Develop your career at Wilson Gunn

We are now looking for a Formalities Assistant to join us and support the IP formalities and renewals functions in our business.

Are you a highly-organised administrator with an exceptional eye for detail? Want to enhance your legal knowledge and embark on a rewarding career with a well-established firm? If so, read on.

The Rewards

• Competitive salary DOE
• Christmas bonus
• Auto enrolment pension scheme (after three months)
• 25 days’ holiday, increasing to 30 with service
• Holiday buy/sell scheme (after 12 months)
• Flexible working
• Full support and training
• Ride2work scheme (after probation period)

This is an incredible opportunity to enhance your existing skill-set with a successful firm that has a strong focus on learning and development.

You’ll have the chance to become part of a passionate team who champion continuous improvement and are committed to searching for better, faster and simpler ways of doing things.

So, if you are looking to challenge yourself, increase your specialist knowledge and fulfil your potential with an innovative organisation, we want to hear from you.

The Role

As a Formalities Assistant, you’ll support our intellectual property formalities and renewals processes.

In this varied role, you will:

• Process new IP patent, trade mark and design filings and provide updates to clients
• Maintain case and client databases
• Prepare costings and forecasts
• Generate invoices and pay official fees
• Process and distribute incoming correspondence
• Perform para-professional work

About You

To join us as a Formalities Assistant, you’ll need:

• Previous experience in an administration role, including data input experience
• Good numeracy skills
• Excellent written communication skills
• An outstanding eye for detail and the ability to work well under pressure
• Strong organisational skills

Previous legal or IP knowledge/experience would be beneficial, as would a good level of IT literacy and knowledge of MS Office.

We’d like to hear from you if you’ve worked as, or would like to become, a Legal Administrator, Patent Administrator, Administrator, Patent Formalities Assistant, Patent Assistant, Administrator, Case Handler, Claims Handler, Office Administrator, or Patent Records Assistant.

We are looking for a new graduate paralegal to join us and support our patent and trade mark formalities and renewals functions.

We are interested in candidates with a 2:1 degree or above in any discipline who are highly organised, confident working with numbers and data, and interested in helping to improve our ways of working.

In this varied role, you will:

• Work with our renewals team to create reports and forecasts
• Communicate directly with clients and associates
• Working with attorneys to implement online IP filings and reporting to clients
• Maintain case and client databases
• Streamline and develop formalities and filing processes
• Assist with the implementation of new IT systems
• Perform para-professional work – e.g. preparing assignments, powers of attorney etc. with responsibility increasing over time

The candidate we are looking for will also have:

• A willingness to learn
• An outstanding eye for detail and the ability to work well under pressure
• Good Excel skills
• Excellent written communication skills
• Good people skills and the ability to work as part of a team
• A proactive outlook and the ability to find solutions to problems

In return, we are offering:

• A competitive salary (plus bonus and pension)
• 25 days holiday plus statutory holidays. Additional holidays are accrued with service.
• Flexible working
• Full support and training
• Ride2work scheme

We are looking for a qualified or part qualified (finals standard) Patent Attorney (EPA and/or CPA) with a background in Physics or Engineering.

Wilson Gunn is a leading firm of patent and trade mark attorneys. We enjoy a high proportion of direct client work and represent an enviable selection of patent clients across a range of sectors, including automotive, food and drink, medical equipment and consumer goods.

You will be responsible for an exciting portfolio of work. Whilst the work is principally mechanical engineering, we have work in a wide range of fields including electrical, electronic, medical, and computer and artificial intelligence related inventions and if you are able to support any of these areas, we would like to hear from you too.

We are happy to consider newly or nearly qualified attorneys, as well as those with more experience, for this role. Previous experience working in an in-house role would be desirable, but is not essential.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone looking to handle a varied and interesting caseload and work directly with clients, and who is looking for great career progression.

We have comparatively low billing targets and offer our attorneys a high degree of autonomy, yet the size of the firm and the atmosphere means that there is ready access to partners and individuals have an ability to influence the business as we continue to grow.

We work flexibly. The role would be associated with either our Manchester or Birmingham office, but it would be open to work remotely as well as from either office, or our office in Liverpool.

We offer a competitive salary package including pension contributions, bonus scheme and holiday buy/sell. Additional holidays are accrued with service.

We are looking for a qualified or part qualified (finals standard) trade mark attorney to join our established trade mark team.

Wilson Gunn has a thriving trade mark practice. Ranked in Tier 2 in The Legal 500, we enjoy a high proportion of direct client work and represent an enviable selection of household names across a range of sectors, including sports, retail, fashion and food and drink.

You will be responsible for an exciting portfolio of work, providing commercially focused advice and excellent client care. You will be expected to advise clients on a full range of trade mark issues, including clearance searching, trade mark filings, assignments, licensing, portfolio management, oppositions, infringement and other contentious matters. Although not essential, experience with design matters would be beneficial. You will also be expected to help with business development and foster the continued growth of our practice.

We offer our attorneys a high degree of autonomy, yet the size of the firm and the atmosphere means that there is ready access to partners, and individuals have an ability to influence the business as we continue to grow. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone looking to handle a varied and interesting caseload and work directly with clients, and who is looking for great career progression.

We are happy to consider newly or nearly qualified attorneys, as well as those with more experience, for this exciting role.

We work flexibly. The role would be associated with either our Manchester or Birmingham office, but it would be open to work remotely as well as from either office, or our office in Liverpool. We offer a competitive salary package including pension contributions, bonus scheme and holiday buy/sell. Additional holidays are accrued with service.

We are seeking graduate or post-graduate trainees for our Manchester office to work towards the qualifications of Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney.

In addition to patents, you will also have the opportunity to become involved in other aspects of intellectual property, such as trade marks, designs and copyright.

Patent attorneys require a scientific/engineering background to be able to understand and protect ideas and inventions across a wide range of industries, and so candidates for this role must have a scientific academic background.

We are interested in candidates with at least a 2:1 honours degree in Physics, Engineering or a related discipline, who are based in or keen to relocate permanently to Manchester.

The candidate we are looking for will also:

• Have excellent communication skills, particularly in writing
• Be highly organised and have very good attention to detail
• Have strong analytical skills and the confidence to defend the reasoning behind their opinion
• Be motivated and ready to put in the effort required to obtain the challenging professional qualifications – which usually takes around 5 years
• Be based in or around Manchester

In return, we are offering:

• A fascinating and rewarding career
• A competitive salary (plus bonus and pension)
• 25 days holiday plus statutory holidays. Additional holidays are accrued with service
• Flexible working
• Full training, involving day to day mentoring and structured in-house training (delivered both in person and via video conferencing) supplemented by external courses and tutorials
• Examination support and study leave

The expected start date for this role is September/October 2022 so is open to students who may be graduating this year.