About Us
Our History
A Decade of Wheels Up
In 2026, Burris Law celebrates its 10-year anniversary, marking a decade of growth, innovation, and impact in intellectual property law. Founded in 2016 by former aerospace engineer, licensed pilot, and IP attorney Kelly Burris, Burris Law has distinguished itself in the industry through a unique “fly-to” service model. Kelly pilots her Daher TBM 940 aircraft to visit clients, prioritizing a hands-on understanding of inventions, technologies, people, and businesses.
Burris Law has grown from a boutique startup into a globally recognized IP firm serving more than 600 clients across the U.S. and Europe. The firm has filed thousands of patent applications worldwide and secured more than 2,000 U.S. patents, representing clients ranging from Fortune 50, Fortune 100, and Fortune 500 companies to mid-sized manufacturers and individual inventors across aerospace, automotive, computer networking, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, advanced materials, and consumer products, among others.
Burris Law is powered by a diverse, globally fluent team of attorneys and professionals with deep technical backgrounds in engineering and science. That technical fluency – combined with Burris Law’s commitment to understanding inventions firsthand – has enabled the firm to build long-standing client partnerships grounded in trust.
A Love Story Between an IP Attorney and a City
Burris Law’s beginning can be summarized as a love story between an IP attorney and a city.
In 2013, Kelly moved to Detroit to serve as managing partner of the newly opened Detroit office of one of the nation’s largest IP boutique law firms, housed inside the USPTO’s first satellite location, the Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Just three years later, that firm closed its Detroit location. As colleagues transferred to other cities, Kelly made a different choice. Deeply connected to Detroit’s creative, resilient, and innovative spirit, Kelly opened her own law firm in Detroit and transformed her former firm’s office into something entirely new. In 2016, with just two paralegals, Kelly opened Burris Law.
As Burris Law marks 10 years, with offices in Detroit and St. Louis, the milestone celebrates both the firm’s growth and the values that have defined it from the start: showing up for clients and building trust that lasts. Burris Law remains committed to protecting innovation by truly understanding it, with that commitment firmly wheels up for the decade ahead.
Working at Burris Law
Burris Law prioritizes the fulfillment and success of its team members. We know that engagement is critical to maintaining a happy workforce, and we foster engagement by creating an environment where our people can spread their wings, thrive, and grow.
Unlike the traditional law firm, we do not believe in hierarchies and value every team members’ contributions, regardless of whether they are an attorney. We also value transparency. The state of the firm is never a secret; we want all team members to remain informed about what we are building together. We also maintain an open-door policy and encourage improvement recommendations.
Diversity and inclusion are baked into Burris Law’s culture. We did not set out to become a diverse firm. We naturally became one. By encouraging our team members to unapologetically bring their whole selves to work without worry about judgment or criticism, we have created an environment where people of all backgrounds and identities can be themselves and succeed.
Burris Law also is a proud member of the Detroit community, and we invest significant time and resources into helping make our city a great place for all to live. We do this in a number of ways: We volunteer with and donate to local charities, our offices house a gallery of Detroit artists’ work, we judge local and regional STEM competitions, and we prioritize contracting Michigan-based companies.
Interested in employment opportunities at Burris Law? Contact us.
The Burris Law Difference
Burris Law isn’t your ordinary IP firm. We’re a group of lawyers who are passionate about engineering and innovation. All of our attorneys have backgrounds and hands-on experience in the STEM fields and enjoy applying their knowledge and experience across the sciences to protect and defend our clients’ intellectual property.
We invest a lot of attention in getting to know our clients at every level of their organizations, from the C-suite to the engineers. Inventors are just as comfortable talking to us as the general counsel. We also prioritize getting up to speed on our clients’ businesses and their competition so that we can provide proactive counsel that adds value, identifies opportunities, and overcomes obstacles.
It’s not just our clients who are innovative. We believe that technology brings new dimensions in performance. That is why we are fully “paperless” with our electronic master files and client tools, including 24/7 access to files through secure web-based portals that we have developed with local programmers in concert with our clients.
If you’re a client of Burris Law, then you can expect to get a visit from Kelly and the team, who often travel to client sites in Kelly’s TBM 940 aircraft at no cost to the client. It’s just one of the unique perks of being a Burris Law client.
