IP Legal Secretary
Company: Robert Half
Location: Costa Mesa
Posted on: February 18, 2026
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Job Description:
Job Description Job Description A national law firm is seeking
an IP Legal Assistant , with a focus on patent prosecution (prior
experience in this practice area is a must-have) . This firm boasts
a 7.5 hour work day, beautiful renovated office with snacks, and we
have placed 5 legal assistants here in the last two years - all are
super happy! Responsibilities of Role: § Preparing and filing new
patent (and occasional trademark) applications and associated
documents (application data sheets, inventor declarations, powers
of attorney, information disclosure statements, preliminary
amendments, office action responses, and appeals) with the USPTO ·
Ensure all three elements of the patent application is correct
(such as claims set) · Current volume of filings is anywhere from 5
per day to less than 1 § Creating shells for attorneys (such as for
office action responses) § Docketing – the department exists in
Phoenix, but this person will do backup calendaring for attorneys
in Outlook or Excel (and reminding them of deadlines) § Searching
IP databases (such as the USPTO, TEAS, TARR, WIPO, and foreign
patent offices – like Japan, Australia, Canada, and the EU). ·
Software: Anaqua, NetDocs, inTapp, iTimekeeper, CPi, AMS, Adobe
(bate stamping/labeling, signatures, page numbers). They are
paperless. Soft Skills : o Ability to multitask and jump from one
thing to another. o Extremely high attention to detail. Should be
able to catch if the partner misses a detail such as inventor
name/filing deadline. o Someone who takes direction well. Ideally,
they’d say, “I’ve done this before, but how does your team do it?”
Must have a learner mentality. o Someone who is not a social
butterfly, but is drama free! o Someone who is not on their phone
during the workday. if you know this is you please do not apply; it
will not be tolerated. Perks of Firm : · The IP attorneys are
approachable, polite, and a congenial group. · The Sr. legal
assistant in the IP group, is a great trainer and has been with the
firm for 22 years. She’s been doing IP for 30. Many staff have
strong tenure! · High level of respect for staff, no micromanaging,
no drama. · Firm prioritizes pro bono work, and partner closely
with nonprofits. · The firm administrator offers 1:1 career
coaching. 3 years of patent prosecution experience, specifically:
1. Knowledge of how to file a patent application with the USPTO the
firm cannot train on this, please don't apply without fluency! a.
US filing experience is a must; foreign /EPCT filing experience is
nice-to-have 2. Knowledge of how to docket/cross reference due
dates within IP law. 3. Ability to pivot multiple projects in a
day, not easily frazzled. To apply, send your resume directly to
Melanie.Kent[at]RobertHalf[dotcom] with " OC IP Legal Assistant "
as the subject line.
Keywords: Robert Half, Laguna Niguel , IP Legal Secretary, Legal , Costa Mesa, California
