Driving cultural change

HGF’s partner and patent attorney, Vanessa Stainthorpe, reflects on working in a male-dominated area, being a mental health first aider, and remembering the ‘inclusion’ part of D&I.

What attracted you to the world of IP?

I graduated in the early 1990s with a degree in electronic engineering into an economic recession and fear of redundancies in the sector before my career had even begun. So I started to look for other possibilities. IP was such a little-known profession but, once I discovered that it involved an interest in a combination of technology, language and law, I knew it was for me.

I started my training in a small private practice then moved and qualified at a large international law firm before moving to HGF where I have been ever since.