In the realm of patent law, efficiency, accuracy, and productivity are paramount. However, the manual preparation of patent-related materials, such as office action responses and information disclosure statements, can place a crushing weight on staff. This leads to overwork, burnout, errors, and staff turnover, ultimately hindering firm performance and client satisfaction.
This is where Juristat Office Action Response (OAR), a workflow automation solution, can completely change that norm for IP practices.
By leveraging the latest legal technology and artificial intelligence, Juristat OAR creates a new status quo, streamlining tasks to reduce errors, promote staff well-being, and improve prosecution outcomes and the firm’s bottom line.
Juristat spoke with Young Basile shareholder and Juristat customer Francine Nesti about how Juristat created a new normal for her team.
“The last thing attorneys and paralegals wanted was the work falling back to them. We needed a different approach.”
Francine Nesti, Shareholder, Young Basile
Any patent attorney knows the value of experienced support staff extends well beyond administrative tasks. Paralegals and prosecution managers often serve as invaluable resources for attorneys, providing critical support in case management, document preparation, and client communication.
Their familiarity with the intricacies of patent prosecution allows them to anticipate challenges, identify opportunities, and effectively navigate the nuances of each case. Moreover, their expertise enables them to provide valuable insights and recommendations to attorneys, contributing to more informed decision-making and ultimately enhancing client satisfaction.
It may go without saying, but experienced patent paralegals are in high demand, and their scarcity can lead to overwork and burnout, resulting in high turnover rates.
Burnout is a prevalent issue in the legal industry, with 28% of legal teams experiencing this phenomenon, Forbes reported in 2021.
While the value of skilled support staff is undeniable, the cost of turnover, particularly of experienced staff, can be disproportionately high. Burned-out workers are ultimately 25% more likely to leave their positions, according to a GWI report. Replacing existing workers incurs significant costs, ranging from half to two times the employee's annual salary, according to Gallup in 2021.
“One of our biggest fears is losing staff. Our focus is on staff retention. As we hire more attorneys, our volume increases, increasing the staff’s workload,” said Nesti.
Loss of staff disrupts workflow, putting work back onto attorneys or other (overworked) staff until someone new can be hired and trained. Additionally, the loss of institutional knowledge can hinder productivity and erode client trust, ultimately impacting the firm's bottom line.
“It’s difficult to find experienced patent paralegals,” said Nesti. “We are trying to optimize the time our paralegals spend on substantive, value-added tasks. We want to automate those tasks that are suited for it.”
At Young Basile, concern for support staff in their patent practice led to a strategic reevaluation of their operational processes, with a keen focus on eliminating errors, reducing costs, and optimizing efficiency.
As the firm grows with more clients and more attorneys across the country, finding workflow automation solutions has been key in helping them remain consistent and uniform in their work. Establishing those best practices has been important for ensuring quality and, ultimately, strong client relations, according to Nesti.
“We’ve been ultra-focused on looking at what's out there for all of our systems – whether it’s accounting, docketing, or, of course, our patent processes,” Nesti told Juristat.
Recognizing the potential pitfalls of manual tasks, particularly in tedious areas such as office action response preparation, the firm embarked on a mission to alleviate the burden on its support staff while enhancing the quality of their work, client relationships, and overall bottom line.
The volume of office actions at Young Basile posed a significant challenge for their support staff, particularly with tasks as intricate and time-consuming as OA response preparation.
Despite assigning a dedicated paralegal to each client, the high workload often led to overwork and inefficiencies. The firm tried having a full-time position dedicated to OA prep, but if that person was out of the office, depending on the volume, they risked falling far behind.
“The last thing attorneys and paralegals wanted was the work falling back to them. We needed a different approach,” Nesti told Juristat.
Recognizing the need for a more sustainable approach, Young Basile explored alternative solutions to streamline and optimize its patent processes. This ultimately alleviated the burden on its support staff and improved overall workflow efficiency.
The firm identified key criteria that guided its selection of a workflow automation solution. Central to its decision-making process was the need for consistent template implementation and accuracy in its work product. It also wanted to mitigate examiner errors and ensure compliance with rigorous patent standards.
Additionally, the firm sought a solution that would not only optimize efficiency but also deliver cost-effective benefits compared to traditional staffing and outsourcing models. Recognizing the importance of swift turnaround times in meeting client expectations, Young Basile evaluated potential options to find a solution that aligned with their objectives and priorities.
Through this assessment, Young Basile turned to Juristat to automate their OA response preparation in part due to fast turnaround times and cost efficiency.
“The last thing attorneys and paralegals wanted was the work falling back to them. We needed a different approach.”
“As our staff’s load is increasing, we’re looking for ways to outsource that,” Nesti said. “Juristat was one of our first forays into that.”
Juristat OAR streamlines the office action response process by delivering a single digital packet that includes all necessary documentation: a customized OA response and client letter, cited prior art, the most recent amended claims, a text-searchable office action, and examiner and art unit reports. This allows patent teams to focus on higher-value work, as the drafting process requires no input from the firm.
In a 2022 analysis, responses generated through Juristat OAR showed an error rate of just 0.5%, compared to 11.5% for a broader set of attorney-drafted responses. This level of accuracy can help reduce risk and improve consistency across prosecution teams.
Key Criteria For Selecting a Workflow Automation Solution
Now five years into using Juristat for its OA response prep, the team at Young Basile doesn’t even really notice they’re using it, with Nesti calling it a “behind-the-scenes process.”
The process of using Juristat fits seamlessly into the Young Basile team’s workflow. Nesti said templates are turned around faster with Juristat and with fewer errors than if a team member were working on them.
“It's just part of the status quo. I couldn't imagine having to go back to doing that in-house,” she said.
According to Nesti, attorneys and administrators don’t even notice it is being used anymore. And from her perspective, going back to doing it any other way “wouldn’t be acceptable.”
In fact, when a competitor offered to handle the firm’s OA responses on the cheap, Young Basile explored the option. However, as the onboarding process began, the patent team quickly realized that in all things, including legal technology tools, you get what you pay for.
“It was night and day. The templates were awful,” said Nesti. “It was basically unusable; it would have been easier to start from scratch.”
Nesti and her team quickly switched back to Juristat, the only workflow automation solution that is acceptable to her attorneys.
“Having had a good product, you can’t go back to a bad product,” she said.
“It's just part of the status quo. I couldn't imagine having to go back to doing that in-house.”
Manual preparation can strain even the most experienced support teams, increasing the risk of burnout and inconsistent outcomes. Juristat OAR uses automation and AI to reduce errors, streamline workflows, and support staff well-being.
Firms using Juristat OAR report up to a 60% return on investment and a 38% reduction in prosecution costs, clear evidence of the operational and financial impact of automation.
Firms like Young Basile demonstrate how legal technology can improve efficiency and client service without sacrificing quality. Exploring tools like Juristat OAR may reveal similar opportunities within your own practice.
“Overall, it’s been a big improvement,” said Nesti. “And frankly, we would hate to be without it.”
“Overall, it’s been a big improvement... And frankly, we would hate to be without it.”
Francine Nesti, Shareholder, Young Basile
Young Basile is a technology-focused Silicon Valley law firm headquartered in Michigan, making it unique. Young Basile takes a strategic and holistic approach to the entire IP lifecycle, from prep and pros, tech transactions, product counseling, monetization, to enforcement, including litigation.
Young Basile is proud to represent some of the world’s leading companies for their most important intellectual property needs and in their most complex litigation. Every day, we protect some of the most cutting-edge technology in the artificial intelligence, information technology, automotive, electronics, chemical and material sciences, life sciences, quantum technology, sports technology and other industries. Our clients are leading innovators around the globe and in the regions where we practice. Representative clients include Google, Nissan, Zoom, GoPro, Dawn Foods, ThoughtSpot, Prosetta Biosciences, Jabil, Comau, and Cornell University.
What if obtaining a patent was faster, easier, and more predictable? What if we could remove some of the uncertainty and complexity of trying to get a patent at the USPTO? These questions – and the quest to minimize uncertainty and maximize success – drive us. Innovative law firms and companies use Juristat to improve prosecution outcomes, make more strategic business decisions, and streamline the most tedious tasks associated with obtaining a patent at the USPTO.
Juristat brings transparency, predictability, and equity to patent prosecution. Our comprehensive SaaS solutions combine data, technology, and trusted patent expertise to help IP attorneys and corporate teams streamline workflows and make more strategic, data-driven decisions.
And the results speak for themselves. Patent teams using Juristat OAR reduce costs by 38%. Juristat users also see up to a 60% return on investment within first year of using Juristat OAR.