Paralegals work closely with their designated fee earner(s), providing essential administrative and secretarial support to help maximise productivity. They also carry out specific aspects of patent work independently, requiring a solid understanding of relevant patent and design application procedures. Paralegals are expected to maintain a thorough understanding of EIP, its operations, and key personnel. This knowledge enables them to manage tasks efficiently and represent their fee earner(s) effectively - including during periods of absence. Responsibilities: All responsibilities are deemed to be equally as important. However, the weighting in terms of the amount of time spent completing each task is shown in brackets. These are provided for guidance only and should not be applied too rigidly. Paralegal Duties Prepare documents ready for online filing of UK, EPO and PCT Forms, plus CTM applications via EUIPO and Madrid Protocol applications (where applicable) Update prior art files, and prepare IDS and Section 8 (where applicable) Demonstrate fast accurate typing skills, and excellent spelling, grammar and punctuation Prepare correspondence and legal documentation accurately and with minimal supervision Understand EIP documents, and ensure documents are named and stored in the correct places Understand records procedures, and forward correspondence to the records team in a timely fashion Check Diary Lists on a regular basis Act on own initiative, highlighting issues and suggesting possible solutions Take ownership of enquiries, resolving or escalating as appropriate Organise and prioritise own workload Build rapport, getting to know EIP’s clients, and building professional relationships with key contacts Keep a level-headed approach in a busy working environment Actively source and share knowledge with others Build a network of strong working relationships both internally and externally Demonstrate a client-oriented approach (both for internal and external clients) Provide general support to other fee earners, and to colleagues (as and when required) Attend to any reasonable client-specific requests Billing Add service and official fees to WIP, prepare invoices and other responsible paralegal (RPA) duties Standard Reporting Prepare standard reporting emails/letters to clients, including filing reports, publication, acceptance and grant Prepare foreign filing instructions and examination requests Portfolio Take-ons Follow internal take-on procedures PA Duties Demonstrate good diary management (i.e. arranging meetings, conference calls, etc.) Maintain a professional telephone manner, fielding calls where appropriate, and taking accurate and detailed telephone messages Deal with incoming emails, post and faxes and, where authorised to do so, correspond on behalf of fee earners Carry out background research and present findings, in response to requests from clients and/or fee earners Raise travel request forms for fee earners, for submission to the Travel Request Team (as and when required) Ensure fee earners are well prepared for meetings Liaise with clients, suppliers, and other employees across EIP Take the initiative to ensure that work is completed when fee earners are absent Provide general support to colleagues (as and when required) Carry out ‘buddy’ duties (as and when required)