Honigman is a premier business law firm, based in Michigan with an international practice. Consistenty recognized in Michigan as one of the 101 Best and Brightest Places to Work, we earned this recognition by recruiting attorneys and staff members with outstanding credentials. Currently, we are looking for an experienced IP Litigation Secretary/Practice Assistant in our Ann Arbor office. In addition to Ann Arbor, we have offices in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Bloomfield Hills, Kalamazoo, Chicago, IL and Washington D.C. With more than 350 attorneys working in 60 different areas of concentration, Honigman provides timely and cost-effective counsel to clients in numerous industries.
Under the supervision of the Office Administrator, the Intellectual Property (IP) Litigation Legal Secretary/Practice Assistant will provide high-quality administrative and secretarial support to attorneys. The position requires a professional, highly motivated, intellectually curious, organized self-starter with the ability to anticipate needs of assigned attorneys, calendar events, format legal documents, and support ongoing matters. The position requires superior writing and communication skills, software skills including MS Office Suite (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), Nuance and document management systems.
Responsibilities
- Works closely with IP litigation attorneys involving the preparation of litigation related assignments including pleadings, discovery, correspondence, court filings, etc. along with clerical assignments as delegated.
- Demonstrates familiarity with commercial litigation. Familiarity with intellectual property litigation processes is a plus.
- Frequently prepares documents to be electronically filed in Federal Courts.
- If unfamiliar, will learn to assist with preparing and filing documents in post-grant patent proceedings (inter partes reviews and post grant reviews) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).
- If unfamiliar, will learn to facilitate filings with the International Trade Commission relative to unfair import investigations.
- Prioritizes assignments and prepares often sensitive and detailed correspondence, such as responses to requests for information or regularly recurring reports, from rough draft or dictation.
- Prepares other routine as well as non-routine correspondence, legal documents, forms, presentations and the like using advanced knowledge and skills with word processing related and other software programs.
- Conducts searches within PACER; calendaring litigation dates and maintains attorney calendars.
- Identifies, marks and creates Table of Authorities; demonstrates knowledge of the deposition processes; provides trial support; maintains litigation binders/logs.
- Efficiently proofreads and edits text for grammatical and typographical errors, and occasionally for content.
- Schedules appointments, makes travel and/or meeting arrangements, and maintains business calendars as instructed.
- Effectively establishes and maintains well-organized files, while managing the integrity of original client documents.
- Prepares bills for mailing, maintains billing records, and accurately enters attorney time.
- Performs related general office duties such as monitoring and collating, assembling and distributing documents.
- Maintains confidentiality, assures work product is accurate and presented professionally, and makes efforts to foster a positive rapport with all internal and external contacts.
Qualifications
- At least 5 years prior work experience as a Litigation Legal Secretary.
- College degree or equivalent work experience required.
- Proven experience with litigation work in the Federal Courts.
- Experience working on matters before the Patent and Trial Appeal Board (“PTAB”) and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB”) as well as International Trade Commission (“ITC”) matters is preferred but not required.
- Advanced use of MS Word and Outlook (or compatible e-mail application), as well as an ability to quickly learn and effectively utilize other applications as well as electronic court filing software applications.
- Proficiency in the use of FileSite and ECF (Electronic Court Filing).
- Intermediate to advanced computer skills in order to use various features of multiple software programs (including word processing, footnotes, redlining, copying/pasting, Best Authority). May require specialized terminology skills.
- Ability to efficiently read and write in order to proof and edit non-routine correspondence, reports and tables for typographical (spelling and grammar) errors, and sentence structure, as well as draft routine correspondence, perform non-complex arithmetic calculations, and organize and maintain record keeping and filing systems.
- Ability to work with multiple attorneys and prioritize assignments.
- High-level communication skills with social sensitivity and in-depth knowledge of department procedures to communicate effectively with staff and management within and outside the department and external contacts, including clients.
- Must be a detail-oriented problem solver, willing to work and think with independence, handle confidential information with discretion, and accept responsibility for producing work that is consistently complete, timely, effective and accurate.
- Ability to follow and convey instructions effectively with a high degree of courtesy and tact including ability to independently follow-up on open items.
- Ability to work overtime, when needed.
Honigman is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, disability or any other category prohibited by applicable local, state or federal law. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, placement, promotion, transfer, demotion, compensation, benefits, and termination.
