Anyone else super concerned about AI and what the profession is going to look like in 5-10 years or even less. Interested to see what folks think and whether anyone thinks AI is going to drive down the budgets or impact volume.

Khaleesi is coming to Westeros!!!

Gosh I am so nervous about Sterling background check - had a couple of unpaid informal internships in college years ago, only email offer and correspondence and reference do not respond (all left).

I recently moved to the US, and it feels like there's no future for me here. I applied to numerous jobs, but I am having difficulty getting my CV seen. People keep telling me that I won't have much luck as a fresh grad here without any references because I didn't study in the US.
How true is this?

Anyone here do post-breach data mining? Being pursued to start a practice line doing this and trying to understand market value.

What are your top 3 favorite pharma directors? I haven’t shot pharma in a while and don’t have extensive experience in it. NY based directors a nice plus but not a must. Forget COVID, just trying to refresh my memory and look at reels. I’m based in NYC, if that matters. Budget is decent. Thanks!

Had a lateral interview back in January. Looked at the firm’s website and the posting was taken down. I had emailed two weeks ago, and they were still moving through the process. What do I make of it?

Is it advisable to take the Virtusa Dubai opportunity?? What are the pros and cons ?
YOE :7years

Anyone with experience working at Endpoint Closing? Wondering what the culture is like

Where the best way to process POA for a large number of patent applications?

Is it to get a form 82 signed and attach it to different transmittals for each application and file separately in each case? Is there an easier way?

Apologies if it is off topic.
My brother has over 20 yoe in electric and 10 yoe in solar engineering including owning his own small solar company. He is looking to relocate to US or Canada. Can anyone provide any lead on which companies provide sponsorship? H1B or Canadian work visa. Thanks!

Does anyone know if internal recruiters get extra compensation for bringing in a candidate to a team? Like some sort of commission like external recruiters?

Is it expected/normal to get pregnant spouse Mother’s Day gift?

Hi All! I recently started my own Private Equity firm. Searching for any big do’s, dont’s, or hard lessons you learned along the way. Do any veteran entrepreneurs/PE partners or staff members have advice they would like to pass down? I know early on in my consulting career there are many things I wish I could go back and tell myself.

As always, thank you all! 🐟

Looking for information on strategic planning. Looking for possible change but want to hear from current folks. Thoughts, ideas, pitfalls…

Anyone successfully take STD or extended long term disability for final IVF procedure? I’d like to take 6 months, Destress before hand then go into extraction. Docs say if this doesn’t work they recommend I move onto other options so I want to give it a fair shot. My clinic will fill out fMLA / medical forms but not sure who ultimately decides the duration. Should I also consider other mental health leave alternatives? Thank you!

What do folks find most frustrating about patent prosecution? Drafting, OAs, client relations, other?

For me, I dislike drafting the spec to explicitly recite the basic things it does, eg, server talks to client to do <basic action>.

Does anyone find an attack on the Examiner’s prima facia showing of obviousness a lot more effective than distinguishing each and every prior art reference.

I recently underwrote a reply to final. Didn’t even bother with the references since I just got the case. Overcame the rejections.

Can anyone comment on how effective this is?

Taking the patent bar in a week and it’s been so tough studying while working. I’m so behind in my hours this month, and my firm (midlaw, IP only) was pretty clear that they expect my hours to stay on track this month regardless of the exam. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this week and then make it through 6 hours of testing. Please tell me the afternoon session is easier than the morning session, like some others have said 🙏🏽

Subject matter eligibility "doctrines" .... lol amirite?

Any good recommendations for patent industry magazines with regular print editions? too much of my keeping up to date is by blogs.

I’m a patent pros. paralegal working in bio/chem at my firm, 26 yo with an MS in Chem at 100k and a 115 hr billable req.
After the mental beat down that was grad school, I’m happy to have straightforward tasks and mentally coast, but my attys want me to start studying for the patent bar asap.
I like where I’m at and I know that once I start down the tech spec/agent/attorney path, it’s going to be full speed. How long do you think I can/should stay in this position before starting to study?

Prosecution associates - what are your hours looking like this year?

What do hiring partners (or HR in in-house) generally think about a lateral that are in the middle of a part-time MS degree program (STEM MS program)?

Has anyone on here ever requested redaction of a filed application? I'm looking to redact a few paragraphs of a provisional application.

How do firms handle export control rules compliance for inbound disclosures for new filings?
Do you make the determination of export control classification number (ECCN) yourself based on each inbound disclosure? Do you ask the client to provide the ECCN, if they know it? Do you play ostrich? Or something else?

Any recommendations for free or reasonably priced CLE courses for patent prosecution?

First year associate thinking about making the just from medium sized reputable IP firm to In House. Started at said firm summer of 1L year as a law clerk/patent agent in May 2019, have worked through school and full time as associate since Sept 2021. Feeling very “stuck” in day to day work. Love the patent/IP space but drafting and pros w/minimal human interaction is getting very difficult. Thinking In House would be better, but not sure how much experience needed. Thoughts?

I’m looking for a tool that allows me to search for text in Office Actions and responses. For example, is there a way to search for ‘written description’ or ‘improper Markush’ issued by Examiner John Smith? Does something like this exist?

How many billable hours do people in prosecution tend to average each month? I’ve gone through waves of feeling like my billable hours requirement is reasonable to feeling like I’m drowning and can’t possibly do it for that long.

In what order do you draft a patent application? I know the official answer is “it depends.” But what do you find yourself do most often? For me, it’s claims —> drawings —> spec.

In prosecution, if a patent attorney does not try to remove prior art cited by an examiner (eg a 130 affidavit to assert an exception under102(b)(1)(A)), but instead makes arguments to overcome the art, may the attorney made an admission that bars removing the art later in prosecution. Just received such a transfer case, looking for options.

How long does it take you to draft a patent application on average?

Is it reasonably possible to jump from patent prosecution to trademark prosecution?

Has anyone regretted going in-house as patent counsel? If so, were you able to successfully transition back to a firm?

Do you work somewhere where quality is valued over efficiency? Where can I find this? In-house? Small boutique?