Patent Legal Secretary

Legal Secretary - Patent Secretary

Seeking a Patent Secretary to work within our London Law firm, to provide a high level of secretarial support within the IT and Engineering team. The Patent Secretary will be someone who is looking for an interesting variety of work, is helpful, willing to learn and take on responsibility and also enjoys working both as part of a team and autonomously.

Duties and Responsibilities of the Patent Secretary
Secretarial/ PA/Post
- monitoring incoming post and emails
- making meeting arrangements
- dealing with internal questions and telephone calls and taking accurate messages
- filing, emailing, faxing and photocopying
- ad-hoc general management of the office

Secretarial drafting/correspondence
- drafting standard letter, faxes and email (i.e. reporting official patent office letters to new clients; responding to official patent office letters; preparation of new patent applications, and preparation of forms; preparation of other forms and legal documents (all on the basis of minimal instruction and /or with precedent letters);
- Preparation of forms and legal documents e.g. Extension of Time Requests 

Billing
- Entering disbursements and time in for billing purposes
- Preparation of billing paperwork including drafting billing narratives and producing charge sheets
- Preparation of invoices, time returns and client queries

Requirements of the Patent Secretary

- Advanced knowledge of Word (track changes), excel, Outlook and Internet Explorer (searching, making/amending reservations etc). Training will be given for other systems
- A can do attitude, willingness to learn and expand knowledge and skills within the role, approachability, flexibility as to hours and the role itself, a practical/common sense approach
-ability to build and maintain constructive relationships with individuals at different levels of seniority
- proven ability to work effectively as a team player
- Ability to stay calm in often demanding situations and work well under pressure
- Good eye for detail
- Able to use initiative and prioritise work
-accurate typing at a good speed with emphasis on accuracy