Dority & Manning

What Dority & Manning does

Dority & Manning, P.A. is a full-service intellectual property law firm founded in 1984 and headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. The firm employs 80+ IP professionals across four U.S. offices (Greenville SC, Raleigh-Durham NC, Seattle WA, and San Diego CA) and serves clients ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 100 technology companies. Its practice is organized around seven technology verticals — Chemistry & Materials, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Transportation & Logistics, Software, Energy, and Consumer Products — with attorneys holding advanced STEM credentials and prior experience as engineers, scientists, USPTO examiners, and in-house corporate counsel. The firm delivers services across the full IP lifecycle: patent prosecution, strategic patent portfolio management, IP licensing and transactions, post-grant proceedings (including AIA inter partes review), IP litigation (including ITC Section 337 investigations and federal appellate work), and trademark and copyright protection.

The firm's core product is high-skill legal services delivered through a partner-led, hourly-fee professional services model. Notable client engagements include trademark defense for Rippling in the Second Circuit (Ripple Analytics Inc. v. People Center Inc.), a $3.1 million federal jury verdict for The Capture Eleven Group in a copyright action against Otter Products, and the defense of the world's largest turbofan engine patent for a Fortune 50 client. The firm has no public listing, no private equity or venture capital ownership, and operates as a privately-held professional association under South Carolina law, with leadership split between President Jason W. Johnston and co-managing principal Neil M. Batavia.

Go-to-market is relationship-based and sales-led, relying on direct attorney-client engagement, professional referrals, industry events (including AIPLA and NextGEN programming), thought-leadership content, and selective international engagements such as the AI and IP seminar co-presented with Marks & Clerk in Tokyo. Pricing is custom, quote-based, and not publicly disclosed. Customer concentration spans startup, mid-market, and enterprise tiers across technology, life sciences, academia, and manufacturing, with a horizontal segmentation approach that prioritizes technical depth over industry specialization. The firm holds no proprietary technology products, APIs, or software platforms — its offering is exclusively human-capital-driven legal services.

Name

Dority & Manning

Legal name

Dority & Manning, Attorneys at Law, P.A.

Website

https://dority-manning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Dority & Manning is a Greenville, SC-headquartered intellectual property law firm founded in 1984 with 80+ IP professionals across four U.S. offices, serving startups through Fortune 100 companies in patent prosecution, portfolio management, litigation, and trademark services across seven technology verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Intellectual Property Law Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) & Securities Law (BPAHAAAI)

Keywords

• Intellectual property law
• Patent prosecution services
• Patent portfolio management
• IP litigation services
• Trademark and copyright protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legal Services Revenue: Revenue generated from comprehensive intellectual property legal services including patent prosecution, litigation, trademark registration, portfolio management, licensing transactions, and related legal counsel. Services billed primarily through hourly fees for litigation and prosecution work, with potential contingency or flat fee arrangements for specific matters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Dority & Manning is a full-service intellectual property law firm providing patent prosecution, patent portfolio management, IP litigation, post-grant proceedings, trademark and copyright prosecution, and IP licensing and transaction services. The firm employs 80+ IP professionals with scientific and engineering backgrounds to deliver legal counsel across seven technology sectors, including chemistry, life sciences, electrical engineering and computer science, transportation, software, energy, and consumer products. Services are billed primarily through hourly fees with engagement-specific arrangements for litigation, prosecution, portfolio management, and licensing matters.

Product overview

Dority & Manning is a full-service intellectual property law firm offering a unified portfolio of legal services rather than a software product. The firm's core offerings include Strategic Patent Portfolio Management, IP Licensing/Transactions/Agreements, Post-Grant Proceedings, IP Litigation, and Trademarks/Copyrights services. These services are delivered by a team of 80+ patent professionals across multiple office locations, serving diverse technical fields from Life Sciences and Computer Science to Mechanical Engineering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Patent Portfolio Management Proactive patent portfolio management services applying deep industry knowledge and skilled patent professionals to solve client problems and maximize IP value across diverse technology sectors.
• IP Licensing, Transactions, & Agreements Full-service IP licensing, transactions, and agreement services designed to maximize the value of intellectual property through strategic deployment for clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
• Post-Grant Proceedings AIA post-grant proceeding services including inter partes review, offering procedural knowledge, timeliness, and attention to detail during each phase of proceedings.
• IP Litigation Intellectual property litigation services with experienced attorneys leveraging legal knowledge and technical expertise to produce tangible results in patent, trademark, and copyright matters, including Section 337 ITC investigations.
• Trademarks and Copyrights Trademark and copyright attorney services providing brand distinction and protection through registration, prosecution, portfolio management, and dispute resolution for clients in diverse industries.

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.1 million jury verdict secured for client in copyright lawsuit against Otter Products LLC
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLPminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaboration with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP on Ripple Analytics Inc. v. People Center Inc. case, where D&M worked with Jeremy Bylund of Willkie Farr who argued before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Oblon, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt: IP-focused law firm serving technology clients with patent prosecution and litigation. Comparable in boutique positioning and sector coverage (electrical, software, biotech) to D&M.
• Fish & Richardson: Large IP-focused law firm with deep patent prosecution and litigation practices, serving technology and life sciences clients globally. Directly comparable as a peer IP boutique competing for similar Fortune 100/emerging-growth mandates as Dority & Manning.
• Knobbe Martens: Full-service IP law firm with technical expertise across chemistry, biotech, mechanical, and electrical engineering. Direct peer across patent prosecution, litigation, and portfolio management for technology clients.
• Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox: Boutique IP law firm specializing in patent prosecution, litigation, and post-grant proceedings (including PTAB). Direct comparable in service mix and pursuit of patent-focused mandates similar to D&M's posture.
• Finnegan: Premier IP-only law firm with strong patent prosecution, litigation, and PTAB practices. Closely comparable to D&M in scope (full-service IP) and client base (technology companies, Fortune 100s), though operating at larger scale.
• Banner Witcoff: IP-focused firm with prosecution, litigation, and counseling practices. Comparable in boutique positioning and emphasis on patent and trademark work for technology clients.

Broad incumbents

• Cooley LLP: Large full-service law firm with strong technology and life sciences IP capabilities. Competes with D&M for startup and emerging-growth company IP mandates as part of a broader corporate/securities/capital markets platform.
• McDermott Will & Emery (IP practice): Global full-service law firm with a significant intellectual property practice. Overlaps with D&M in patent prosecution and litigation, but offers a broader corporate/services portfolio as part of a larger AmLaw-style platform.
• Morrison Foerster (IP practice): Global law firm with deep IP litigation and prosecution capabilities, especially strong in technology and life sciences. Overlaps with D&M across patent litigation and strategy, but anchored in a broader full-service platform.

Regional players

• Hahn Loeser & Parks (IP practice): Mid-size U.S. law firm with a notable IP practice serving technology and manufacturing clients. Comparable in mid-sized boutique positioning, with overlap in technology-oriented IP work though more regionally concentrated than D&M.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dority-&-manning-p.a.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dority & Manning