Nath, Goldberg & Meyer (NGM) is an intellectual property law firm engaging in all aspects of IP law practice. Our patent attorneys, registered patent agents, technical advisors, and professional searchers have technical training and hands-on expertise in essentially every area of technology that our clients require. The breadth and diversity of over 200 years of collective experience allows us to maximize the patent protection of our client’s technologies.
NGM is nationally and internationally recognized in the patent community as a highly qualified law firm. Our focus on overall portfolio management and international filing strategies assists our clients in getting ownership over their patent portfolios.
Expertise, Mindset, and Vision Form The Bedrock of this Business Relationship
Joshua Goldberg is a wealth of knowledge. He is a Patent Attorney and Co-Managing Partner for Nath, Goldberg & Meyer (NGM), a boutique intellectual property law firm based out of Alexandria, VA. In addition to his impressive law career, he also has a degree in chemical engineering, and in addition to that, he has an advanced understanding of technology and cybersecurity. Talk about a man of expertise!
Joshua started as an intern at NGM in 1997, only four years after its founding. From the very beginning, he was leading the technology innovation at the firm as he had the only computer in the office with access to the internet at a time when the firm was still doing international business over fax!
Fast forward a couple decades to 2019, and Joshua was still heading up technology at NGM. A few years into a relationship with their managed services provider (MSP), he started noticing that issues were not being addressed.
“We were having data loss issues, projects weren’t being executed the right way, and they weren’t responsive,” Joshua explains.
Things went south in 2020 when Covid-19 hit. Rather than the MSP proactively driving the transition to remote work, Joshua was the one leading the way while the MSP struggled to respond to his requests.
“That’s when I started to look for a new technology partner,” Joshua recalls.
Finding a Technology Partner with a Shared Mindset
Joshua heard about Clearview Group’s managed technology services in 2020 and was introduced to Matt Cooke, Director of IT Operations at Clearview.
Clearview performed an analysis of NGM’s systems and pitched a long-term plan that aligned with Joshua’s vision.
“Of course Matt said ‘all the right things’ when he was pitching, and it helps that we have similar personalities,” Joshua recalls with a grin.
“But what drew me to Clearview was that we shared a similar mindset around how to approach technology and had a common vision for the long-term.”
“I felt strongly about the issues that Joshua was bringing up,” Matt says. “We saw eye to eye on so many things, and it’s very important to us to share a vision with our clients. It was a natural fit.”
Establishing Trust in Technical Expertise
With Matt’s team in place, NGM and Clearview got right to work. Together, they’ve solved a number of problems the old MSP left behind and have taken significant strides to improve business continuity.
Improved Bandwidth that Saved Money
A bandwidth issue was slowing down NGM’s computers, affecting their ability to get work done. To fix the issue, Clearview worked out a deal with Comcast to get a stronger, more robust pipeline into the building that not only fixed the bandwidth problem, but actually saved them money.
Data Migration to the Cloud
NGM was still using a local server to store their client data, necessitating constant backups and presenting a consistent concern over data loss, something they had experienced with their previous MSP. Clearview is undertaking the task of moving NGM’s data and accounting system into the cloud, which will eliminate much of the anxiety associated with local servers.
Eliminated Downtime Due to POTS
At one point during the pandemic, the phone lines to the building were cut which caused a major disruption. To eliminate that risk entirely, Matt’s team got the firm off of POTS (“plain old telephone service”) lines and transitioned to Teams phones.
Proactive about Cybersecurity
Although Joshua was confident in the cybersecurity measures NGM had already put in place, he noticed that Clearview has a more proactive approach to security. Every time he wants to do something differently, one of the first questions Matt asks is, “How does this impact security?”
In one example, Joshua explains that as part of NGM’s transition to remote work, they were having employees VPN through their personal computers. Clearview brought this to Joshua’s attention as a security risk.
“That was not something that I would have thought about on my own, nor did our old provider give us that insight,” Joshua remembers.
This security-first mentality has given Joshua confidence and trust in Clearview’s team, knowing that security will never be sacrificed for functionality or convenience.
Building a Long-term Vision, Together
The last thing any business wants to do is change their IT provider every few years. That’s why it’s been so important for Joshua to identify a technology partner that shares NGM’s long-term vision.
“At the end of the day, everything boils down to business continuity,” Joshua remarks. “We want our MSP to function less like a services provider, and more like a business partner.”
“Aligning technology with the objectives of the business is our first priority,” Matt explains. “We provide Executive-level support to every client, no matter their size or location. This helps ensure business continuity, and just as importantly, peace of mind to our clients regarding their technology investments.”
Joshua and Matt agree on the importance of having a shared long-term vision, and they both admit that it doesn’t hurt they get along so well.
“It’s easy to talk to Matt about our challenges and have more in-depth conversations about the future,” Joshua says candidly. “That’s the kind of business relationship we want to have.”
