MORE THAN 50 YEARS OF PRACTICING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Flynn, Thiel, Boutell & Tanis has its origin in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the late 1940’s when Attorney Robert Woodhams focused his law practice on intellectual property. In 1955, Mr. Woodhams entered into a partnership with Attorneys Raywood Blanchard and L. Martin Flynn and established our predecessor law firm of Woodhams, Blanchard & Flynn. This law firm had its offices in downtown Kalamazoo, and practiced solely intellectual property law.

In the early 1960’s, the Woodhams, Blanchard & Flynn firm moved into its own office building located west of downtown Kalamazoo. This location is close to downtown Kalamazoo and Western Michigan University, and is also readily accessible to interstate highways serving Kalamazoo.

Attorneys Dale Thiel, David Boutell and Ronald Tanis all joined the firm in the mid-1960’s, and became partners in the firm in 1971. After the retirement of Attorney Robert Woodhams in 1977, the firm was renamed Blanchard, Flynn, Thiel, Boutell & Tanis. Following the retirement of Attorney Raywood Blanchard in 1982, the firm was renamed Flynn, Thiel, Boutell & Tanis, P.C.  Attorney L. Martin Flynn, the remaining original founder, retired in 1991.  Attorney Ronald Tanis retired in 2006. After 36 years of full-time practice with the firm, attorney Dale Thiel changed his status to "of counsel" in 2007. David Boutell changed his status to "Of Counsel" in 2010 after having practiced full time with the firm for 45 years.

Today’s senior attorneys at Flynn, Thiel, Boutell & Tanis are Terryence Chapman (partner since 1991), Mark Maki (partner since 1999) and Liane Churney (partner since 2001).

More than 50 years after its founding, Flynn, Thiel, Boutell & Tanis continues to firmly adhere to its founding principles by focusing its law practice to patents, trademarks and other intellectual property matters.