Intellectual Property Paralegal

Description

Northrop Grumman is seeking an Intellectual Property Paralegal to join the Intellectual Property,  Technology, & Information team within its Law Department, working from the company’s Northern Virginia location. The paralegal will report to the Director and Corporate Counsel for Intellectual Property (IP) and Information Governance,  support the corporate licensing practice, and serve as a key partner for the administration, upgrade, and migration of the department’s electronic IP management tools.  They also will work as a critical part of a team assisting IP legal counsels and collaborating with other IP paralegals on core IP activities, including capture, review, and docketing, outside counsel management, budget and invoice review and processing, metrics, reporting, and general administrative support.

The paralegal’s responsibilities may include, among other things: 

• Supporting IP Counsels on IP docketing, management, licensing and transactional matters

• Serving as a primary point of contact for IP and portfolio management tools (e.g., IP registration, docketing, licensing, and reporting), including handling support requests with vendors.

• Managing maintenance fee/annuities in collaboration with other company IP paralegals and sector business partners

• Assisting IP counsel with managing outside counsel handled patent/trademark filings

• Supporting IP counsel on transactional matters, including IP licensing administration and management

• Administering internal IP related databases and using them to generate, schedule, and automate reports for metrics, budgets, and dashboards

• Collaborating with sector business partners and other IP paralegals to provide requested information regarding matters in IP portfolio

• Working on trademark renewals and use declarations, specimen collection

• Performing preliminary trademark searches using US, EP, and Int’l databases

• Collaborating with and providing general support for patent and trademark activities to assigned IP counsel

• Setting up matters in IP management software and billing systems

• Reviewing and confirming outside counsel invoices

• Supporting recurring metrics and reporting

• Collaborating with other company IP paralegals and IP portfolio management practice leader (attorney) in IP asset management, enterprise portfolio operations and related strategic initiatives

• Developing and maintaining standard operating procedures and training materials for users of electronic IP management tools

• Perform administrative duties (up to 20% of time) to support attorneys and facilitate department operations, including managing correspondence and calendars, scheduling travel and meetings, coordinating logistics and other arrangements, preparing and submitting expense reports, maintaining files and records, and handling routine client and vendor communications

To succeed in the role, a candidate must:

• Proactively identify and solve problems independently

• Manage competing priorities to complete work reliably in a fast-paced environment

• Demonstrate excellent communication, collaboration, and interpersonal skills

• Work comfortably with technology

• Consistently show strong organizaional skills and attention to detail

• This position may be filled at a higher level based on the requirements below.

Basic Qualifications:

• High school diploma and at least 4 years of relevant experience (law firm or corporate legal department)

• Expertise in Microsoft Office software (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel), SharePoint (or equivalent), and document review platforms

• Experience using complex electronic databases, such as budget analysis and billing systems (e.g., Serengeti Legal Tracker or equivalent)

• Strong written and oral communication skills, with the ability to express complex ideas clearly to various audiences across a large organization and with government agencies

• Ability to execute tasks and projects independently

• Demonstrated ability to build and foster effective, collaborative relationships with others

• US citizenship

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with IP docketing policies and procedures, IP management software, and IP licensing practices

• Exposure to database administration, including data migration and upgrade activities

• Exposure to working on a project management team, including project planning, scheduling and execution

• Familiarity with USPTO procedures

• Bachelor’s Degree

• At least 4 years of experience (law firm or corporate legal department) specializing in intellectual property