Under The Hood: How AI Is Changing Patent Work — And What It Means For In-House Counsel

Location

Foley & Lardner LLP

111 Huntington Avenue Ste. 2500

Boston, Massachusetts 02199

Agenda

5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. EST

5:30 pm: Doors open

6:15 pm: Fireside Chat

7:00 pm: Networking

Register Now

AI is changing how patent work gets done. For in-house counsel, the harder question is what those changes mean for quality, cost, and the decisions that shape a patent portfolio.

Join In-House Connect with Foley & Lardner and Patlytics for an in-person fireside chat featuring Chris McKenna and Nash Ream, for a candid look inside a patent practice putting AI to work. Drawing on Foley's experience as a client and co-design partner of Patlytics, the speakers will explore applications across patent drafting, office action responses, invalidity and freedom-to-operate analyses, and portfolio management—and discuss where the tools are delivering value and where they still fall short.

The conversation will center on what in-house counsel need to evaluate: how attorneys validate AI-assisted work, whether time savings translate into client value, and what questions to ask vendors and outside counsel before expanding adoption. Speakers will share lessons learned, unexpected challenges, and where attorney judgment remains essential.

Key Takeaways
Identify practical use cases: Understand where AI can support patent drafting, prosecution, and analysis — and where its limitations matter.

Evaluate quality and oversight: Learn how attorneys review and validate AI-assisted work and where professional judgment remains essential.

Assess the value for your team: Examine whether time savings translate into meaningful benefits for work quality, legal spend, and portfolio management.

Ask better questions before adopting: Identify what to ask vendors and outside counsel about capabilities, review practices, and implementation challenges.

Who Should Attend
In-house patent counsel, IP leaders, and legal operations professionals responsible for patent strategy, portfolio management, outside counsel oversight, or legal technology adoption. The discussion will be especially relevant to teams evaluating AI tools or seeking to understand how outside counsel's use of AI affects the quality, cost, and delivery of patent work.