Sr. Practice Assistant

Job Description

At K&L Gates, we are looking for smart, imaginative and hard-working people with diverse backgrounds, experiences and ideas to join us.  Perhaps our search for talented visionaries and your search for important and impactful work lead to the same place.

The Boston office of K&L Gates LLP has an immediate opening for a Legal Secretary.  The Legal Secretary will assist the Shared Services Support Team in addition to the IP Practice Group.  The Shared Services Support Team is a working group of highly skilled legal secretaries whose primary focus is the support of a larger number of lawyers and paralegals.  The Shared Services Team offers administrative and legal assistant experience in order to provide the highest level of legal support services to our lawyers in an effort to support firm clients as seamlessly as possible. 

This position requires excellent communication and interpersonal skills, legal assistant experience, strong knowledge of IP and Patent Law, and an understanding of how to work well within a team.

Daily Duties Include:
•Preparing, filing and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patents, U.S. and foreign trademarks and copyright applications including electronic filing with the USPTO
•Handling administrative aspects of U.S. patent prosecution
•Maintaining patent application files
•Drafting patent documents and correspondence
•Creating and editing practice group documents (e.g., letters, pleadings, agreements)
•PDF to Word conversions
•Document comparisons
•Spreadsheet formatting
•Proofreading
•Scheduling meetings and coordinating all logistics
•Importing electronic documents, including scanning documents into the document management system
•Preparing check requests
•Opening files and conducting conflict checks
•Travel arrangements
•Time entry
•Expense reports

Experience Required:
•Significant experience in a similar role within a medium to large law firm working for multiple lawyers is preferred
•Exposure to multiple practice areas is a plus

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:
•Strong proofreading, English composition, and editing skills
•Ability to coordinate the production of accurate legal documents
•High proficiency in the use of Word, Excel, and Outlook
•Exemplary communication skills, both written and verbal
•Ability to manage time well, prioritize effectively, and handle multiple deadlines
•Excellent client service skills
•Positive, ‘can-do’ attitude and a flexible approach
•Ability to exercise sound judgment and decision making
•Desire to work in a team environment

ABOUT THE FIRM

K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with approximately 2,000 lawyers across five continents. We have experienced dramatic growth in the past decade and now rank among the largest U.S. based law firms in the world.  We take pride in constantly striving for innovation, imagination and an entrepreneurial spirit. We come up with big ideas and then roll up our sleeves to get the job done, guiding our clients through their most complex issues in a variety of industry sectors and across multiple regions of the world.

The industry recognition the firm has garnered in the past five years emanates from the foundation of a global community aligned on behalf of our clients. The people at K&L Gates are committed to working together to create a legacy for each other, the firm, our clients, and the communities in which we serve. We thrive in an inclusive and socially conscious environment that embraces diversity and takes a holistic approach to the career evolution of all our professionals.

To learn what makes us different from other law firms, including our collaborative approach, entrepreneurial spirit, and our commitment to diversity, check out our video, “Grow Your Career at K&L Gates.”

If you agree that we are different from other law firms - and the right place for you to grow your career - please apply for this position.  For more information or to view other job opportunities, please click here to go back to our careers page.

Notice: We participate in E-Verify in certain Firm locations for purposes of verifying employment eligibility.

BENEFITS

We offer a dynamic work environment and excellent benefits.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The Firm is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the Firm that employment decisions shall be based on merit, qualifications and competence. Employment practices shall not be influenced or affected by virtue of a person’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, disability, military status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. This policy governs all aspects of employment including, without limitation, recruiting, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, assignment and dismissal. In addition, it is the Firm’s policy to provide an environment that is free of unlawful harassment of any kind including, without limitation, that which is sexual, racial, age-related, disability-related or ethnic background-related.