Paralegal Specialist

The Paralegal Specialist position carries out a range of para-professional duties under the supervision of one or more attorneys in ESPN’s Legal department, spending the majority of time handling trademark-related matters. 

This role will be focused mainly on trademark prosecution and enforcement and drafting and reviewing trademark-related contracts, but will also include the drafting, review, and analysis of non-trademark contracts as well, handling the contract drafting process from term sheet through signature. The Paralegal Specialist position will regularly engage with in-house attorneys, outside counsel, and business leads.   

What You Will Do:

• Maintains ESPN’s global trademark portfolio by filing US and global trademark applications and renewals, including preparation of specimens, first use dates, and identifications of goods and services, working closely with outside counsel in doing so.
• Reviews watch notices for trademarks and domain names and tracks infringing domain names.
• Conducts preliminary US and international screening searches via Saegis and the Internet.
• Analyzes comprehensive screening and search results and drafts reports for internal clients.
• Prepares cease and desist letters and processes takedowns for online IP infringement.
• Reviews and edits opposition-related documents and works with business units and outside counsel to collect information and evidence for UDRP and other trademark proceedings.
• Reviews product, marketing, and other materials for proper trademark use.
• Tracks trademark deadlines and ensures deadlines are not missed by keeping trademark attorney and clients apprised of such deadlines.
• Drafts contracts and/or other legal documents, ranging from standard to highly complex, for attorney review and approval, with a high degree of competence, knowledge, legal judgment and drafting skill.  Range of subject matters may include all matters handled within the Legal Department.
• Conducts legal issue identification and analysis, including regarding intellectual property ownership (e.g., trademark, copyright, name and likeness); legal risk assessment at a high para-professional level. 
• Conducts research, which may include some higher-level analysis, in areas of focus.
• Sets up matters in Tracker (billing system), reviews invoices from outside counsel and vendors, and processes quarterly billing reconciliation.
• May conduct administrative support activities for attorneys and interface with finance function as necessary.
• Expected to contribute/participate in department oriented initiatives beyond assigned duties on occasion (e.g., legal department intranet site, presentations to client departments).

Required Qualifications & Skills:

• Minimum of 5 years of applicable legal experience required.
• Expertise in all areas of trademark prosecution and enforcement.
• Expertise in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. 
• The ability to consistently solve problems with a high degree of independent decision-making.
• The ability to communicate effectively with all levels of management.
• Demonstrated strong operational expertise.
• Proven success in judgment in a broad scope of matters.
• Full knowledge of selected legal procedures, terminology, and contract policies and standards.
• Ability to handle a high volume of work with minimal supervision while exercising the judgment to appropriately discern when to escalate issues.
• Superior organization skills with the ability to prioritize workload efficiently and effectively, and excellent attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills and must be highly team-oriented.
• High level of professionalism and ability to maintain absolute confidentiality.
• Ability to build business acumen and understand core elements of the applicable business area(s).

Preferred Qualifications & Skills:

• Knowledge of NetDocs and Tracker.
• Subject matter expertise in trademarks and other categories of agreements in the sports/media/entertainment/music space.

Education:

• High School Diploma

Preferred Education:

• Paralegal certification or Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree

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The hiring range for this position in Bristol, CT is $105,100 to $140,900 per year based on a 40 hour work week. The amount of hours scheduled per week may vary based on business needs. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A bonus and/or long-term incentive units may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to the full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the level and position offered.