As part of our 'meet the team' series, we talk to paralegal manager Philippa Schofield about learning German, improving client service and her love of performing ballet.
Philippa studied social sciences and religion at Manchester University before embarking on her career, joining Mewburn Ellis in 2011 as a junior secretary working in the engineering team in the firm’s Manchester office. “Starting out, I didn’t know anything about patents, designs or trade marks,” she explains. “It was a steep learning curve to say the least, but on the job training, consolidated by the CIPA IPAC course which I completed in 2017 gave me more confidence in my patent and design knowledge.”
Philippa’s career has evolved in recent years and five years ago she became a paralegal before being promoted to a paralegal manager, overseeing a team of 19 paralegals based in the firm’s Manchester, Cambridge and Munich offices.
“When Mewburn Ellis introduced the new paralegal role I knew I wanted to apply for it and was delighted to get the job,” says Philippa. “The new role gave me the responsibility for managing client portfolios and also developed my knowledge of patents further.”
“The administrative team I led primarily worked with Japanese multi-national clients, all of whom had different requirements and expected work to be of an extremely high standard. Through our success with this work, I became involved with looking at how we could work to improve our processes to benefit all our clients.”
Reflecting on her career to date, an important moment for Philippa was when her organisational abilities and attention to detail were acknowledged as being a real strength by one of her clients. “A Japanese client recognised both me and the team I work with as the top non-Japanese firm in the world for service and administration –it was really positive feedback and made me feel very appreciated.”
Language skills
In her role as paralegal manager, Philippa gets the opportunity to travel to Cambridge and Munich to meet with her colleagues and she has recently started classes to improve her German.
“I have always been interested in languages and had previously considered finding a career which would have allowed me to use my French and German skills,” says Philippa. “I’m excited to be studying German again and I’m already seeing the benefits in terms of communicating better with my colleagues in Munich. I have had to opt out of the weekly competitions with my family on Duolingo, however, as I now have too much of an unfair advantage!”
The most challenging part of her role is managing a team full of different personalities with different aspirations. “My priority is to get the best out of everyone whilst at the same time maintaining the highest possible standards,” says Philippa. “I also want to support individuals with their own career progression, so it can be a delicate combination to balance at times.”
Describing herself as “honest, level-headed and reliable”, Philippa explains that, for her, the most enjoyable element of her role is finding ways to improve the client experience whilst also looking at how to improve the firm’s processes for the paralegals, administrators and attorneys, to make their lives easier.
Mind and body
A keen reader, Philippa fondly remembers her childhood trips to the library each weekend with her family. Another childhood love was ballet, a hobby she has taken up again in recent years. “Dancing really relaxes my mind and body, and as well as being great exercise, I’ve made some really good friends through ballet lessons. Some of the shows we’ve taken part in have been good fun and a real challenge.”
Philippa is also extremely close to her family and values the time she spends with them. “We often plan day trips or holidays together,” she explains. “Most recently, we treated my mum to a meet and greet with some friendly alpacas. I would have loved to take one home with me, but I’m not sure my rescue cats would have appreciated it, never mind what my husband would have said!”
