Paralegal - IP litigation & ITC

Alston & Bird; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

Alston & Bird LLP seeks an experienced Litigation Paralegal for its Intellectual Property - Litigation practice on the east coast. The role requires extensive IP litigation knowledge, patent post-grant familiarity, and experience with federal courts and the USPTO. The position is in-office with hybrid flexibility and travel to Washington, D.C.

anticipated. Ideal candidates are self-starters, highly organized, and team-oriented, with overtime common to meet client deadlines.

Qualifications

• Requires 5–10+ years of experience as a Litigation paralegal.
• Familiarity with IP rights and post-grant procedures.
• Experience with pretrial and trial support, discovery, and document management.

Responsibilities

• Organize and maintain document files including court papers and discovery materials.
• Draft complaints, answers, motions, and related documents.
• Assist in trial preparation and deposition reviews.

Skills

IPR knowledge

Patent procedures

Federal court filing

Electronic discovery

Westlaw/Lexis/Nexis

PACER

Relativity

Legal research

Time management

Travel flexibility

Education

Four-year college degree

Paralegal certificate optional

Tools

Westlaw

Lexis/Nexis

PACER

Relativity

USPTO website

Job description

THE FIRM

As a leading international law firm, we are dedicated to excellence through impactful communication, collaboration, and community involvement. Our company culture has earned us one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" for 27 consecutive years. This honor, along with many others, highlights our commitment to innovation and professional development. At Alston & Bird LLP, our foundation is made of trust, reliability, and compassion.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Alston & Bird is seeking an experienced Litigation Paralegal to work in our Intellectual Property - Litigation practice group in one of our east coast offices. Qualified candidates will have at least 5-10+ years’ experience in all stages of litigation as a paralegal to include pretrial and trial experience, extensive knowledge of Intellectual Property Rights, knowledge of federal court & the USPTO post-grant filing procedures. Patent experience, and experience working with the International Trade Commission are a plus. Candidates should be self-starters, highly organized, and team players. Overtime is often needed to meet client deadlines. This position is an in-office role with hybrid flexibility, and will require travel to Washington D.C.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

• Organizes and maintains document files including, but not limited to, correspondence, court papers, case records, and materials produced in the discovery process.
• Reviews and analyzes matters for the purpose of preparing evaluations and status reports for internal use and for clients.
• Drafts shells for complaints and answers, routine notices, affidavits, motions and petitions as well as detailed letters and memorandum.
• Ability to read and understand technical/scientific papers including those to include patents, copyrights, mark and trade secrets.
• Prior experience with large case management and E-Discovery.
• Proofreads and revises legal documents for contextual, grammatical, typographical, or spelling errors.
• Reviews and outlines depositions, indexes and summarizes documents.
• Prepares materials for, and assists with compilation of, mailings to clients and other interested parties.
• Conducts research and locates cases, depositions, opinions, reports and information related to the matter using all available resources including libraries and computer data systems.
• Compiles, analyzes, and reports on data from reference materials such as digests, legal encyclopedias, regulations, legislative decisions and practice manuals, and materials produced in the discovery process.
• Contacts and interviews parties, witnesses and experts, including the obtaining of written statements from witnesses.
• Assists in preparation of a case for trial by drafting and preparing: Pretrial Orders, Form instructions to the Jury, Requested Voir Dire of Jurors, Conduct Jury Investigation, Prepare Witness and Exhibit Lists, Motions In Limine and Subpoena and contacts witnesses.
• Assists in the trial of a case including scheduling of witnesses and tracking exhibits.
• Establishes, organizes, and maintains pleadings, attorney trial notebooks, expert witness notebooks, and document indices and lists.
• Utilizes computer databases to organize and store information; maintain document retention systems for large cases; and conduct research on Westlaw, LEXIS and other computer research databases.
• Maintains current and accurate daily time record.
• Promotes positive working relationships between legal administrative assistants, paralegals, other support staff and lawyers.
• Follows the ethical requirements as set forth by the Rules of Professional Conduct of the state.
• Performs special projects as assigned.

SKILLS NEEDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL

• Knowledge of the US Patent and Trademark Office post-grant filing procedures.
• Knowledge of federal court filing procedures, electronic discovery, cite checking and the ability to conduct database searches utilizing Westlaw, Lexis/Nexis, PACER, Relativity, the USPTO website, and other search engines as needed.
• Extensive experience with Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs).
• Ability to organize and prioritize numerous tasks and complete them under time constraints.
• Interpersonal skills necessary in order to communicate and follow instructions effectively from a diverse group of clients, attorneys and staff and provide information with ordinary courtesy and tact.
• Work typically requires more than 40 hours per week to perform the essential duties of the position; may require irregular hours.
• Ability to travel to private and public buildings, locally and statewide, via private or public conveyance to assist attorney in attending to client needs on legal matters. Position may entail domestic travel.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• Completion of a four-year college degree is required, paralegal certificate optional.
• 5-10+ Years of experience as a Litigation paralegal.

The salary range for this position is $115,000 - $185,000 and represents the Firm’s good faith minimum and maximum range for this role at this time of posting. The actual compensation offered to a candidate will be dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and locations. This range is specific to our New York City and Washington, D.C. offices and may not be applicable to other locations.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Alston & Bird LLP is an Equal Opportunity Employer does not discriminate on the bases of any status protected under federal, state, or local law. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, national origin, veteran status or disability in relation to our recruiting, hiring, and promoting practices.

The statements contained in this position description are not necessarily all-inclusive, additional duties and responsibilities may be assigned, and requirements may vary from time to time.

Professional business references and a background screening will be required for all final applicants selected for a position.

If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability you may contact [e-mail].