DC office of a prominent Intellectual Property law firm is seeking a bright, recent college graduate to serve as a legal assistant supporting our IP Formalities group on a temp to hire basis.
Ideal candidate must have a Bachelor's degree and at least a 3.0 GPA. Should be able to start immediately.

Outstanding opportunity to gain legal experience while considering law school in the future. MUST BE ABLE TO MAKE A TWO YEAR COMMITMENT. Please confirm this in your cover letter.

Temporary period is 90 days (580 hours) at a pay rate of $16/hour, then it converts into a permanent position with a salary of $40,000 plus a very competitive benefit package.

The legal assistant will support the Firm's busy prosecution and counseling team by accurately and thoroughly preparing, reviewing and reporting patent-related documents filed with and received from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Duties include, but are not limited to, preparation of transmittal documents for new patent applications, including preparation of the declaration, assignment and power of attorney documents; prepare and send routine letters to clients reporting USPTO notices and actions relating to the application filing; perform status checks on PAIR; locate and identify references through public online resources and assist with a broad range of administrative aspects of patent prosecution.
• Proofread Official Filing Receipts, Notices of Publication, Issue Notifications and Letters Patent to verify and ensure the accuracy of information.  
• Prepare and e-file Supplemental ADSs, Requests for COFR, and Certificates of Correction.
• Review Office Actions to verify completeness and accuracy of due dates.
• Reach out to Patent Examiners to confirm information or to ask for correction.  
• Thoroughly review the complete prosecution history of allowed applications to ensure there are no outstanding issues which have not been addressed and that all appropriate documents have been filed.  
• Verify that the application is in condition for payment of the issue fee.  
• Perform legal research regarding patent prosecution.
Prepare miscellaneous legal correspondence and billing sheets.

Hours: 9-5:30pm with a one hour lunch, 37.5 hours/week