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Intellectual Property - Patent General Attorney in Seattle, WA

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP Oct 23,2017 May 22,2017 Location Seattle WA
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Law Firm

Attorney

Intellectual Property - Patent General

Min 10 yrs required

Profile

Global Patent Operations Chief The candidate will be part of team of attorneys, paralegals and support staff providing a high level of service to both internal and external clients. Will help develop and execute firm’s vision to be Best of Class in patent prosecution in conjunction with guidance from the Patent Operations Committee (POC), Best Practices Committee, and others. Will work closely with the IP Department Operating Officer (DOO), and has responsibility for optimizing patent prosecution practice workflow practices; training lawyers, paralegals, prosecution specialists, and legal secretaries to ensure that they understand processes; and interacting with clients to ensure that all aspects of patent practice are Best of Class. Has responsibility for ensuring that decisions and policies are formed through consensus building with team leaders and lead client responsible attorneys, effectively and efficiently communicated to client responsible attorneys and all others engaged in patent prosecution, and overseeing attorney training to follow patent prosecution best practices and procedures for both US and foreign patent matters. Has responsibility for overseeing workflow and training of all prosecution paralegals, prosecution specialists and legal secretaries who support the firm’s patent prosecution practice. Will work closely with the IP trainers in developing and implementing training initiatives and work closely with partners, counsel and associates on the patent team to create a knowledge base of information helpful to patent prosecution attorneys and clients related to patent prosecution issues. Will be responsible for coordinating workflow with the docketing department and has decision-making authority to enforce compliance. Work with the Patent Operations Committee, Best Practices Committee, IP team leaders and attorneys, DOO’s and other department heads, Managers of IP Prosecution, Patent Advisory Committee, secretaries, paralegals, specialists, docketing, and the records department to identify areas of improvement for existing processes and work to streamline those processes, including conducting spot audits on those processes to ensure they are being followed. Serve as a thought leader within and an advocate for patent practice within the broader firm to elevate patent practice and solve any system and infrastructure issues. Work with Patent Prosecution Leadership, Office Administrators/Managers, and IP trainers to ensure training programs for IP attorneys, patent prosecution paralegals, prosecution specialists, legal secretaries and case assistants are consistent across offices and to develop any additional needed training. Responsible for identifying training needs and training IP attorneys, prosecution paralegals, prosecution specialists, legal secretaries and other IP staff and establishing standard firm-wide practices. Work with IP trainers and Work Flow Coordinators to provide training on the firm’s standard templates, processes, and available systems to improve efficiency and consistency. Work one-on-one with IP attorneys, prosecution paralegals, prosecution specialists and legal secretaries to implement standard practices. Responsible for spearheading and maintaining a knowledge base of information helpful to patent prosecution attorneys and clients related to patent prosecution including practice tips, insights, and rules or laws for both U.S. and foreign patent prosecution. Responsible for identifying the need for state-of-the-art software tools to streamline processes; Work with Managers and IP Prosecution Leadership to research available tools (e.g. electronic files, patent prosecution project management tools), evaluate tools and determine which best fit needs or if we need to create own tool internally. Responsible for documenting processes and best practices, optimizing client interfaces and communications. Work with the Patent Best Practices Committee to develop a manual or other user-friendly repository of information for the prosecution practices and to improve workflow and coordinate implementation of changes to workflow. Responsible for monitoring and measuring adoption of workflows and the adequacy and effectiveness of training.

Qualification and Experience

Qualifications: Undergraduate degree, along with a JD Degree, MBA degree, or administrative experience in the PTO is required. Extensive experience (10+ years) with all aspects of US and foreign patent prosecution. 5-7 years of project management experience. Strong people management skills. Experience with developing metrics to evaluate workflow process changes to eliminate barriers as well as the effectiveness of any training delivered. General working knowledge of intellectual property-related software packages. Excellent client services skills. Ability to develop effective processes and programs to support patent prosecution practice. Must be adaptable, analytical and innovative in management approach. Demonstrated ability to build consensus where possible and implement firm/department goals throughout the patent prosecution group. Must be detail-oriented with the ability to organize and successfully drive projects. Ability to analyze, assess possible problems and prioritize concerns. Ability to interact successfully with partners, associates, clients, vendors, directors, managers and support staff. Excellent communication skills along with strong organizational skills. Strong ability to prioritize multiple projects under pressure.

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