit.com/

Thank you to our Sponsors Sunbelt Business Advisors and JAK, CPA.

Connect with Julie Keyes, Keyestrategies LLC
Founder, Consultant, Author, Pod-caster and Instructor