French Team IP Administrator / IP Paralegal in Newport, Wales

Please note that this role requires professional fluency in both French (C2) and English (minimum B2).

Withers & Rogers is one of Europe's largest dedicated intellectual property law firms, with over 200 staff located across the UK, Germany and France. Established more than 140 years ago, we remain as passionate as ever about making intellectual property work to our clients' best advantage. Today, our clients include many renowned, innovative organisations from across Europe, North America, and Asia.

We believe that our patent and trade mark attorneys, support, and operations staff have a breadth of expertise and a depth of specialist sector knowledge that is second to none. Our purpose is building trusting relationships, and our vision is to be an independent, responsible, sustainably profitable, and globally focused firm.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an IP Administrator/IP Paralegal to join our growing team in France. The successful candidate will be required to work closely with our teams in France, the UK and Germany to provide a high-quality service to clients both in France and worldwide.

The contractual base for this role will be in one of our Paris, London, Munich, Bristol, Sheffield, or Birmingham offices. Withers & Rogers operates a flexible hybrid working policy, giving flexibility on office attendance while meeting the needs of the firm and its clients. Since this position is with our French team, occasional travel to Paris will be required according to the needs of the team and our clients.

In this role, your responsibilities will include:

• Full secretarial support, including all typing of documents, including letters, emails, and patent specifications.
• Managing own and team inboxes, processing emails and post (both hard copy and electronic).
• Accurate and daily maintenance of computerised case management system, including following workflows, generating correspondence from templates, and liaising with our internal Records and Accounts departments, as well as sister company Withers & Rogers Renewals.
• Preparation of official forms for French, European and other countries patent applications, and design applications where necessary, including use of online filing portals, ensuring the payment of official fees and reporting accurately to clients.
• Organising and prioritising own workload and keeping a level-headed approach in a busy working environment.
• Accurately following Withers & Rogers processes and procedures, and client-specific processes and procedures where applicable.
• Producing/maintaining documentation to capture processes developed for key clients.
• Accurate preparation and processing of invoices, using e-billing systems where necessary.

To join us as an IP Administrator / IP Paralegal, you'll need:

• Demonstrable IP Administrator / IP Paralegal experience.
• A passion for working in a dynamic international professional services firm and delivering excellent service to our clients.
• Professional fluency in French and English (C2 level in French and B2 level as a minimum in English).
• Excellent communication skills and an ability to interact confidently with all levels of internal and external contacts in both English and French.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to balance and prioritise workload and to be proactive in helping other members of the team. Ability to manage an attorney's emails, judge urgency, and action or escalate as required.
• Good Microsoft package skills, particularly Outlook, Word and Excel (essential), ideally with experience of case management systems and following/generating standard procedures and templates for repeat tasks.
• The desire to learn and a willingness to become involved in the wider firm and to develop improvements to our internal processes.
• Ability to work individually and within a team.

We offer a competitive salary, flexible working options, a positive and welcoming work environment, plus a range of additional benefits. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, so early applications are encouraged. We foster a supportive and inclusive culture where employees are encouraged to broaden their knowledge, challenge themselves and contribute their ideas. If you think you have the skills to succeed in this role in a dynamic and growing team, we would love to hear from you.