Welcome!  We began our last newsletter by specifically pointing to some of the many ways our firm is unique in the world of patent prosecution and other associated legal services.  This week, we will briefly direct our attention to:

Each member of our staff is a professional "exempt" employee who works from a "docket," requires no supervision, and is an "equal" member of our firm's "horizontal" team.  Within our team, we all have equal prestige; and we all are members of one or more sub-teams assigned to the various tasks and jobs undertaken by the firm.  Our team approach provides more creativity, higher quality work, and many competent backups for when a staff member is ill or on vacation.

We customize software to use technology to help with work assignments and with keeping track of our jobs.  For example, we assign immediately to each new patent application a "fast-up" team to creatively chart the preferred course of the application writing.  At a single sitting around a conference table, fast-up team members review the details of the invention and review the search (formal or informal) results.  Then the team, using its joint experience, zeroes in on the aspects of the invention which should be claimed and suggests to the writing team at least one preferred way to approach the claim drafting.  Claim drafting is a critical part of quality patent prosecution.

Our firm also provides staff training about how to work most efficiently in teams and about appropriate skills of team interaction to accomplish tough team problem-solving without ignoring feel-good team-building.

We invite your comments and questions about details of our firm "culture."