Five tips for trademark administrators and paralegals

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Five tips for trademark administrators and paralegals

No matter where they are in their careers, trademark administrators and paralegals can always use a few more organization tools.

At the Tricks of the Trade for Trademark Administrators session yesterday, veteran trademark professionals offered attendees advice on topics including time management, using forms, working with vendors and using online resources including the INTA website. Attendees also shared their own tips and experiences.

Plan and prioritize: Use a calendar to set tasks for the day, month and year and create reminders for filing deadlines. Schedule time during quieter periods to take care of tasks such as housekeeping. Set goals for the day and prioritize. “My aim is always to file my due dates on the first available date,” said Max Harrison Millican of Dell. “That’s the least stressful way and it gives you time to take care of any issues that arise.”

Create templates: Creating email templates for situations which arise regularly can save time and ensure your wording is perfect, said Barbara Barron Kelly of Corsearch. These can be saved, accessed at the click of a button and customized as appropriate. When creating forms, start with a checklist, such as the ones available on the INTA website, and customize it. The form should be easy for the client to use and ideally collect information in the order you will need it, said Millican. She suggests creating several versions for clients who have different levels of experience with filing.

Utilize resources: The INTA website offers several useful resources for paralegals. For example, the Country Portal provides information about fees in different jurisdictions, treaties that various countries have signed and relevant case law. The Corporate Style Guide is a key tool for ensuring consistency and the Trade Dress Image Library is useful for making “Trademark 101” presentations to new colleagues.

Be your own cheerleader: Keep a running list of your achievements, preferably in an electronic format, along with any supporting evidence such as emails congratulating you on a job well done. Knowing your strengths will be invaluable for performance reviews, job interviews and updating your bio, particularly if you are not given much time to prepare. “It’s not a negative character trait to toot your own horn as long as you’re in key and have an appropriate volume level,” said Grace Jennings of Wong Cabello.

Check the job listings: Even if you are happy with your employer, browse the job listings regularly so that you know what opportunities are available for career advancement and are aware of typical salaries for your level of experience. Taking notice of commonly used keywords is useful when updating your resume. A job bank is available on the INTA website.

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Indian smartphone maker Lava must pay $2.3 million as a security deposit for past sales, as its dispute with Dolby over audio coding SEPs plays out
Powell Gilbert’s opening in Düsseldorf, complete with a new partner hire, continues this summer’s trend of UPC-related lateral movement
IP leaders at Brandsmiths and Bird & Bird, who were on opposing sides at the UK Supreme Court in Iconix v Dream Pairs, unpick the landmark case and its ramifications
Magdalena Bonde discusses Abion’s AI experiments and reveals why an entrepreneurial mindset and a willingness to learn about a business are essential skills
Partner Ginevra Righini explains how she secured victory for the Comité Champagne in its fight against an EUTM application for ‘Nero Champagne’
Volkan Hamamcıoğlu joins us for our ‘Five minutes with’ series to discuss meditation, tackling deadlines, and taking inspiration from Hamlet
A $110 million US verdict against Apple and an appellate order staying a $39 million trademark infringement finding against Amazon were also among the top talking points
Attorneys are watching how AI affects trademark registrations and whether a SCOTUS ruling from last year will have broader free speech implications
Patent lawyers explain why they will be keeping an eye on the implications of a pharma case and on changes at the USPTO in the second half of 2025
The insensitive reaction to a UK politician crying on TV proves we have a long way to go before we can say we are tackling workplace wellbeing
Gift this article