I am a Partner in the Intellectual Property team in London and the global Head of Life Sciences at Pinsent Masons. I qualified at a niche firm, Roiter Zucker, and joined PM in 2010 as part of the team which set up the life sciences patent litigation practice. Outside of work, I am mum to a 12- and 9-year-old. My husband took over the role of primary carer when I returned to work after my first family leave and I spend most of my free time being in a taxi to/from football and performing arts clubs but really enjoy walks in the Kent countryside or by the sea if I can.

I attended a state girls’ grammar school and didn’t have law in mind as a career at all. I loved biology and chemistry and planned to be a vet but didn’t cope well with operations during work experience! I applied for a degree in animal science but wasn’t 100% sure. As youngest in the school year I think I followed what others who enjoyed the same subjects were doing. Ultimately, I didn’t accept the place and instead did a college course in secretarial and business skills (touch typing is something I’ll never regret learning). My first full time job was in the legal team at a local authority and I was fascinated by the legal issues they had to deal with. Still keen to learn and having gained some life experience I thought I might just want to go to university after all and chose law at the University of Kent. 22 years ago I applied for and was offered a job as a PA at my first law firm, Roiter Zucker, while I self-funded my part-time LPC. After 2 years (during which I did paralegal work at RZ too), happily, instead of me having to leave, RZ took me on as a trainee. My first litigation was on patents for an asthma medicine. I worked with clinicians who treated patients, with them explaining to us and to the court how the medicines work to treat asthma. With the science angle I was then hooked and knew I wanted to qualify into IP, particularly patent litigation. It was the perfect combination of law and science for me.

I was the first generation of my family to go to university and in the workplace have often felt I needed to work harder to show that I am as good as lawyers who went to better schools and universities or got better grades (classic imposter syndrome). Hard work and finding my own way on a scenic route to being a lawyer hasn’t done me any harm though (I am ranked an IP Star and have been one of the Top 250 Women in IP). I am grateful that my first firm gave me a chance and showed they believed in me which gave me the encouragement to believe in myself. My school didn’t really do that. Since then I’ve been passionate about encouraging our ambitious younger talent along their career paths and being a good role model, hopefully inspiring people who relate to my social mobility story.

Patent Litigator / Partner / Pinsent Masons

Last Updated: October 30, 2024