Patent Assistant/Legal Secretary Role

Summary about this job

Detail information about job Patent Assistant/Legal Secretary Role. Terms and conditions vacancy

• Working with interesting, entrepreneurial, national & international clients
• An opportunity to be part of a great team environment
• Be part of a boutique independent patent & legal firm

This is a great opportunity to use your skills working in a Patent and Legal Practice with interesting national and international clients. mdp is a boutique global specialist in Intellectual Property and Commercial Law. mdp has operated for more than 25 years, and the firm prides itself on being independent.

We are looking for a patent assistant who has had a minimum of three years’ experience in a similar role. Additional experience as a legal secretary would be an advantage but not vital in this role. You will have strong communication skills, an eye for detail, be highly organised, and have a great ability to prioritise. You are an intermediate to advanced user of Foundation IP (or similar IP policing software), MS Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel. You have a minimum typing speed of 65wpm with a high level of accuracy. In addition, you will have good judgement and problem-solving abilities which you have used whilst supporting senior fee earners.

The Firm

mdp is a highly regarded and well known patent, IP and commercial law firm based in the Melbourne CBD, with a second recently-opened office in the Sydney CBD. At mdp you will be a valued member of the team working in a collegiate environment. mdp is very active internationally with memberships such as INTA, IR Global, IPSANZ, APAAI, and ITECHLaw, and we are highly regarded in Australia and internationally by our clients and referrers. As a tech law specialist, mdp is proud to have been paperless for several years, meaning that physical filing does is not part of this role.

The Role

The Patent Assistant / Legal Secretary role on offer will see you supporting the Patent Attorney Director and one of the Commercial Law Directors. This role is located in the heart of the Melbourne CBD, and will give you a great variety of interesting work, including various administrative tasks such as:

• Scheduling and managing completion deadlines;
• Completing the procedures and formal requirements for filing patent, trademark and design applications;
• Producing FPA compliant documents;
• Corresponding with IP Australia & IPONZ;
• Arranging & coordinating board meetings, preparation of notes and materials in readiness for board meetings;
• Diary management, assisting with client emails, queries and appointment requests;
• Opening & closing files electronically;
• Word processing, dictation and administration;
• Client billing, WIP and Client Matter reporting;
• Accounts receivable to ensure debtor days are within agreed timeframes;
• Petty cash management;
• Processing expense claims; and
• Other tasks as required.

Core skills

We are interested in hearing from you if you have:

• minimum 3 years’ experience as a patent assistant or in a similar role;
• minimum typing speed of 65wpm;
• a working knowledge of the patent system:
• experience using Microsoft Office (intermediate level);
• experience using Foundation IP or similar IP management software (intermediate level);
• strong file and time management skills;
• excellent communication skills; and
• a strong work ethic.

What to expect from us

• become part of a highly regarded, dynamic and friendly team;
• exciting and interesting work; and
• salary commensurate with your experience.

Timeframe

If you are keen to take the next step in your career and accelerate your development please submit your application via Seek to Ms Dianne McDonald, Practice Manager by COB 31 July 2018 and addressed