I was doing some research on company that had been around for ~80 years that was bought out by another company who eventually let the trademark expire ~8 years ago and from what I can tell the brand is no longer in use anywhere and I'm interested in grabbing it.

I know a lawyer is needed but I'm unsure if it is just a matter of using one of the many online services or if I should try to find a local firm to go through. The company that let the trademark expire is not small by any means and I find it hard to believe it is going to be as easy just registering the Trademark and being on my way.

Any insight would be appreciated.

You do not need a lawyer to register a trademark, but it can be helpful. You need to be using the mark in commerce before you register it so that would be a good first step. You can technically do an “intent to use” registration but it’s not optimal. Registering the domain is a good idea too - marks aren’t all that useful if the corresponding domain is taken.

Thanks for the input. After some more digging they went back 2 years after the trademark had expired and reapplied so it is a not going to work out.