For the second consecutive year, Lee & Hayes PLLC, of Spokane, has been ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in patent quality, and No. 1 in the information technology industry, by Intellectual Asset Management Magazine and Ocean Tomo Patent Ratings.

Patent quality is a stronger measure of an intellectual property portfolio's strategic value than simply the quantity of patents, according to Ocean Tomo. The rankings were published in the magazine's May/June issue.

Lee & Hayes' focus on strategic IP counsel and portfolio management has fueled a recent expansion, which now includes the addition of a Portland, Ore.-area office to be headed by Kevin LeMond. Along with its offices here, the firm also has offices in Seattle, Austin, Taipei, and Beijing.

According to the Intellectual Asset Management Magazine, the median intellectual property quality score for firms in the industries surveyed (health care, information technology, consumer electronics, and industrials) was 120.0, and Lee & Hayes achieved the highest quality score of 136.6. In the information technology category, the median IPQ was 124.9, and Lee & Hayes received the top score of 138.1.

"Focusing on quality, rather than quantity, of patents enables businesses to be more strategic about their intellectual property, and build portfolios that are true long-term assets," says Lewis Lee, cofounder of Lee & Hayes. "As the innovation economy unfolds, these assets will be the primary engine of growth around the world."

Lee & Hayes named LeMond a partner in the firm's new office, based in Vancouver, Wash., and serving the greater Portland metropolitan area. LeMond brings 15 years of experience serving clients from across the technology industry, including manufacturers of microprocessors, wireless technologies, semiconductor packaging, electro-optical components and systems, software, Internet-related technologies, and medical devices.

LeMond is an electrical engineer by training and received his law degree from the University of Arizona School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the states of Oregon, California, Arizona, and Ohio; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth, Ninth, and Federal circuits; plus the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He was most recently a partner in the law firm of Schwabe, Willliamson & Wyatt.

LeMond brings with him a large Bay Area semiconductor company that will become one of Lee & Hayes' top five clients.

The firm says it has grown and diversified in a number of ways since 2008, when it embarked on an aggressive expansion strategy.Originally based in Spokane and Seattle, it opened an Austin office that year to attract talent located there. Later, it opened sales offices in Taipei and Beijing to serve clients there and to help U.S.-based clients do business in Asia.The firm also has added a corporate law practice and life sciences practice.

"We've been given a unique opportunity to bring in some outstanding legal talent in the last several months who will support and lead our life sciences, technology, and corporate practice groups across an expansive geography," says Shaun Cross, Lee & Hayes CEO. "With the addition of Kevin and a fully staffed Portland-area office, and the addition of new talent in corporate and securities law and life sciences, the firm is well positioned to serve the needs of clients in multiple growth industries where intellectual property is critical to driving business value."

Lee & Hayes represents six of the 20 largest patent filers in the U.S., including Microsoft, Amazon, Intel, and Goldman Sachs. It emphasizes the importance of building intellectual property portfolios based on a long-term business strategy, and counsels on all form of licensing, litigation-avoidance, pre-litigation, and corporate formation issues that are part of that strategy.