Gray Ice Higdon
Gray Ice Higdon is a partner-owned IP and business law firm founded in 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky, serving multinational corporations, brands, startups, and inventors. It operates across four practice areas from three U.S. offices, generating revenue through custom-scoped professional services engagements.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersLouisville, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Gray Ice Higdon does
Gray Ice Higdon, PLLC is a Louisville, Kentucky-based intellectual property and business law firm founded in 2023. The firm operates across four integrated practice areas: Intellectual Property (with sub-practices in Patent Protection and Trademark, Copyright and Technology), Intellectual Property Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Corporate and Transactional. It serves a broad, horizontally segmented client base ranging from multinational corporations and nationally recognized brands to small businesses, startups, entrepreneurs, individual inventors, and technology companies, with particular technical depth in patent prosecution for AI/ML, robotics, autonomous driving, biomedical devices, and other deep-tech domains.
The firm is organized as a partner-owned professional limited liability company with 16 named Principal Partners, 4 additional Partners, 6 Of Counsel, 7 Associates, and approximately 12 Paralegals (30+ professionals listed on the firm website; total headcount 51-100). It operates from three U.S. offices — Louisville (headquarters), Austin, Texas (opened 2025, led by Principal Partner Nash Zogaib), and Spokane, Washington — and provides services nationally and internationally. Core technology is traditional legal practice tooling plus USPTO electronic filing; the IP practice group is selectively adopting AI-assisted workflow tools (Google AI and Prompting Essentials-certified paralegal-led exploration) for docketing, prior-art retrieval, and process automation.
Revenue is generated through matter-based professional services fees negotiated per engagement; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm engages clients through a direct, relationship-driven sales model (phone-initiated engagement with a mandatory conflict-of-interest pre-check) and supplements pipeline development through community-led outreach, including the Google Legal Summer Institute (GLSI) talent pipeline, an Inclusivity & Belonging Committee, and earned-media-generating community event participation (Pride Month 5K, Juneteenth, Women's History Month, Hispanic/Latin Heritage Month, Black History Month, Native American History Month). No external funding, parent company, or controlling investor is disclosed; the firm is partner-owned.
Gray Ice Higdon firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Gray Ice Higdon
- Legal name
- Gray Ice Higdon, PLLC
- Website
- https://grayice.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Gray Ice Higdon is a partner-owned IP and business law firm founded in 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky, serving multinational corporations, brands, startups, and inventors. It operates across four practice areas from three U.S. offices, generating revenue through custom-scoped professional services engagements.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Gray Ice Higdon industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Legal Services
- NAICS
- Offices of Lawyers (54111), Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Legal Services (8111)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Litigation & Dispute Resolution (BPAHAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- eDiscovery, Litigation Support & Legal Hold (BPAEAPAE), IP Management, Patents & Trademark Software (BPAEAPAN)
Keywords
Where Gray Ice Higdon is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Louisville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Gray Ice Higdon business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Legal services fees (professional services): Revenue generated through legal representation across four practice areas: Intellectual Property (Patent Protection, Trademark/Copyright/Technology), Intellectual Property Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Corporate & Transactional. Engagement-based professional services model with engagements scoped per matter, including patent prosecution and portfolio management, IP licensing agreements, post-grant proceedings, validity opinions, federal and state court litigation, and corporate transactions (mergers & acquisitions, finance, real estate, employment, etc.).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Legal services pricing is not publicly disclosed; engagements are custom-scoped per matter. |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
Gray Ice Higdon product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Gray Ice Higdon, PLLC is a professional law firm that delivers legal services across four integrated practice areas: Intellectual Property (with sub-practices in Patent Protection and Trademark, Copyright and Technology), Intellectual Property Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Corporate and Transactional. Engagements are matter-based and cover patent prosecution and portfolio management, IP licensing, post-grant proceedings, validity opinions, IP and commercial litigation in federal and state courts, and corporate transactions including M&A, finance, real estate, employment, bankruptcy, and tax.
Product overview
Gray Ice Higdon is a single law firm rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture, but operates through four integrated legal practice areas that together form its service offering: Intellectual Property (with the Patent Protection sub-practice and Trademark, Copyright and Technology sub-practice), Intellectual Property Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Corporate and Transactional. These practice areas are coordinated across the firm's offices in Louisville, Kentucky; Austin, Texas; and Spokane, Washington, with the IP practice areas further supported by dedicated paralegal teams and, internally, AI-assisted workflow tools used to improve efficiency.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Intellectual Property
- Patent Protection Specialized IP sub-practice safeguarding inventions through patent prosecution and portfolio management, including post-grant proceedings, IP licensing agreements, and non-infringement and validity opinions, with a deep bench of machine learning practitioners protecting AI-related innovations in generative models, chatbots, robotics, and other deep-tech domains.
- Trademark, Copyright and Technology IP sub-practice providing trademark and copyright protection including advertising and marketing matters, administrative proceedings (CCB, TTAB, UDRP), licensing, online monitoring, portfolio management, rights clearance, rights of publicity and NIL, social media, and technology agreements.
- Intellectual Property Litigation Litigation practice defending and enforcing IP rights in federal and state courts, handling patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret disputes for clients locally and across the U.S.
- Commercial Litigation Commercial litigation practice representing clients in state and federal court, handling complex commercial disputes including multi-million-dollar jury trials involving trade secret and tortious interference claims.
- Corporate and Transactional Business law practice providing legal guidance across bankruptcy and restructuring, business formation, contract negotiations, employment, executive benefits, franchise, finance, M&A, real estate, supply chain, and tax matters.
Companies that use Gray Ice Higdon
Customer profileSegments7 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Gray Ice Higdon technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature2 records
Gray Ice Higdon partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Google Legal Summer Institute (GLSI)coreGray Ice Higdon is a participating employer in Google's Legal Summer Institute, a program for underrepresented 2L law students. Students spend one week at Google's headquarters in California and then are matched with a participating law firm for the remainder of the summer. The firm has welcomed three students over the past two summers (2022 and 2023) as summer associates, supporting its diversity and inclusion commitments.
- Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts (TALA)minorRocky Nastasi, a paralegal at the firm's Austin office, supports the firm's pro bono efforts with TALA by assisting with filings and client communications to help ensure deadlines are met and matters run smoothly.
- Community First, United Way, and CASAminorJacob Rooks, a paralegal at the firm, gives back to his community through volunteer work with Community First, United Way, and CASA. The firm encourages such volunteer engagement as part of its commitment to inclusion and community.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Gray Ice Higdon competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Foley & Lardner: Full-service national law firm with a sizable IP practice (Foley Hoag / Foley & Lardner) that overlaps with Gray Ice Higdon's IP, litigation, and corporate work for technology clients.
- Cooley LLP: Tech and life sciences-focused full-service firm with strong patent prosecution and IP litigation capabilities. Competes for the same venture-backed and public technology clients Gray Ice Higdon targets.
- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati: Premier tech and life sciences firm with significant IP prosecution and litigation practices serving the same AI, software, and biotech client base as Gray Ice Higdon.
- Goodwin Procter: Full-service firm with strong technology and life sciences IP practices, competing for startup, venture, and public technology IP mandates.
Direct peers
- Fish & Richardson: Largest IP-focused law firm in the U.S. with deep patent prosecution and litigation benches, including technology and life sciences. Direct competitor for Gray Ice Higdon's IP practice, particularly for sophisticated patent work.
- Finnegan: Premier IP boutique with strong patent prosecution, post-grant, and IP litigation practices. A benchmark competitor for technology-driven patent work that overlaps directly with Gray Ice Higdon's IP offering.
- Knobbe Martens: Major IP specialty firm with deep technical and life sciences bench. Competes directly for high-value patent prosecution matters and IP litigation where Gray Ice Higdon positions its practice.
- Oblon: IP-focused law firm with a large patent prosecution group and established AI/tech patent practice. A relevant comparator in patent prosecution and IP litigation.
- Sterne Kessler: Boutique patent prosecution and IP litigation firm with a strong technical bench. Competes for the same technology-driven patent matters that anchor Gray Ice Higdon's practice.
- Merchant & Gould: Established IP boutique with patent prosecution and litigation strength. A relevant comparator for Gray Ice Higdon given its IP-focused practice profile.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Gray Ice Higdon social profiles
Digital presenceGray Ice Higdon financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Gray Ice Higdon leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles20 records
Gray Ice Higdon funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Gray Ice Higdon M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Gray Ice Higdon
What does Gray Ice Higdon do?
Gray Ice Higdon, PLLC is a professional law firm that delivers legal services across four integrated practice areas: Intellectual Property (with sub-practices in Patent Protection and Trademark, Copyright and Technology), Intellectual Property Litigation, Commercial Litigation, and Corporate and Transactional. Engagements are matter-based and cover patent prosecution and portfolio management, IP licensing, post-grant proceedings, validity opinions, IP and commercial litigation in federal and state courts, and corporate transactions including M&A, finance, real estate, employment, bankruptcy, and tax.
Is Gray Ice Higdon a public or private company?
Gray Ice Higdon is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Gray Ice Higdon founded?
Gray Ice Higdon was founded in 2023. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Gray Ice Higdon based?
Gray Ice Higdon is headquartered in Louisville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Gray Ice Higdon make money?
One revenue line is on record: legal services fees (professional services).
Who are Gray Ice Higdon's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Foley & Lardner, Cooley LLP, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and Goodwin Procter. Direct peers are Fish & Richardson, Finnegan, Knobbe Martens, Oblon, Sterne Kessler and Merchant & Gould.
Does Gray Ice Higdon have an API?
No public API is recorded for Gray Ice Higdon.
What industry is Gray Ice Higdon in?
Gray Ice Higdon's product category is Legal Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAAAB, Litigation & Dispute Resolution, with a secondary code of BPAEAPAE, eDiscovery, Litigation Support & Legal Hold. Its NAICS code is 54111 and its SIC code is 8111.