Colleagues in the legal profession consider our team among Florida’s top patent attorneys. Moreover, our lawyers provide consistent and extraordinary service for intellectual property matters. We focus on patents, trademarks and copyright exclusively. Furthermore, clients do not pay for our attorneys to come up to speed. Consequently, they can safely assume an advanced level of knowledge for each and every attorney.

Anton Hopen is a U.S. Registered Patent Attorney and Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Intellectual Property. He holds the highest attorney rating from Martindale-Hubble.


Nicholas Pfeifer, Smith & Hopen law partner and U.S. Registered Patent Attorney

Nicholas Pfeifer is registered before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and holds a Certificate in Intellectual Property from the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida.


Michele Lawson, Smith & Hopen senior attorney and U.S. Registered Patent Attorney

Michele Lawson is registered before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and holds M.S., M.B.A. and J.D. degrees.

Paul Murty is registered before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and holds a Certificate in Intellectual Property from the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida.


Owen Behrens is a graduate of the Washington University School of Law and is registered before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. He graduated magna cum laude in Biomedical Engineering from Saint Louis University.


Molly Sauter

Molly Sauter is registered before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and holds a degree from the University of South Florida in Electrical Engineering.

Hiring Florida’s Top Patent Attorneys

Seeking intellectual property counsel in Florida? By all means, do the research and consider experience and qualifications. Most important, find a firm you are comfortable with. In particular, one that works as a team towards your success. Accordingly, we are confident our firm ranks top of your list.

What are the best qualifications for a patent attorney?

All patent attorneys must have science or engineering degrees. Beyond that, look for Board Certification and AV-Ratings. Consider how many patents they’ve granted and what clients they represent. These are all public record.

What questions should I ask in hiring a patent laywer?

Do they understand the technology? Have they patented inventions in the same field? Do they write “litigation-grade” patents or “expensive wallpaper?” Have their patents undergone full patent litigation and prevailed?

How do I find the best patent attorney for my invention?

Discuss your invention with the patent lawyer and see if they “get” the invention. A good patent attorney is careful about what inventions they recommend pursuing. The duty of your lawyer is to protect your financial interests….not to make you feel good about your invention. In other words, if the invention isn’t likely to be a success, the patent attorney should be forthright about that. Accordingly, ethical patent attorneys talk themselves out of work all the time. It is a moral and professional obligation to the the client even if it costs the firm work.

How do I evaluate the qualifications of a patent attorney?

There are a few ways: (1) look at their representative clients; and (2) view the patents they have prosecuted. Universities and large institutions typically hire only the best patent lawyers. Moreover, top patent attorneys also tend to work on more complicated and challenging technologies. The patent firm’s website should list this information.