Mariela's team was using an outdated version of a legacy docketing system and was surprised to learn that they would need to pay more to update to the newest version. One of their peers suggested Alt Legal. Once they saw how easy it was to use and that there was free migration and unlimited support, they made the move.
Mariela Chavez Valdez
Trademark Paralegal | Chitiz Pathak LLP
I first started as a trademark paralegal when I was 19. I had no idea what trademarks were and didn’t know anything about trademark law, but in the years since, I’ve come to love it!”
Mariela Chavez Valdez served as a trademark paralegal at the largest law firm in Peru for a decade before moving to Canada and joining the team at Chitiz Pathak LLP (CP LLP) in 2013. As the lead IP paralegal on CP LLP’s trademark team, Mariela is responsible for docketing and tracking all the deadlines for the thousands of trademarks the firm manages.
When she first joined the firm, the team was using an outdated version of a legacy docketing system. Even though they had bought the software and were paying exorbitant costs for it, the team was surprised to learn that they would need to pay more to update to the newest version.
“We were having so many issues that it became difficult to manage. We thought it was ridiculous that we’d bought the service and were still expected to pay to upgrade to the next version. It was really expensive, and while there were things about the program that we didn’t like, our biggest complaint was the people. The sales team really pushed us, and, I’m going to be honest: they were bullies about it. They kept wanting us to pay extra money for them to fix their software, so we decided to look for alternatives.”
The team considered several different platforms and was about to settle on one when they learned that they would be responsible for managing the migration themselves and also need to pay for the process.
“The system looked really complicated, and the migration was going to take so much time. We had so many records, and we spent a lot of time cleaning the records to make the transition easier. But we quickly realized how much time it was going to take, so we decided to look somewhere else.”
Then one of their peers suggested Alt Legal. They’d heard great things about the automated US trademark docketing software, but they weren’t sure if this extended to Canadian filings and other trademarks in their portfolio. Once they saw how easy it was to use the software and learned about Alt Legal’s free migration and unlimited support with live chat, they eagerly came on board.
“I love how the software looks. It’s so much nicer than what we used to use, and I love that I can keep all records and notes and such in such a convenient place. And I love how with some trademarks, I don’t need to enter any information at all; it’s completely automated. Sometimes I know before our attorneys do that an office action has been issued on one of our trademarks.”
Mariela is most impressed with Alt Legal’s free, unlimited support.
“The support is just awesome. Everything from the migration to the support has been top-notch. Every time I reach out for support, Sophia answers my questions right away. She’s been incredibly helpful!”
Mariela loves being an Alt Legal customer, and she’s gotten a lot of value from it.
