Legal professionals choose to work at Pierce Atwood for many reasons. For some it's the opportunity to work at a successful firm with a first-class national reputation, for others it's the chance to work on interesting matters from small, local clients to large, national or international clients, and for many it's to work with smart people who value collaboration and collegiality.

Pierce Atwood LLP seeks an experienced legal administrative assistant to join our Patent Practice Group.

Responsibilities Include:

  • Opening new client matters
  • Maintaining electronic patent prosecution files
  • Preparing patent application filing documents, including application data sheets, declarations, powers of attorney, assignments, and PCT requests
  • Managing the signature workflow for formal documents (e.g., declarations, assignments, and powers of attorney)
  • Recording and filing documents with the USPTO
  • Drafting reporting letters for incoming USPTO and non-US patent office documents as well as foreign agent correspondence
  • Preparing office action response shells and attending to electronic filings of responses
  • Drafting information disclosure statements and obtaining foreign art and non-patent literature
  • Reviewing incoming documents for prior art to cite in information disclosure statements
  • Corresponding with foreign agents
  • Overseeing attorney dockets and calendars to ensure deadlines are met and actions are timely reported to clients
  • Maintaining up-to-date knowledge of USPTO procedures
  • Other duties as required

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

  • Bachelor’s degree or minimum of 2-4 years of work experience supporting a litigation practice, or equivalent combination of education and work experience
  • Knowledge of U.S. and foreign patent filing and prosecution
  • Knowledge of Word, Adobe Acrobat, Excel, PowerPoint, standard patent docketing systems, and standard document management databases
  • Proficiency in Patent Center and ePCT
  • Consistent attention to detail

To apply, please submit your cover letter and resume to Maria Howson at mhowson@pierceatwood.com