“Intellectual Property law is an enabler of creativity.”
Often times, it is said that commercial companies lament the creative clans. But this could be the case if you are unaware of intellectual property law and how you can use it to exploit your own creativity. Anyone who sets out to turn an idea into an innovation or make some artistic work out of it will automatically own its copyright. And if they register their artwork as a trademark, a design right or even a patent, they can be recognized as a creator. This can pose as a huge earning opportunity and also help the creators flourish.
Featuring for The Enterprise World’s this issue of The Best Franchises to Buy is Sanicki Lawyers, a boutique law firm enabling creative minds to flourish.
The Firm- Sanicki Lawyers
Sanicki Lawyers is a boutique law firm that was started in the year 2009. The vision behind starting the firm was simple yet strong, to bring the big city law to the suburbs. The suburbs had a lot of emerging new companies, that were creative in nature, but lacked only one thing, the big city skills and attitude to protect their creativity. Aiming for the highest achievements, Sanicki Lawyers set out to provide small businesses the access to quality high-end legal services, but without the big city price tag.
“We value our clients above all else and always strive to provide exceptional, results-driven service.”
The firm Sanicki Lawyers maintains a great and a motivating culture, where every lawyer is encouraged to follow their dreams, and make progress in their professional lives. Sanicki Lawyers practices across a wide range of areas including defamation, property, commercial, music and entertainment, trademarks, copyright and IP.
Overcoming the Challenges-
Like every other start-up, Sanicki’s challenges were sourcing work, managing costs, setting up infrastructure, and all in all, just sailing the boat smoothly.
Once your business starts to gain momentum, when there is a flow of clients and you are renowned for the kind of services you provide, the challenges increase with it all too, like cashflow, staff management, systems, marketing, admin, and more.
“As a leader, an entrepreneur, it took me a while to accept that my role was not just legal work anymore.”
But you always outgrow your older self, so yesterday’s problems don’t seem any big, because everyday comes with a new perspective and a new enthusiasm. And as years passed, the solution, the key to success became simpler.
The key then (as it has always been) is to surround yourself with a talented, supportive and reliable team with shared values knowing that our clients are always going to be in capable hands. But more importantly, creating an environment that clients and staff alike want to be a part of.
The Growth Quotient-
“There was no one substantial “point” as such.”
For Sanicki, the year after year growth has been slow but steady. There were moments when the key staff that joined the firm brought their client base along with them. And times when Sanicki Lawyers acquired their own clients with their varied portfolio and strong base.
It sure has been quite a snowball, because as you grow, your growth tends to accelerate. And as Sanicki Lawyers expanded their practice areas, it gave way for more opportunities through referrals.
“Apart from being great at what we do, it is the care, dedication and commitment to our clients’ success that we value most.”
The key to success is to love what you do, and at Sanicki, the team puts in dedicated efforts to give the clients the best results, which reflects in the client feedbacks and their successes. Sanicki’s driving force that makes their team the best at everything they do is the fact that most of their team members have practical and real-world experience in the areas they practice in. This helps Sanicki Lawyers to create a sense of empathy and the basis of a really strong relationship with the clients
But above all, the team remains committed to its core values of providing quality legal services and to achieving outstanding results for each and every client.
Their Suite of Services-
“We have probably bought a city vibe and ethos out to the suburbs.”
Not to differentiate themselves as a “suburban” firm, Sanicki identifies as a boutique firm with a range of practice areas. Sanicki specializes in areas that most other firms do not practice, like that of defamation, new technologies, music and entertainment, franchising and now, new energy law.
Sanicki also has their core practice areas being commercial law, property, wills and estates and litigation, but through their client mix, often find themselves working with businesses and clients in the creative or innovative space. There are few other firms that practice Sanicki’s particular mix of skills and/or practice areas.
The Road Ahead-
“We are led by our clients.”
Innovation leads to opportunities, that give way to a new path ahead. Clients, being the authentic, creative ones always inspire and motivate the team of Sanicki to bring innovative ideas to the table. Facing the many new challenges, and looking for ways to make the business more efficient is a life-long journey. But to find the right support to lead through this journey is what makes success seem so simple.
At Sanicki, when clients come on board with opportunities or new “issues”, the team always takes up the challenge to ensure a smooth sail.
Continuous upskilling coupled with professional development is a necessary aspect in building the team at Sanicki. When there is a diverse mix of lawyers from different backgrounds and with different base skill sets, creativity flows organically.
With this expansion of horizons, Sanicki is excited to share that it is the first firm to seriously tackle the legal issues around new energy, and the new “green” energy.
“It is set to become a huge area as businesses are looking to innovate towards a greener future.”
Sanicki Lawyers defamation practice has also grown exponentially in the last few years. No coincidence that this coincides with continuing rise and influence of social media. While they remain equipped to handle any defamation matter in the County or Supreme Court, the challenge is always to try and reach an amicable solution before it gets that far.
Darren Sanicki- The Leading Force
Principal & Founder
Darren started his early days owning a shop for a couple of years in his early 20s, The Sheet Music Factory. That stint with entrepreneurship taught him more about the business world and the daily challenges businesses face than from any other lesson at the university.
At the beginning of his legal career, he started working with a sole practitioner in St. Kilda where he specialized in mostly conveyancing and property law, commercial law and some Magistrates Court litigation.
After a year Darren moved across to a mid-tier firm as a commercial lawyer which really was the intense and hands on training he needed.
With a background in the music industry, Darren simultaneously started growing the entertainment side of his practice. And then with this going on the right track, Darren started developing his skills in the general copyright and IP law.
That formed the basis of Sanicki Lawyers, originally with a focus on IP law, music & entertainment which has now grown into the amalgamation of various fields of law.
“This was always client driven, as their needs became more diverse, so did we.”
How Competition Motivates for Betterment-
For Sanicki, competition in the market is the rarest of the concerns. The team’s soul focus is on improving their own service range. The focus stays on how they can do better as a firm and how the team can stay motivated and happy.
However, innovation remains at the core of the foundation of Sanicki Lawyers. And when there comes in a floating news about another firm doing something well, whether it be embracing new technologies or incentivising their staff, a competitive spirit arises to outgrow and outdo them.
“It’s all about making us better!”
As mentioned, it is a motivating factor, but not in the conventional way. The team strives to be the best that they can be, however but not in the sense that they want to be better than everyone else.
“I was always told, there is plenty of work for all of us!”
“However, I do feel a sense of urgency as a firm and that we’re only at the tip of the iceberg! We still have so much potential to be realised. The key is to learn whenever you can and from whomever you can and not lose focus of who we are and what we do best. Upholding the high standards that we set for ourselves and for our clients is the strongest motivating factor that we have.”, says Darren.
