Old Boy becomes President of Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court

William Abbatt left Merchant Taylors’ in 1962 to study Material Sciences at Imperial College London. He stayed a further year to take a Masters course in Production Engineering and Management. Having worked for many years in this field, he decided to study Law, the profession in which he has made his name in the following forty years. Working as a patent attorney, Mr Abbatt has dedicated himself to ensuring that clarity is maintained in all patent disputes, and to protecting the interests of businesses small and large. He has worked for Michigan-based law firm Brooks Kushman since 1986 and has received several commendations for his work, including being named as a ‘Top Lawyer’ in DBusiness Magazine’s 2016 edition and being listed in Intellectual Asset Management’s 1000 Recommended Individuals list for 2014/15.

The Michigan Intellectual Property Inn of Court is a philanthropic organization of judges, lawyers and legal educators that seeks to promote fair and ethical practice amongst junior lawyers and law students. Mr Abbatt helped to found the Inn five years ago and was enthusiastic about moving into a leadership role stating, “As President of this Inn, I have an opportunity to give back to the profession which has treated me so well”. Patterned after the English Inns of Court mentoring system, the Inn looks to provide best practice advice to those new or less skilled in the profession, in part through the educational programmes written by its one hundred plus members. The Inn is currently in the process of organising several outreach programmes which will aim to assist fledgling entrepreneurs in their practices. Mr Abbatt will look to take the organisation forward, while staying true to its initial goal of promoting excellence in advocacy amongst those it mentors.