We had the privilege of receiving a Highly Commended Award at the Memcom Excellence Awards 2023, the annual awards event for the membership sector, in recognition of the exceptional growth of our Paralegal membership grade and engagement with our members.
The award marked a significant milestone in our journey towards further professionalising the role and providing improved career pathways for our Paralegal members.
The awards acknowledge excellence and innovation in the membership sector. We were delighted to be commended for our unwavering commitment to our paralegal members.
We were particularly proud and thrilled so see our Chief Executive, Lee Davies, win the CEO Leadership Award at the same event. Lee has not only provided CIPA with inspirational leadership and flawless judgement over the past 12 years, but has also given his time, experience and knowledge to support and mentor fellow CEOs and to share his thoughts on the future of the membership sector via MemCom’s CEO Forum.
Lee has successfully led CIPA through a minefield of political issues. He oversaw our campaign for visa-free access for members to the European Patent Office (EPO) and led the profession’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and resulting sanctions regime.
Most significantly, he has protected CIPA’s members from potential unintended problems posed by international trade deals. In order to protect the UK’s membership of the EPO and safeguard CIPA’s members, Lee led a successful campaign to urge the UK Government and our international CPTPP allies to ensure that IP provisions of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) were aligned with existing international IP obligations – specifically UK membership of the EPO.
The MemCom Excellence Awards 2023 was a night of celebration and optimism. Winning these awards inspired us to continue our pursuit of innovation and excellence in serving our membership.
Several of our IP Paralegal members were nominated for awards at the National Paralegal Awards 2023. Now in its fifth year, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and the Professional Paralegal Register’s annual awards focusses on the work and achievements of paralegals, whether they are employed, self-employed, a volunteer or a business, as well as companies that support the profession.
At the awards ceremony in September, we had the privilege of seeing many of our nominees win in their respective categories. Rachel Collier of Mewburn Ellis won Community Champion of the Year and Sarah Devereux of EIP Europe LLP was recognised as the Best Intellectual Property Paralegal. Debbie Williams of Mewburn Ellis secured Highly Commended in the Best Intellectual Property Paralegal category.
Other finalists included Kim Harding and Lauren Coffey for Best Intellectual Property Paralegal, and Veronica Sequeira and Grace Poole for Best Newcomer/Young Practitioner of the Year. We were pleased to see our paralegal members acknowledged for their hard work and achievements.