Intellectual Property Practice Assistant

Primary Responsibilities

• Affirms responsibility for ensuring the efficient daily administrative tasks and support to the attorneys and patent agents in the Intellectual Property Practice Section.
• Includes creating shells for Office Action responses, preparation and electronic filing of responses, and assisting with other submissions and documents as required by the USPTO.
• Reviews timekeeper docket reports and maintains docket notes to keep IP timekeepers abreast of upcoming deadlines and their respective status.
• Reports communications from the USPTO to attorneys and clients and ensures prompt responses to inquiries.
• Researches, generates, and updates case status reports and IP schedules for clients, attorneys, and other IP timekeepers.
• Accesses and researches a variety of patent databases.
• Opens new matters, reviews and edits client bills, screens calls and emails, processes expense reports, submits check requests, processes invoices, handles travel arrangements, and maintains electronic files.
• Affords assistance with secretarial coverage when IP legal secretaries are unexpectedly out or on vacation.
• Demonstrates mastery of the Firm's Microsoft Office system by producing a variety of documents from various source materials.
• Composes routine and non-routine correspondence for attorney review as requested.
• Provides administrative support to assigned legal team by ensuring the organization of workflow, files, and recordkeeping, including preparation of timesheets and client bills, expense reports, and the processing of incoming and outgoing mail and overnight deliveries.
• Affords assistance in organizing work schedule by maintaining calendar, scheduling appointments and coordinating travel arrangements.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of legal secretarial experience in patent prosecution required.
• Maintains a thorough knowledge and understanding of U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rules and regulations and the filing procedures for all aspects of U.S. patent prosecution and international prosecution.
• Requires tech savvy with advanced-level MS Office Suite and Adobe Acrobat skills.