AI for IP: how to work faster, smarter, and safer (Sharon Shofner-Meyer) | Talk IP to me Ep. 4

Sharon Shofner-Meyer is a seasoned executive and strategist with deep expertise in legal tech, intellectual property and AI product management - also the author of IP work reinvented. In this episode she explains how AI can help patent practitioners scale the quality and volume of their output. We cover how mature today’s AI tools really are, and what IP leaders should do to govern, train, and measure for quality. We dig into the talent crunch, prompt engineering as “the new legal writing”, measurable quality gains in patent drafting (around 40% fewer errors), and why transparency and rational governance matter.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

◼️ Why the billable hour for law firms is under pressure and how AI fits into existing workflows

◼️ The capacity/capability crunch in IP talent and where skills are missing

◼️ A practical patent drafting flow: human draft → AI checks → iterate

◼️ Where AI isn’t ready alone and why human strategy is still important to steer AI to the right direction

◼️ How to teach prompt engineering to future lawyers, build AI-literate teams, and avoid shadow AI

◼️ A look ahead at firm-trained “virtual AI teammates” that will preserve institutional knowledge and help new colleagues get up to speed

00:00 Into

01:00 Sharon’s path from science to patents and AI

02:38 AI’s long arc, recent acceleration

05:37 Where skills are missing across the IP industry

07:19 How AI helps - better patent drafting workflow

10:02 AI’s maturity - how people + AI wins

13:07 Prompt engineering is the new legal writing

16:08 An upgrading curriculum and practice reps

21:00 Rational governance - stopping AI with sanctioned tools

22:33 What an AI-literate IP leader looks like; change management

26:59 Small budgets, big wins - start with PTO comms automation

29:29 Five-year outlook: AI voice agents, and institutional knowledge

31:04 Advice to new attorneys: mentors, networks, process-AI courses

33:04 Rapid fire questions

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At PatentRenewal.com, we believe IP renewals should be simple, transparent, and stress-free. We care about innovation and about making IP easier to understand and easier to use.

That’s why we created Talk IP to me, the podcast that brings fresh conversations to the world of intellectual property.

In each episode, innovators, IP experts, founders, and legal minds share real stories, hard-won lessons, and practical insights you can actually apply in your work.

Our goal is simple: make IP feel human, practical, and accessible.