A high-ranking in-house lawyer at Amazon.com Inc. has left the online retail giant to start his own intellectual property boutique law firm.

Stephen Coates, the former senior counsel for trademarks and domain names at Amazon.com Inc., launched Coates IP last week.

"My favorite counsel have always been former in-house people," Coates told Corporate Counsel in an interview. "You can provide legal counsel on what the risk is legally, but very few of us have experience knowing the actual risk that happened. Being able to speak practically, to say, 'Here's what's going to happen' is a very valuable skill."

Coates said opening his own firm has been a dream of his for many years, but when he realized he needed more flexibility for family time, he decided to finally take the plunge. Although it's currently a one-man operation, Coates said he is looking to partner with someone on the patent side. The firm currently specializes in IP, marketing and advertising, social media, privacy and data protection, and product counseling, he said.

"I really wanted to do something different, and going back to another larger practice wasn't even a question for me," Coates said. "I wanted to go back where the focus was partnering with clients, with giving in-house focused advice being the brand for the firm.

"I've managed hundreds of law firms around the world throughout the years both in-house and outside, and I have perspective on what good legal services are and aren't. I'm focused on finding solutions for clients and being that North Star that I was looking for in-house."

Prior to joining Amazon as senior counsel in 2016, Coates was Twitter Inc.'s first in-house trademark lawyer and grew the department during his two years. He held a similar role with Seattle-based Amazon during an earlier stint with the social media company. Prior to going in-house, he was an associate for more than four years at trademark-powerhouse firm Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton.

Coates said his inspiration is Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' mantra of wanting to create a new experience.

"I really want to offer something that other people aren't," he said, noting he wants to stay small since the increasing consolidation of the legal industry is making legal conflicts difficult.

"I want to be flexible and customer-focused," he said. "I'm not focused on billable hours or profits per partner. I'm focused on being a partner with my clients."