Attorney and Branding Expert Jim Keenan Shares Insight at MEbiz Momentum Convention

Bernstein Shur, one of northern New England’s largest law firms, announced that shareholder Jim Keenan spoke at MEbiz Momentum Convention on October 9^th.

Keenan participated in MEbiz U, an interactive panel on Evolution: Adapting to New Market Realities. The discussion focused on how business owners and officers have adapted and transformed their businesses to remain competitive and grow in the face of challenge. Keenan focused his comments on consumer demand for alternatives to the traditional billable hour model, noting that most industries have already taken a hard look at how they operate in order to maximize efficiency and provide greater value to their consumers. “That the legal industry is now facing this same challenge is good for both consumers and the industry itself. It will make us all better.” Keenan advised attendees, “Every organization needs to be in the business of creating value for others, and the fees it charges should be a fair reflection of that value. Hourly fees are often a poor representation of the value of good counsel. That model tends to yield unpredictable fees that reward process over outcomes, none of which is in the consumer’s best interest. Our firm has taken a proactive approach to meeting this challenge, making it one of the top priorities of our new strategic plan.”

Jim Keenan and panel, MoCo 2014

Other panelists included Shannon Kinney, founder and client success officer of Dream Local Digital, Mary Allen Lindemann, community builder and owner of Coffee by Design, Shawn Moody, president of Moody’s Collision Centers, and was moderated by Stefa Normantas, event manager and co-owner of Green Tree Events Consultants. The MEbiz Momentum Convention is the largest business-to-business convention held in ME.

Keenan is a shareholder at Bernstein Shur and a member of its board of directors. He is the firm’s lead intellectual property attorney, having a particular expertise in regards to trademark matters. With over 2,000 trademark applications and registrations under his belt, Keenan manages one the region’s most active trademark practices. A true expert in this space, he has refined his delivery of services and fixed fee billing model over the past 16 years, attracting referrals from a wide array of companies looking to create, build, and preserve their brands, in both traditional and digital marketplaces. Regardless of industry, a company’s brand is among its most prized assets. Keenan helps clients understand how best to protect, enforce and defend their brands within an ever changing, increasingly competitive and now global marketplace. Although he has a broad intellectual property practice, his days are routinely filled with developing global brand protection strategies for fast growing and mid-market companies, protecting client brands from social media and other digital threats, and defending smaller companies against larger trademark bullies.

About Bernstein Shur
Widely regarded as one of New England’s most entrepreneurial law firms, Bernstein Shur has more than 100 attorneys in offices in ME and New Hampshire. Founded in 1915, the firm provides practical and innovative counsel in the areas of business law, litigation, and municipal law to clients throughout the region and around the world. Bernstein Shur is ME’s exclusive member of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms. More information is available at www.bernsteinshur.com.