Details, Mistakes & Cures in

IP Law Practice

Richard P. Beem BEEM PATENT LAW FIRM

www.BeemLaw.com

Chicago USA

Illinois Paralegal AssociationFall Education ConferenceNovember 20, 2014

My Mentor, Judge Edward S. SmithU.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

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Are they honest?

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Judge Smith’s Two Rules

1. Confidentiality

2. Mistakes

And a third…

3. Somebody (this might be you) should always know where to find everyone and everything

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Goal is Zero Defects

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We All Make Mistakes

• Recognize

• Raise

• Remedy

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Three R’s

Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct

RULE 1.4: COMMUNICATION

(a) A lawyer shall:

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(3) keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter;

* * *

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Dumpster Dive 1

• Lawyer loses file –thinks it’s out the window

• Sees dumpster below and goes for a dive

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Four Ways to Deal with Mistake

1. Ostrich approach

2. Hide or deny it

3. Say it was someone else’s mistake

4. Apologize on behalf of firm & fix it

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Failure to Pay Issue Fee

• Phone calls (to straighten out important details) don’t suspend due dates

• Written action/payment is required

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Close counts, in horseshoes

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A Client Named Howard

• Lawyer writes letter to Howard

• Assistant finalizes and sends letter and goes home

• Howard calls lawyer: “Is this some kind of Freudian slip?”

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Watch out for spell check

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Prevention

• Last look / print

• Read aloud

• Recheck names, dates, serial numbers, docket numbers

• Docketing

• Send and document reminders

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Correspondence

• More on last look –

– Content

– Attachments

• Will it make sense to reader?

• Is all pertinent information included?

• Match addressee and salutation

• Check headers on all pages

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TRAIN FIRM

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Dumpster Dive 2

• Lawyer prepares boxes of documents to produce in litigation

• Staff thinks they are trash and throws them out

• Lawyer traces boxes to recycling center

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Names

• Dale Carnegie said, “A person’s name is the sweetest sound.”

• Use names, get them right, and spell them right.

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Which is correct?

HON Technology Inc.or

Hon Technology, Inc.

(ca. 2000)

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Names (cont.)

• Name misspelled on printed name tag at conference

• How should staff respond?

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Cures

• When you discover mistake, tell your boss promptly and fully

• If you can, propose a solution

• Might be reportable to professional liability insurer

• Prompt candid communication to client– State situation and propose course of action

• Might cost the firm– Fees and costs for petition to revive

• Better now than later

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Fear of mistakes can paralyze

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Better to move forward and risk mistake than do nothing

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Questions?

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Thank you!

Richard P. Beem Beem Patent Law Firm

www.BeemLaw.com

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