The same consideration should be part of choosing lawyers whose practices are limited to specialized areas of law. Trademark lawyers typically are not a dime a dozen, especially outside of Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. In recent years, more and more law firms have been recruiting experienced trademark attorneys, giving consumers more choices, but the numbers are still relatively low compared to other areas of law. Another source of information about lawyers' real areas of practice is the Martindale- Hubbell Law Directory. Some consumers, even sophisticated ones, may use the yellow pages to try to find a trademark lawyer.
Caution is advised.
This is a critical question for consumers. An experienced trademark paralegal can work under a lawyer's supervision on the more routine parts of the selection, application and registration process and at a fraction of the hourly cost of the attorney. Without a good paralegal, the costs of the work are likely to be unnecessarily inflated. Consumers should be wary of all-purpose paralegals who have not had specific and intensive training from third parties in the trademark area. Consumers should ask if the paralegal assigned to the file has been provided with outside training on trademark administration from a paralegal institute, the International Trademark Association or some other qualified organization.