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Akron IP firm elects a new partner
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: February 22, 2019
A longtime associate at the full service intellectual property law firm Emerson Thomson Bennett has been elected partner.
Akron attorney Sergey Vernyuk was officially elevated to partner on Jan. 1 after working at the firm for about six years.
“Becoming partner has been great,” said Vernyuk, a registered U.S. patent attorney, who focuses on intellectual property litigation and the prosecution of U.S. and foreign patents, trademarks and copyrights. “I have learned a great deal since joining the firm in September 2012 and it is wonderful to have my work recognized and acknowledged.”
“Sergey has been exceptional since the day he started,” said Emerson Thomson Bennett Managing Partner Dan Thomson. “He bills more hours than we require and his work has been of extraordinary quality since the beginning.”
Born in Lviv, Ukraine, Vernyuk’s family moved to Cleveland when he was a young boy.
He received his bachelor’s degree and his master’s degree in electrical engineering from Cleveland State University.
Prior to graduating from The University of Akron School of Law in 2012, he worked as an electrical engineer at the automation and information solutions business The RoviSys Company in Aurora and at Intertek in Twinsburg, which provides safety compliance services to industries around the world.
In the summer of 2011, Vernyuk served as a law clerk at the Cleveland IP firm Pearne & Gordon.
“I was interested in becoming a patent attorney for a while,” said Vernyuk. “My dad went to engineering school at Cleveland State and one of his classmates, who was a lawyer, was studying engineering so that he could become a patent attorney.
“Around 2008 the economy began doing poorly and I thought if ever there would be a good time to exit the workforce and go to law school, this was it.”
Vernyuk said he chose Akron Law because its IP program had a good reputation and he was looking to utilize his electrical engineering experience.
“In law school, I met Roger Emerson, who was managing partner at the time,” said Vernyuk. “We talked about the expectations of the firm and when I came in for an interview I met with Dan and a few other attorneys.
“I really liked the feel and lifestyle of the firm,” said Vernyuk.
Now that he’s become a partner at the firm, Vernyuk said he plans to focus on increasing his client base while seeking out opportunities to publish articles on current trends in patent law.
“I have learned a lot, especially over the last four years and I would like to pass some of my knowledge along. I also hope to continue to submit comments and suggestions to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Copyright Office and the Federal Judicial Conference advisory committees on new rules.”
Vernyuk, who lives in Brunswick with his wife Lilly and their infant son Markian, serves as secretary of the Evangelical Christian Church in North Royalton as well as on the board of directors.
“I am very involved in the church,” he said. “I play piano for the choir and when the church recently bought property, I assisted with contract review and other legal matters.”
“We are extremely happy to welcome Sergey as partner,” said Thomson. “He fits in well culturally and we are sure he will play an integral role in the firm’s future growth.”