EIP’s next chapter is now

How EIP Is Evolving: Shainaz Stewart on Identity, Innovation & the Future

EIP’s rebrand marks a major moment in our evolution as a firm, modernizing our visual identity, refining how we communicate our value, and bringing our full suite of expertise and platforms under a unified story: Global Strength, Local Focus. We spoke to Shainaz Stewart, Head of Marketing & Business Development, about the thinking behind the rebrand, what it signals for the future, and how it strengthens EIP’s position in the global IP landscape

What inspired the decision to rebrand EIP now?

Firstly, let me start by saying how honored I am to be featured in an Elumni newsletter!

About a year ago, I started a series of internal conversations focused on a simple question: what truly makes EIP distinctive, and how do we articulate that clearly to the market? What kept coming through was our emphasis on strategy, not just securing patents, but understanding the business objectives behind our clients’ IP decisions. Everything ultimately has to link back to commercial goals.

From that insight, Law & Strategy was born. Once we had a clearly defined marketing and business development strategy, and board alignment behind it, we briefed our agencies and translated that thinking into our brand expression.

Internally, the timing felt right because of our pace of growth. We needed a clearer “why” behind the activities we were already undertaking, and a sharper way for potential clients to immediately understand what we offer. Externally, it was clear we had an opportunity to stand apart by articulating IP advice through a strategic, business-led lens that isn’t commonly expressed in our market.

If you haven't already seen our new brand and messaging, please do check it out on eip.com .

How would you describe the vision behind the brand?

The brand reflects EIP’s evolution into a confident, strategic and global firm. It expresses our belief that patents deliver value when they are aligned with business objectives, and it captures a culture built around strategic thinking, commercial understanding, and experience. As a premium firm, we’re clear about who we are and comfortable owning it.

What were the biggest goals the marketing & BD team set for the "brand and expand"?

We wanted to be clear on who we are, what we want to be known for, and how clients and the market describe EIP. Just as importantly, we wanted our services to be simple to navigate and intuitive for anyone wanting to learn more about the firm.

While I led the strategy, this work was very much a team effort. I’m incredibly fortunate to work with a dynamic team who turn ideas into action.

The rebrand was also a catalyst for deeper work on the business development side. Alongside the refreshed identity, we’ve been sharpening our focus on key growth areas and priority markets, ensuring that the same level of clarity and strategic intent runs through how we develop relationships and grow the firm.

How does the new brand help communicate EIP’s strengths more effectively?

From a visual identity perspective, the refreshed look signals confidence and maturity. It reflects the scale and professionalism of the firm today and supports our positioning as a premium, global practice, without over‑complicating things.

In terms of messaging , the brand gives us a much clearer narrative. Our new tagline "We're not just a law firm, we're strategist" captures what we do differently, combining deep legal expertise with a strong understanding of our clients’ commercial objectives.

Positioning‑wise , the brand reinforces EIP as a strategic partner rather than a transactional service provider. It helps shift the conversation from patents in isolation to how IP supports broader business goals, which better reflects how we already work with clients.

Finally, from a client‑facing clarity perspective, the brand brings everything together. Our services, thought leadership and expertise are now presented in a more intuitive and joined‑up way, making it easier for clients and prospective clients to quickly understand our strengths and how we can support them. Overall, the brand allows us to express, more confidently and consistently, the value we deliver every day.

How has the "brand and expand" improved the experience for clients and collaborators?

The “brand and expand” has significantly improved the experience for both clients and collaborators by making EIP easier to understand, easier to navigate, and clearer in how we differentiate ourselves.

From a navigation and ease‑of‑understanding perspective, we’ve seen a clear shift in user behaviour. In just two months, engaged website sessions increased by 1,291%, and visitors are spending more time exploring multiple pages rather than dropping off quickly. That tells us people are finding the structure more intuitive.

The refreshed services architecture has helped clarify how our services work together and where we add the most value, which has been particularly important as we expand our ecosystem. When we launched Visser AI, the page attracted over 600 visitors in its first week, all through organic traffic. That level of engagement reflects how the new brand makes it easier to introduce new services within the wider EIP offering.

What makes marketing & BD team at EIP different?

As some of you know, I’ve been here before. I came back to EIP because of the pace, the ambition, and the genuine openness to doing things differently. What really stood out to me was the level of trust placed in Marketing & Business Development, the appetite for technology, and the freedom to challenge traditional ways of working.

That mindset is what makes M&BD at EIP different. We operate at speed, we’re deeply data‑led, and we’re comfortable using technology to scale our impact.

We’re also fortunate to work with outstanding web agency partners who truly understand our strategy and push us creatively and technically.

The result is a standout brand, a standout website, and a standout team. We aren't afraid to evolve how Marketing & BD is done in a professional services environment.

And finally, what should elum look out for next from the marketing & BD team at EIP?

As a Marketing & Business Development team, we’re heavily focused on the tech side of M&BD, investing in smarter tools to execute our work and more sophisticated dashboards to analyse results. Increasingly, our role is less about manual execution and more about managing and connecting the technology that enables scale, insight and efficiency.

On the content side, there’s a lot to come. We have a book publishing soon from our UPC team, and we’ll also be launching Volume 1 of The Patent Strategist, an email newsletter many readers may already know, which will be going to print in the coming months.

Before I go, I’d also like to say a huge thank you to Sarthak in my team, who puts this newsletter together and asked me to feature in this edition. We really hope you enjoy it.