Boston Technical Specialist

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.

Our Boston office seeks a Patent Agent and/or Technical Specialist to join our Boston Intellectual Property practice. We are looking for someone who wants to work in the legal industry on inventions, including drafting patent applications in the hard sciences area, such as electrical engineering and/or physics.

Patent agents and Technical Specialists support lawyers on patent prosecution matters and perform tasks including, analyzing invention disclosures, performing patent searches, drafting patent applications, preparing office action responses, and generating other documents in support of patent prosecution matters.  From time to time, patent agents will also work closely with and under the supervision of lawyers to support patent litigation, perform due diligence, and support other legal activities.                                                                                                                             

Specific duties include, but are not limited to:

•   Drafting patent applications and prosecuting patent applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
•   Analyzing scientific or technical documents, including previously published patent documents, to assess an invention or issued patent.
•   Drafting detailed descriptions of inventions in precise legal terms (patent drafts), which form the basis for patents to be granted by patent offices in various parts of the world.
•   Managing a U.S. and foreign patent prosecution docket such that deadlines are met.
•   Conducting interviews with examiners at the USPTO.
•   Keeping up to date with legal developments in the intellectual property field.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

•   Must possess a Bachelor’s Degree and/or advanced degree (M.S, Ph. D) in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or the equivalent.
•   Patent Agent candidates must be admitted to practice before the USPTO.
•   Technical Specialist candidates only need a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or the equivalent.
•   Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with all contacts.
•   Highly organized and responsive, with demonstrated experience managing multiple priorities and deadlines in a changing and demanding environment.

Candidates must be self-starters who possess the ability to work independently and as part of a team. We require strong academic credentials, excellent communication skills, and a commitment to providing the most responsive and highest quality client service. Candidates will work closely with experienced lawyers across the Intellectual Property platform who will provide active mentoring and opportunities to assume increasing levels of responsibility, including direct client contact, and to also participate in matters generated by global platform.

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.

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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.