IP Practices Assistant
You will work for an innovative, successful and growing intellectual property firm, supporting the IP Practices Manager to ensure best practice change for all IP matters.
What you will enjoy
- Creating and maintaining user guidance materials, process documents, letter templates and other practice resources.
- Maintaining key documents such as terms of engagement.
- Supporting the preparation of training material and coordinating the delivery of training on current and new practices to all stakeholders, including Fee Earners, Paralegals, the Intellectual Property Support Services Team and new starters.
- Assisting in embedding practice change through monitoring and evaluating the implementation post completion.
- Working with the Practices Manager to improve internal processes and respond to external influences including service developments at patent and trade mark offices and/or changes in the external IP environment and market by researching, consulting with relevant parties, providing input to proposals and seeking authorisation from relevant stakeholders.
- Monitoring daily EPO, WIPO, EU IPO and UK IPO updates and communicating any relevant information firm wide.
- Completing starter/leaver administration of UPC and IPO systems, including online filing systems, smart cards and user profiles.
- Reviewing PCT newsletters and implementing any new fee schedules.
- Ensuring the management of online filing systems used by the firm, including registration processes for new systems, adding and removing users, monitoring submissions to ensure KPIs are met, maintaining the address book, acting as a further point of contact in the event of service issues, administering the service and any regular user maintenance.
- Collaborating with the IT department to assess, test and implement system changes.
- Supporting with analysis of new/upgraded IPO filing systems, providing input to proposals of implementation strategies and supporting the implementation of new filing systems.
- Providing support when working with Accounts to implement EPO, EU IPO, UK IPO and WIPO official fee increases, ensuring billing systems and internal charge sheets are updated and communicating these changes to Fee Earners and Paralegals/Paralegal Secretaries.
- Acting as an additional point of contact within the firm to deal with queries on process and practice.
What you will need
- Excellent working knowledge of patents, designs and trade marks rules and regulations, ideally with the relevant CIPA and/or CITMA certificate.
- Experience of working with IP portfolio management systems (ideally Inprotech), patent office systems (e.g. EPO Line, ePCT etc.) and document management systems (ideally iManage).
- Excellent communication skills (both written and verbal).
- Self-motivated and able to drive actions forward.
- An ability to work to deadlines and under pressure.
- Excellent attention to detail and a commitment to quality control.
- Ability to work independently as well as part of a team; with experience of working in projects.
- Proven time management, planning and organisational skills.
- Sound analytical skills to understand the challenges and opportunities of all processes and practices.