Joy Turnbull

I joined Swindell & Pearson as an IP administrator in 2022, having worked in administration in various educational settings for over 20 years. I was looking for a change from education, and when the opportunity came up at S&P, the requirements for the role aligned extremely well with my existing experience and the type of work I most enjoy. From the day of my interview, I knew that I had made a good decision applying to S&P. The interview itself felt like a relaxed conversation, and straight away I had the impression that this would be a supportive environment where I would be able put my skills to good use and quickly become part of a friendly team.

My first year at S&P involved a steep learning curve; having had no previous knowledge of intellectual property, there was certainly a lot to learn!  All along the way I was supported and encouraged by my manager and the IP support team, and I never felt any pressure to take on more than I could handle. I found that I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of tasks and the challenge of the role, and quickly progressed to taking on some of the more complex formalities tasks.

In 2025 I became the IP manager which sees me lead Swindell & Pearson’s excellent IP support team. We have a wide variety of tasks and responsibilities, from maintaining our clients’ case records on our case management software, keeping clients informed on the prosecution of their patent, trade mark and design applications, through to maintaining registered rights by monitoring and processing renewals.   Although the work can be quite high pressure at times, we work collaboratively and encourage questions and discussions within the team and with our colleagues in S&P to develop good working practices, ensure we are all supported, and can share the workload.

We have implemented very robust internal systems and procedures which ensure that our clients’ IP rights are in safe hands. The team takes great pride in offering a friendly, high level of service to everyone we get the opportunity to work with.  The members of my team get to work closely with everyone within Swindell & Pearson, while also enjoying regular interaction directly with our clients and foreign associates. We all have a keen eye for detail, with good organisation and time management skills.  The training we provide can help maximise the potential of these skills, and this is demonstrated by the progression achieved by previous members of the IP support team who have gone on to become fully qualified trade mark attorneys for Swindell & Pearson.

From my own personal experience of working at Swindell & Pearson, as well as witnessing the progress of many other employees of the firm, it is clear to see that working hard and producing high quality work is rewarded by the opportunity for career progression.