Paralegal - Legal Assistant I

Job Description:

Global Patent Solutions, LLC (GPS) has grown to become one of the nation’s leading intellectual property (IP) research and consulting firms. In addition to supporting the nation’s leading technology companies and IP law firms, GPS is a premier provider of IP-related services to the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO).

Our ongoing success and growth is creating the need for us to expand our Team. Specifically, we are presently seeking motivated Paralegals to work with us performing paralegal services in support of a contract with the Trademark Office at the USPTO. The Trademark Office has experienced a historic surge of new trademark filings over the past year, and they have also seen an increase in suspicious trademark application submissions ranging from inaccurate to fraudulent. As part of their response to these challenges, the USPTO is engaging support from GPS to provide a solution. This is an opportunity to leverage your experience and background to assist the USPTO’s efforts to protect the integrity and accuracy of the trademark registry and keep the system effective for everyone. In addition to the immediate opportunity this position affords today, the knowledge you will gain, and the skills employed while performing this job, will position you well for future IP career opportunities. Come grow with us!

Responsibilities:

The individual in this role will need to be able to work independently and manage multiple concurrent priorities, with minimal oversight. It is expected that the individual, once trained, will be able to prioritize their own work to ensure all quality and timeliness commitments are met to the full satisfaction of our customer (the USPTO). Specific accountabilities include:

* Conducting preliminary legal research and summarizing findings

* Gathering and analyzing statutes, decisions, and legal articles, codes, documents and other data

* Managing correspondence material for and from applicants and registrants

* Performing preliminary evaluation of specimens of use submitted with trademark applications to determine whether they include characteristics suggesting that the goods displayed on the specimen are not in actual use in commerce;

* Reviewing e-commerce sites to look for factors inconsistent with being a true point of sale;

* Reviewing identifications of goods/services for conformance with procedural requirements;

* Reviewing domicile information for conformance with the USPTO’s rules of practice;

* Assisting with organizing efficient examination of applications; and

* Assisting with compiling information for administrative letters and Show Cause Orders.

* Keeping law library up-to-date by monitoring legal volumes

* Assisting with other tasks as needed

Overarching Expectations:

• Quality: For GPS, quality is at the pinnacle of the work we perform. Employees must share in our belief and commitment of providing the highest quality of work.
• Timeliness: Meeting agreed upon deadlines will be vital to success.
• Continuous Improvement: Employees must be committed to continuous improvement, availing themselves of training and educational resources provided by GPS, the USPTO, and/or otherwise publicly available.
• Independent Self-Starter: The individual in this role will need to be able to work independently and manage multiple concurrent priorities, with minimal oversight. It is expected that the individual, once trained, will be able to prioritize their own work to ensure all quality and timeliness commitments are met to the full satisfaction of our customer (the USPTO).
• Teamwork:Lead by example. Exemplify the positive attributes necessary to create and maintain a culture committed to high performance and support for both individual and collective team-member success.

Experience:

GPS is seeking support personnel who have knowledge and experience in U.S. Trademark prosecution.

• At a minimum, personnel should have at least 1 to 3 years of relevant experience and familiarization with the statutes, regulations, and processes governing Trademarks, including the Trademark Act, the Trademark Rules of Practice, and the TMEP.
• While not required, additional experience in non-IP areas that involve investigating addresses, entity structures and individuals, such as bankruptcy and collections, would be beneficial.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of four (4) years of job experience
• Must be a U.S. citizen or reside in the U.S for the most recent two years as a work-eligible legal resident. (Employment will be subject to security clearance.)
• Excellent time management skills to properly plan and complete all work on-time.
• Proficiency with computer databases, online research tools, spreadsheets and word processing software
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Exceptional research and analytical skills
• Ability to investigate facts and laws of cases, search public records and other resources to prepare cases and determine causes of action
• Detail-oriented