Rainier Patents PS, a patent and intellectual property law firm here, has tripled its leased space at the Fernwell Building downtown and has added a second attorney, says owner Paul Mitchell.

Mitchell says the firm has moved from two small suites with a combined about 500 square feet of floor space on the fifth floor of the Fernwell Building, at 505 W. Riverside, to a fourth-floor office with 1,500 square feet of space. It also has added attorney Rich Bucher, most recently of the Spokane law firm Sadler, Breen, Morasch & Colby PS, Mitchell says.

Rainier Patents is looking to hire another associate attorney by the end of the year, and possibly a fourth lawyer within the next 18 months, Mitchell says.

The firm, which opened its doors in October 2007, now has five employees, including Mitchell; his wife and the firm's marketing director, Jennifer Mitchell; Bucher; a paralegal; and a bookkeeper, Mitchell says.

"There seems to be a pretty high demand" for the firm's services, he says.

Mitchell says the firm also is looking to begin working with a consultant with a doctoral degree in microbiology.

"It would give us depth of knowledge with our biotech clients that need that technical level for their representation," he says. "It can only help to make the patent process go better."

The firm has clients throughout the Northwest, including software companies, agricultural machinery industry businesses, water processing operations, and manufacturers, ranging from large companies to individual inventors, he says.