As part of our 'meet the team' series, we talk to trade mark paralegal Natascha Newbold about her desire to protect clients’ trade marks and her love of crime dramas.
Natascha started working at Mewburn Ellis in October 2021 as a secretary but was seconded to a job as a paralegal within three months of joining.
“As a secretary I was picking up some things I wasn’t expected to, so I was asked if I would consider becoming a paralegal,” says Natascha. “I accepted and went on secondment. I was made a full-time paralegal in March of 2023.”
Natascha works in the trade marks team who she has found to be “friendly and helpful” and make her feel “very supported in day-to-day work”. She is passionate about helping to protecting her clients’ interests. “I really enjoy my role as I feel like I am helping to look after my clients’ businesses. Whether dealing with a large or a small company, their trade mark portfolio is crucial,” she explains.
Contentious cases
Natascha works for a broad range of clients in sectors ranging from tech to beauty.
“I’m really lucky as I deal with so many interesting clients. I enjoy it when they approach us with a problem that we can help them with. One of the best things about my job is that no two days are ever the same.”
Much of Natascha’s work involves protecting trade marks. “I deal with contentious matters such as oppositions,” she explains. “Oppositions are the legal procedure that allows you to try to stop a published trade mark going on to become registered if they pose a risk of infringing on our client’s trade mark. It’s interesting work and I enjoy the contentious nature of it. I feel like it is the work with the most substance and the best way I can get my teeth into something. I enjoy monitoring the deadlines and ensuring that we meet them.”
The trade mark team also look after challenges to web domains.
“There are quite a lot of domain files that I have a hand in currently, where somebody is attempting to infringe our client’s registered rights via use of a website. I enjoy reading through the correspondence, and seeing how the cases play out, whether it be a website take down or transferral of a domain.”
Challenging work
Natascha says she has grown into her role since she started three years ago.
“It’s a great job as something new is happening all the time. That is also probably the most challenging aspect of the job, as when something comes in that I haven’t dealt with before I need to try and assess the best way of doing things for the client. Liaising with attorneys and other paralegals is an important part of that.”
Natascha’s portfolio of work has expanded in her short time at the firm and she has been given more responsibility with some of her clients.
“I am still quite new, and I constantly have in my mind that I always have something more to learn, which is why I enjoy working with different attorneys across Mewburn Ellis. I am open to any advice others may want to give me or to constructive criticism, as this will help me to develop my knowledge.”
Natascha received her CITMA Paralegal qualification last year and looks forward to further opportunities to develop her knowledge.
Starting out
Natascha studied law at Hertfordshire University and graduated with a first-class degree whilst also working as a waitress.
“I was really proud of achieving a first and dreamt of being a criminal lawyer,” Natascha says. “However, when I graduated, I really needed to get a job and applied for anything that was going. I had a few opportunities, including a role in family law and another in IP. I’d never really heard of IP before but after doing a bit of research I thought it would be a better fit for me.”
Natascha worked as a formalities paralegal at an IP firm looking after clients’ patents and trade marks which was great grounding for her future career.
“It was an interesting job that I also enjoyed, but just before the pandemic I felt I needed to do something different, so I helped my dad out in his hospitality business. When Covid struck, the hospitality industry suffered and we had to close for a while. Instead of doing nothing, I worked nights at Iceland packing online shopping and then eventually found a job working in equity release before taking the job as a secretary at Mewburn Ellis.”
Crime and decorating
In her spare time Natascha likes nothing more than spending time with family and watching a good crime drama.
“I think my love of crime dramas stems from my previous desire to be a criminal lawyer. Of course, I understand the reality of being a criminal lawyer would have been very different to what’s on telly but I really enjoy shows like Line of Duty and Luther and am always hoping for one more season to air.”
Natascha and her husband bought their first home in 2022 and spend their spare time renovating and decorating.
“We didn’t realise quite how much work needed to be done on the place when we bought it, but we have embraced the challenge and have done a lot of the work ourselves. It’s hard but satisfying now that we are starting to see it come together.”
