We proudly announce the 30th Anniversary of Suiter Swantz IP. As we celebrate this significant milestone, we reflect on three decades devoted to protecting our clients’ innovation and look forward to continuing that mission in a quickly changing landscape.
Like most new businesses, our Firm had humble beginnings. Sean Suiter founded the Firm on January 18, 1994, establishing Suiter & Associates pc. Sean founded the Firm as a solo practitioner in his basement, working from an old school desk. The Firm rapidly grew, adding attorneys and staff and moved into its first official office located on Nicholas Street. The Firm quickly outgrew this location and moved to its current location in the FNB Business Park, where we have been located since 2001.
In 2006, the Firm was renamed to Suiter Swantz pc llo. In 2016, Chad Swantz, Scot Ringenberg, and Matthew Poulsen joined Sean as co-owners of the Firm. Today, the Firm boasts a 30-person team of attorneys and staff and ranks as a top 150 patent firm in the country, issuing approximately 400 patents per year and approximately 6000 U.S. patents to date. The Firm represents a wide array of clients ranging from startups to individual inventors to multi-billion-dollar corporations.
Here are a few words from Sean Suiter as he reminisces about the founding of the Firm in 1994:
Today, thirty years ago, I was absorbed in writing a battery monitor patent application. I sat behind the teacher’s desk from the one-room school my mother attended. The hubris that had guided me behind the desk was gone. The house was new, the gray cinder block basement smelled like new construction. The lighting was warm and incandescent. I remember feeling terrified. Sarah and I had two sons, a two-year-old (Ian) and a two-month-old (Max)—I had enough money for a month, two if I was careful. It was clarifying—like clinging to a rock face or shooting an approach at night to minima. Thank you to all of our early clients (Jack, Steve, George, Helmuth, Lee, Mark, Duane, and Sandeep) that trusted me with your work. Thank you to all those team members from the early years – Chad, Penny, Sue, Melanie – I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you to all of the wonderful attorneys and staff I have had the privilege of working with and continue to work with —you’ve enriched my life. Thank you, Stephanie and Patrice. Thank you to all my students -you taught me a lot. Finally, thank you to my wife, Sarah! It’s been lovely!
Everyone at Suiter Swantz IP is very excited about our future and looks forward to continuing to provide world-class IP services to our clients for years to come. In preparation for the future, in 2023, the Firm completed renovation and expansion of its current office space located in Omaha. The renovation significantly increased the Firm’s office space to create a collaborative environment for our team and accommodate future growth. More announcements on the team and growth of the Firm are on the horizon in 2024—stay tuned!
To celebrate both our 30th anniversary and the future of Suiter Swantz IP, we will be hosting an open house in our newly renovated office space in May 2024 – details to come!
We are grateful for our valued clients, colleagues, staff, friends, and family who have helped make the Firm a success. Thank you for being an important part of our story. Here’s to the next chapter at Suiter Swantz IP!
