Director of IP Operations

Cooley LLP

. Position is responsible for oversight of all aspects of IP operations (including applicable IP business professional management) within the IP operations teams .

Posted 4/23/2026full-timeBoston • California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $220,000 - $270,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Position is responsible for oversight of all aspects of IP operations (including applicable IP business professional management) within the IP operations teams
Drive IP Best Practice (BPC) initiatives as well as new and continuous learning and professional development opportunities for practitioners and business professionals
Systematically review processes and systems that support the Patent and Trademark, Copyright, and Advertising (TCA) practices
Identify issues, compliance, other risks and team priorities and propose process and systems improvements
Develop methods for conducting quality control review of Patent docketing processes to ensure accuracy, consistency and adherence to the rules of 37 C.F.R., TMEP, and foreign national patent offices
Monitor, review, and recommend new materials and resources that have the potential to improve management of the practices or to assist the practitioners/fee-earners/lawyers in providing enhanced service
Interface with other firm departments to determine best practices and implement efficient workflow and integration points
Oversee IP systems team, including responsibility for the efficient operation of the IP Management System and other systems and software supporting IP Services, and the Patent and TCA practices
Work collaboratively with Legal Intelligence, Technology, and Practice Innovation teams to ensure technology and specialized resources are adequately vetted, costs considered, and that IP Services and Patent and TCA practitioners have the resources they need
Effectively delegate tasks across the direct report manager and supervisor teams
Establish accountability processes to ensure efficiency and accuracy of services provided
Develop matrices to measure, evaluate and report on the effectiveness of the operations teams
Coach and develop direct report managers and supervisors to achieve high client service and operational quality, consistency and high-level customer service

Requirements

What you’ll need

Minimum 10 years’ directly applicable IP experience with 5+ years’ experience at a senior manager level with a professional services firm, preferably a law firm
Bachelor's Degree or creditable experience
After orientation at Cooley LLP, exhibit proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite, iManage and other firm applications
Ability to work extended and/or weekend hours, as required
Ability to travel, as required
Proven experience managing, developing and mentoring managers and teams across functional areas of responsibility
Project management experience
Proven ability to identify and analyze complex issues and problems in management areas, and recommend and implement effective solutions

Benefits

Comp & perks

medical
health savings account (with applicable medical plan)
dental
vision
health and/or dependent care flexible spending accounts
pre-tax commuter benefits
life insurance
AD&D
long-term care coverage
backup care for children and/or adults and other parental support benefits
firm-paid life insurance
AD&D
LTD
short term medical benefits
25 days of Paid Time Off ("PTO")
10 paid holidays each year
generous parental leave
fertility benefits

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

IP operationsquality control reviewPatent docketing processesprocess improvementproject managementcompliance analysisrisk identificationdata evaluationmatrix developmentworkflow integration

Soft Skills

leadershipmentoringdelegationcollaborationaccountabilityproblem-solvingcommunicationclient serviceorganizational skillsteam development