Why and how did you become partner at EIP?

After finishing my physics degree, I went on to complete a PhD in particle physics. I then began my career as a postdoctoral researcher in particle physics, working in a collaboration of more than 3,000 people.

I enjoyed the science but found the politics of working in such a large collaboration frustrating, and I wanted to move away from coding (which was a major part of my job in research) so I started looking at alternatives that would allow me to use my science background but also give me more personal satisfaction.

I have always enjoyed learning about new things and constructing arguments, so IP seemed like a good fit. EIP offered me a job as a trainee patent attorney, which allowed me to train while I worked.

While at EIP, I took the certificate in IP law at Queen Mary University of London and the UK and European patent exams, and qualified as a UK and European patent attorney.

After qualifying, I continued at EIP, steadily gaining more experience and responsibility until I was made partner.

Outline a typical day in your role.

My role is quite varied. At the moment, I spend two days a week on secondment at a multinational telecoms company so what I’m working on depends on whether it’s a secondment day or not.

On my non-secondment days, I typically work on the drafting and prosecution of patent applications for my own clients as well as supervising one of our trainees. I also provide strategic advice to clients and work on contentious matters.

On my secondment days, my focus is on drafting patent applications and I tend to work on a number of different applications related to different concepts at the same time. It helps to take a step away from a particular case and then go back to it afresh on a different day, as I’ll often have a new insight when I look at a case a second time.

What’s the best part about your job?

The variety—I love the challenge of getting to grips with complex technology in different technical areas. I’m never bored.

I particularly enjoy working with inventors to discover more about their work. My job gives me a sneak peek into the future of technology, which is very exciting.

Another aspect I like about my job is the satisfaction of achieving a good outcome for my clients. It is especially satisfying to persuade a previously sceptical examiner that a concept truly is new and inventive, particularly if a granted patent for the concept would be of commercial significance to my client.

Now that I have responsibility for supervising a trainee myself, I find it very rewarding to see them learning and improving.

What’s the most difficult part of your job?

It can be frustrating if an examiner refuses to grant a patent in situations in which I feel that the examiner is misinterpreting the law or the prior art. I don’t like feeling like my client has suffered because of a difficult examiner. This is made harder because the costs associated with challenging an examiner in these situations can be prohibitive.

“Providing a framework in which caring responsibilities are generally shared more equally between the genders would be a big step forward.”

I’ve found, though, that often these situations can be resolved by thinking creatively and by considering the human side to the examination procedure—the examiner is also trying to do his/her best (even if I don’t necessarily agree with the reasoning). If I can be sensitive to this, and meet the examiner in the middle but without sacrificing scope unduly, it is often possible to reach a reasonable solution. This in itself can be quite satisfying.

Have you faced any barriers or challenges in your career?

I wouldn’t say that I have faced any particular barriers. I did find it very challenging balancing preparing for the UK and European patent exams with working full-time as a trainee, as I’m sure a lot of trainees do.

To help mitigate this, I chose not to take all the UK exams at the same time, and instead spread them over a couple of years. This was a lot more manageable, and worked well as I passed all of my exams first time.

What’s your biggest achievement?

Becoming a partner at EIP. When I started out in the IP profession, becoming a partner was always my end goal so it was a wonderful moment to achieve it.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to become a partner?

My advice would be to stay curious. There is always more to learn—the technology is ever-evolving as is the case law. I am always looking for ways to improve the service I provide to clients.

I try to stay open to new ideas rather than fixating on one particular approach that might have worked historically but may no longer be the right way forward.

Who or what inspires you?

The other partners at EIP. Their diligence and dedication to their clients inspires me to push myself beyond what I thought I was capable of. I am always surprised at the creativity of their ideas—they have taught me that there is real value in looking at things from a unique perspective.

What was your most unusual job before becoming a partner?

I helped to discover a fundamental particle—the Higgs boson—while working as a postdoctoral particle physics researcher at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, before training to become a patent attorney. It was a very intense and exciting time, and I don’t think I’ll experience anything like it again.

Women in law

What are the major issues facing women in law?

One of the issues is the relative lack of women in senior positions. This is particularly noticeable as a patent attorney working on physics-related technology.

The initial pool of candidates for trainee positions in this area tends to be predominantly male. One of the reasons for this is perhaps because there is a gender imbalance among physics graduates, with far fewer women physics graduates than men. Even if men and women are then hired as trainee patent attorneys at equal rates, this still leads to far fewer female trainees in physics-related technology.

Starting from this already smaller number of women, the proportion of women progressing to the most senior positions has historically tended to be lower than the proportion of men, perhaps because it still often falls to women to take on the lion’s share of childcare and home responsibilities.

This leaves a noticeable lack of women in these senior positions, which in turn can be off-putting for women considering joining the profession—it is often said that you cannot be what you cannot see.

Is the legal profession doing enough to improve gender diversity?

One of the big things that could be done across all industries to improve gender diversity is to improve access to parental leave for men. This doesn’t mean just making it available, but also actively encouraging men to take it up.

At the moment, despite the availability of shared parental leave, the anecdotal evidence seems to be that many men fear that their careers will be harmed if they take it. This then means that women can be perceived (at least unconsciously) as more of a risk to hire than men, which is very harmful to increasing gender diversity.

Providing a framework in which caring responsibilities are generally shared more equally between the genders would be a big step forward in addressing this issue.

How are you involved in promoting diversity?

I keenly support the IP Inclusive diversity initiative, which supports efforts to increase equality, diversity and inclusivity in the IP professions. I feel a particular affinity with the Women in IP community within IP Inclusive. I regularly attend their events to learn more about new approaches for increasing diversity that can be applied within my own practice.