Patent Attorney

Dr Kate Appleby narrates her amazing journey from potential science teacher to academic researcher to inventor to patent attorney. She also explains how she juggled the qualification process around motherhood, and why she loves a job that makes it “impossible to get bored”.

Patent attorney George Lucas explains what he loves about his work, how it’s changing as he becomes more senior, and how its variety and intensity sit alongside the Asperger’s syndrome he was diagnosed with as a child.

“The world of IP is full of great, interesting people, and it’s an amazing environment for building an engaging and rewarding career.” Find out why Emily, now a partner in an IP firm, loves her work as a patent attorney, even though she’d never heard of the role before using her university’s careers service.

Liam loves the variety of work he handles as a patent attorney and the access it gives him to cutting edge science, as well as the opportunity to work in Yorkshire, which he regards as his “spiritual home”. A proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, he’s involved in many of the profession’s diversity-related initiatives.

Josh started his UK and European patent attorney training in a London firm. He now has his dream job in Norway. It’s alright for some…!

“I have a dream job that blends technology, the law and commerce!” – Anita is a dual-qualified patent attorney in the UK and Europe and shares with us three key junctions in her career that helped her to get to where she is today.

“I can’t imagine myself doing anything else from 9 to 5. No two days are the same and you get to work with creative clients and amazing colleagues day in and day out.” Find out why Abdul’s career as a dual-qualified patent and trade mark attorney inspires him so much.

Gwilym is a patent attorney and partner at Kilburn & Strode. He tells us what inspired him to pursue this career following an undergraduate degree in physics, his experience as a partner (and more recently Chair) at the firm, and everything he loves about his job.

“I wanted a career that ran as a thread through my life, rather than something I did separately or that solely defined me – the patent profession has been perfect for that.” – Caelia explains why she loves her job as a patent attorney so much.

SJ used their language and engineering skills first as a patent translator, then changed careers to become a patent attorney. Hear what they learnt along the way.

Heather is a patent attorney and partner in the IT & Engineering team at Gill Jennings & Every. At university she started looking for a career that bridged the gap between scientists and non-scientists, and the rest is history…

Claire is training to be a patent attorney. She tells us what attracted her to the patent profession following her PhD, how she got her first job here, and what she’d advise other people who want to follow a similar path.

David is a patent attorney who’s now based in rural Somerset, where he’s a partner in a patent and trade mark firm. He describes his journey into the career, his experience working in Switzerland, and his move back to the UK.

Suzanne spent several years as an engineer before switching to training as a patent attorney. Since then she has worked for both private practice firms and in-house teams, before establishing the Scintilla IP Manchester office, which she now runs.

Debra is a patent attorney at IK-IP Ltd. She tells us what attracted her to this career and how it has worked for her since she became “disabled” 10 years after qualifying.

“I soon realised that not only did I like the people I met… but also that the job would sustain my academic interest in how things worked, not be focused on limited areas of technology, maintain my industry focus, value my English language ability, and still also allow me to have a structured career path”. – Saiful Khan, a patent attorney and partner at Potter Clarkson, tells us what inspired him to pursue this career following a degree in engineering, and his favourite aspects of the job.

Susi is a patent attorney and partner. She tells us about what inspired her to pursue this career following a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, her work in private practice and becoming a partner at her firm, and the learning curves along the way.

“I have always preferred maths and science to languages, arts and humanities. But after taking physics, chemistry, maths and further maths, I felt I didn’t want to do a straight science or maths degree, and so engineering seemed the obvious choice. I was also completely fascinated by aeroplanes (still am!) so aeronautical engineering called my name!” From there, Emily went on to a successful career in patents: read her story here.

Not many people are dual-qualified as both patent and trade mark attorneys, but Anna is one of them. She tells us what inspired her to pursue a career as a patent attorney following a degree in Mechanical Engineering at university, and then to qualify as a trade mark attorney as well.

“I found out about the patent profession by chance at university. Whilst I enjoyed my biochemistry course, I was inept at the practical side, and preferred the theoretical and problem-solving aspects. I wanted a career where I could use my knowledge and scientific skills, but not work in a laboratory…” Chris Burnett tells us how he got into the patent profession, and why he’s never looked back.