Nathalie Kongtcheu Kongtcheu said what she enjoys most about her position is searching patent law and rules to find answers to questions. On the flip side, one of her most difficult challenges is meeting deadlines to prevent her clients from losing their rights to inventions. Some of the highlights of her career have been getting to know her clients and giving her clients and the attorneys at her firm the best service every time they need her. Over the course of her career as a paralegal, one of the changes she has seen in the legal industry has been the United States Patent and Trademark Office's implementation of the electronic filing system (EFS) for patent correspondence and, in particular, the web-based electronic filing system (EFS-Web). "EFS-Web permits most patent correspondence—that is, most patent applications and other patent-related documents—to be submitted in a portable document file (PDF) format," said Kongtcheu. Another change she has seen is the online availability of file wrappers and patent law and rules. "These changes are making our work as paralegals more efficient," said Kongtcheu. One person who significantly influenced Kongtcheu's career was the senior paralegal who served as her mentor when she joined the firm. "[She] was very demanding," said Kongtcheu. "Her requests increased my curiosity and my knowledge in the field." Kongtcheu works very long hours—sometimes 55 hours per week. "I have to commute about three hours every day and take care of my family (my five-year-old son and my husband). Therefore, when I'm assigned to a project, I usually try to get my work right the first time," said Kongtcheu. "I also try to have a time that I could use to make improvements on my career. I'm taking some physics classes to meet the requirements to pass the patent bar examination with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). During the weekend, I usually have activities that my family can do all together—gardening, swimming, walking, etc."

Rate This Article 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Select    Current rating: 5.8   |   View top rated articles

On The Net Greenberg Traurig, LLP www.gtlaw.com New York City www.nyc.gov United States Patent and Trademark Office www.uspto.gov    Printable Version    PDF Version    Email to a Friend    Post A Comment    View Comment    Discuss

	Popular Tags
	responsibility  Greenberg Traurig  Trademark Office  United States Patent  trademarks  United States  preparation  attorneys  applications  fees

Featured Testimonials

The advance serach option on Lawcrossing has really impressed me. I used only one feature and my work was done. Katie

Facts

LawCrossing Fact #212: We do not do anything that does not necessarily benefit you.

"We want to hear your thoughts. Please comment on this article (below)!" Comments

Article ID: 2989     Article Title: Nathalie Kongtcheu: Paralegal at Greenberg Traurig, LLP, in New York, NY Comment not found for this article. Comment

Facebook comments:

Enjoyed reading this article? Click here to sign up for News Wire, our weekly newsletter, and you'll receive articles just like this right in your inbox.

Enter your email address and start getting breaking law firm and legal news right now! Every Alert Alert once a day