Research Assistant & Patent Coordinator

Job description / Role

We are looking for a Research Assistant & Patent Coordinator to join our IP team. This individual will play a key role in assisting the Head of Patents & Designs.

Financial Support:

- Undertaking under the supervision of the head of the patents & designs practice and in collaboration with the financial department where required all the financials of the patent practice including:
- Designing, maintaining and managing internal data bases for client related financial data including Money on Account DB, Quotations DB, Request for Cash on Account DB, etc
- Following up, Preparing and sending quotations & requests for Cash on Account to clients and docketing these for consideration during the billing process
- Managing the billing activities including preparing and sending monthly invoices to clients taking into account money on account received, quotations provided and other billing arrangements, etc.
- Reviewing client work history and analyzing financial data related to clients accounts for assessing any increase/decrease in work volume which may be related to client satisfaction
- Overseeing the credit and collection activities for the patent practice in collaboration with the financial department

Client Support:
- Assisting the head of the patents & designs practice with client support and customer care activities including:
- Seeking feedback from existing clients on work satisfaction
- Organizing and assisting to phone calls with the responsible attorney for entertaining clients on a regular basis and for seeking feedback on work satisfaction
- Analyzing work trend for existing clients (based on revenues) and recommending client entertainment activities where needed (e.g. client visits, etc)
- Responding to client queries regarding invoices and other financial aspects of their accounts
- Communicating new clients info to the marketing department for adding to the list of Law Update

Business Development Support:
- Assisting the head of the patents & designs practice and in collaboration with the marketing department where required with BD activities including:
- Building and entertaining a quotation database for the registration of patents in the Arab countries and preparing quotations for clients;
- Monitoring local newspapers and preparing a daily report of technology/patent related articles of interest to the patent practice;
- Identifying potential clients for the patent group including by:
- researching volume patent filers in the public patent databases/official gazettes (UAE, GCC, KSA);
- researching technology players in the market with R&D activities using different mediums including social networks, newspapers, online search engines, etc
- liaising with marketing for a list of clients in specific areas of practice when required by the head of practice;
- Identifying conferences relevant to the patent practice in the region, liaising with the conference committees and seeking speaking opportunities where desirable.
- Coordinating between the patent group and the marketing department for any marketing aspect and building relationships with them.

Requirements

- Degree in Marketing, Finance, Engineering
- Minimum 3 years experience in a similar role
- Applying best practice standards in business administration, marketing and finance for the execution of tasks
- Bilingual (preferable)
- Developing strong general knowledge in patents, trade marks and other IP areas
- Applying strong interpersonal skills for building and maintain strong relationships with patent and IP team members, clients and other departments;
- Applying strong written and verbal communication skills both in Arabic and English for reflecting high level of professionalism;
- Being reliable, accurate, precise, result oriented and detail oriented;
- Being business oriented, entrepreneurial, independent, creative and dynamic;

About the Company

Al Tamimi & Company is the largest and most dynamic non-affiliated law firm in the Middle East with 16 offices across 9 countries and comprising 330 lawyers.

Over the years we have advised, and continue to support, government, government-owned entities, local, regional and international companies, banks and financial institutions along with both international and regional law firms.

Our core strength is our people and the diversity of their experience and local knowledge. Our reputation for excellence and regional experience extends beyond our network of offices in UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah), Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, Oman and Egypt. As a firm, our ability to practice local law in each of these jurisdictions - and the ability of each of our licensed litigators to have rights of audience before local courts - is a unique strength that truly sets us apart from our competitors.