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Lessons Learned Through the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's Legal Experience and Advancement Program
I am honored to participate in the USPTO's Legal Experience and Advancement Program (LEAP) during the past two years. Under LEAP, I got the opportunity to argue before a panel of three Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings and gained valuable experience arguing in real cases. Compared to mock trials I had participated in while in law school, my experience as a LEAP practitioner is vastly more rewarding. It has provided me with invaluable hands-on experience and made me a better lawyer.
What Is LEAP?
Launched in May 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) developed this program to help provide training and oral advocacy opportunities for less experienced practitioners in proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). A LEAP practitioner is allowed to participate in either an ex parte appeal or an America Invents Act (AIA) trial proceeding. From May 2020 to November 2023, about 340 practitioners have participated in the program.
To encourage participation in the program, the PTAB grants an additional 15 minutes of argument time in the proceeding to an approved LEAP practitioner. The LEAP practitioner may conduct the entire oral argument, or may share time with other counsel, as long as the LEAP practitioner is offered a meaningful and substantive opportunity to argue. A LEAP practitioner may argue discrete issues such as claim construction, motion to exclude, or patentability. To further encourage participation, experienced counsel can assist a LEAP practitioner during the argument, and, if necessary, to clarify any statements on the record.
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