Navigating Change in IP Law Firms: Rethinking Efficiency, Technology, and Trust

Insights from Patrix CEO Karin Hermansson and CTO Mehrdad Assadi

 

The intellectual property (IP) landscape is shifting in ways that are difficult to ignore. Law firms are under increasing pressure to operate more efficiently and demonstrate greater value to clients, all while working with systems that were never built for the pace of change they're facing today.

Against this backdrop, the recent acquisition of Patrix by Anaqua reflects a broader trend in the IP sector: a move towards more integrated technology and services. As expectations continue to evolve, firms are increasingly looking for solutions that bring together technology, scale and experience within workflows, rather than treating them separately.

Anaqua recently spoke with former Patrix CEO, Karin Hermansson, and former Patrix CTO, now responsible for the Patricia road map and senior member of Anaqua product team, Mehrdad Assadi, about the forces shaping today's IP market, where firms are feeling the pressure and how this partnership fits into that picture.

Together, Karin Hermansson and Mehrdad Assadi bring decades of experience to the IP sector. Mehrdad Assadi first joined Patrix in 1993 and has helped guide the development of the company's IP management platform, Patricia, through multiple generations of change. Karin Hermansson joined Patrix shortly after law school, held leadership roles in Swedish government and European agencies, and returned as CEO in 2018. Up until the acquisition she led Patrix. Now she leads the company’s integration with Anaqua, she leads the company as it enters its next chapter.
 

What makes the combination of Anaqua and Patrix an exciting development for the IP industry?

For many years, Patrix has worked closely with IP law firms, developing a strong understanding of how they operate, particularly across Europe. Anaqua, meanwhile, has over twenty years of experience supporting some of the largest corporate IP teams, with the scale and infrastructure to support complex global portfolios.

For Mehrdad Assadi, one of the biggest opportunities comes from what they can now offer clients.

Mehrad mentioned, “As a smaller company, there are always limits. Now, together with Anaqua, there’s a broader set of resources and capabilities that we can tap into that just weren’t available before.”

Karin Hermansson believes the fit goes beyond scale. The two companies bring different experiences to the table, serving different segments of the IP market while sharing a similar focus on supporting law firms. For clients, the benefit is not simply greater resources, but access to a wider set of capabilities and perspectives across the IP landscape.
 

What has been a consistent driver of success, even as things change?

When discussing Patrix's success over the past three decades, both Karin Hermansson and Mehrdad Assadi returned to the importance of understanding their clients and the challenges they face. For Hermansson, that has been a constant from the beginning for Patrix.

Karin highlighted their client-centric focus: "It always comes back to the client. That’s always been the starting point for us. If you move away from that, even slightly, it becomes harder to make the right decisions. The focus has always been on supporting clients first above all else.”

As law firms navigate new demands around efficiency and technology, supporting them means understanding the problems they are trying to solve rather than simply delivering a product and moving on. Over time, that approach influences how teams work with clients and how solutions evolve to meet changing needs.
 

What challenges are IP law firms dealing with right now?

IP law firms are under pressure from several directions. Clients expect greater efficiency while continuing to demand the high standards of accuracy and service they have always relied on. Firms are also facing a more competitive environment, shaped by consolidation and changing commercial expectations across the legal sector. ‌

Karin Hermansson believes many firms are grappling with how to improve efficiency without disrupting client’s processes and trust. As firms expand and pricing pressures continue to build, improving productivity while maintaining quality has become a key priority.
 

Where does technology fit into all of this?

With AI at the center of many conversations about the future of IP and law firms, Assadi and Hermansson pointed to the significant impact AI-driven technologies are already having on the industry. At the same time, both acknowledge that understanding of AI and its potential applications is still developing.

AI is often discussed in terms of individual use cases, but in reality, it is becoming increasingly woven into everyday workflows. For Merhdad, the more useful way to think about it is not as a tool operating at the edges, but as something that works alongside people:

He said, "Technology is just part of everything now – people expect it to be there and to work. You can see that with newer generations entering the IP industry as well. Professionals are used to technology being embedded in their day-to-day workflows.”

This creates invaluable opportunities to reduce repetitive administrative work and allowing professionals to spend more time on higher-value tasks. However, it also raises important questions around data governance, control and implementation, which helps explain why many firms are taking a measured approach.

On that note, Karin Hermansson added: “There’s still a degree of uncertainty, especially when it comes to AI. There’s a great deal of interest in what these technologies can do, but many firms are still determining how best to integrate them into practice.”

 

How is AI likely to change things?

Many firms are also facing a shortage of experienced professionals. Recruitment remains challenging, and with workloads increasing, there are limits to how much existing teams can take on.

Automation offers part of the answer, not as a replacement for expertise, but to create capacity.

Mehrdad Assadi explained: “A lot of the work being done today is repetitive, and that’s where AI has clear potential. If that work can be reduced or supported, it frees up time to focus on more complex and higher-value tasks. That’s really where the value sits.”

At the same time, firms are unlikely to embrace new technologies unless they understand how they work and how they can be used responsibly. For many, hesitation comes less from a lack of interest and more from a need for greater clarity and confidence.

As Merhdad noted: “There’s still a learning curve. It takes time for people to understand how to use these tools effectively and how they fit into day-to-day work.”

 

A shift that is already underway

The discussion with Karin Hermansson and Mehrdad Assadi highlights an industry that is already adapting to significant change. The acquisition of Patrix by Anaqua echoes many of these wider shifts. It reflects an understanding that no single capability is sufficient on its own, and firms increasingly need integrated solutions that bring together different strengths and functions to respond to evolving client demands.

For law firms, the focus is on finding practical ways to evolve while continuing to deliver the quality and reliability that clients expect. New technologies will play an important role. But their success will ultimately depend on how well they support the people and expertise at the center of the IP practice.

---

Learn more:

• Anaqua Acquires Patrix: What This Means and Why It Matters
• Anaqua Acquires Patrix to Expand Its IP Management Leadership

Further reading:

• AI Readiness and IP Operations: Are You Where You Need to Be?
• A New Way of Working: Adopting AI into IP Processes
• The Power of the IP Network – Building the Future of Global IP Collaboration