First Woman to Lead Talented Legal Team at Largest Independent Patent Law Firm in North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Myers Bigel, the largest independent patent law firm in North Carolina, is pleased to announce that it has named Lynne Borchers as its new Managing Partner. Borchers, who leads the Litigation Practice Group and was recently recognized by Corporate America 2015 Legal Elite, is the first female Managing Partner in the firm’s 18 year history.


“Lynne has an incredible wealth of knowledge in how law firms are run having served on the firm’s management committee for many years, in addition to her extensive background in litigation,” said outgoing Managing Partner David Purks.

Purks took over as Managing Partner from Jim Cannon in 2010. Mitch Bigel, one of the founders of the firm in 1997, preceded Cannon.

Myers Bigel employs 35 attorneys in its Raleigh office, utilizing experience and degrees in a particular technology to counsel clients on issues related to start up and spin-off companies, technology transfer, and collaborations between academia and industry in addition to building strong relationships with in-house corporate counsel.

Nine of the firm’s partners, or roughly 33 percent are women. This number closely mirrors statistics from the American Bar Association which point to women making up 34 percent of the legal profession.

“Myers Bigel has a culture and policies that allow all of its attorneys, including a large number of women, to perform at the highest levels.  Our culture is highly supportive and focuses on providing our clients with quality work in a timely and cost-effective manner,” said Borchers.

Borchers has been a litigator for over 24 years, focusing on patent, trademark and unfair competition litigation. She has been involved with patent litigation involving technology such as light emitting diodes, nonwoven fabrics, telecommunications systems and components, pharmaceutical compounds, computer systems, consumer products, electrical devices, orthopedic devices, medical devices, packaging methods, and poultry egg technology, having made numerous appearances before federal district courts during pretrial proceedings and at trials in addition to patent appeals before the Federal Circuit; for example, in 2014 she helped get a high-profile suit dismissed on behalf of a life sciences client who was accused of patent infringement, with a federal judge deciding that the plaintiff's claims were either premature or unsupported, and in 2015 she helped several clients in complex litigations involving district court litigations, inter partes reviews before the U.S. Patent Office (including trial), and a Federal Circuit appeal. 

Like many of her peers at Myers Bigel, Borchers has a diverse, technology-oriented background: prior to her legal career, she worked as an electrical engineer at Grumman Aircraft Systems and at Riverside Research Institute in the areas of design and integration of radar and electronic countermeasures systems. Having received her Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and a United States Coast Guard License as a Third Mate from the State University of New York Maritime College, Borchers served as an officer in the United States Naval Reserve.

She is admitted to practice before the state and federal courts of North Carolina, New York, and New Jersey, as well as before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She is a member of the American Bar Association, Section on Intellectual Property Litigation, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, and local bar associations.

Borchers received her Juris Doctor Degree from Seton Hall University School of Law.

She remains active in forums and symposia in addition to legal industry events such as American Intellectual Property Law Association Women in IP Networking events and hosting the Association of Corporate Counsel, Research Triangle Area chapter as part of continuing legal education programming and opportunities to share her knowledge and best practices in disputed patent and intellectual property law matters.

Myers Bigel operates out of the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina, representing corporate and university clients located in the Carolinas, throughout the Southeast, across the United States, and in Europe and Asia.

Dedicated to best practices in patent law, the firm continues to be recognized by legal media and industry organizations as producing quality results and leading in the protection of intellectual property. Myers Bigel’s numerous awards and accolades, successful patent applications, and continuing referrals speak volumes to the talent and dedication of its vibrant team of longtime attorneys.

For more information, visit www.myersbigel.com.

About Myers Bigel
Myers Bigel is an intellectual property law firm combining patent law expertise with a stable continuity of counsel to produce quality patents that stand up to scrutiny. We are the largest independent patent law firm in the Carolinas, continually ranked among the top national firms by well-respected legal media and industry organizations. Our knowledgeable, vibrant team of attorneys with degreed technical experience successfully acquires, protects, enforces and defends patent assets and intellectual property in a variety of fields including biotechnology, chemistry, electronics and computing, mechanical and trademark practice, as well as in litigation. Headquartered in Raleigh in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina, with clients spanning the globe, we remain active in symposia, seminars, and continuing education efforts to further best practices in intellectual property protection and enforcement. For more information visit www.myersbigel.com.