Trailblazers: The best advice
What advice would you give those entering the IP profession?
It’s great to have a broad legal foundation before becoming too specialist. A good grounding in contract law and commercial litigation is extremely useful. However, it is important to bear in mind that you need to have your IP goal from the start.
Lots of firms do not have significant IP practices and it may be hard to move into IP later in your career if you do not get some basic grounding in your training contract.
Rosie Burbidge, partner, gunnercooke
Try to find a good mentor who will invest time and energy in providing guidance allowing you to learn, grow professionally and feel included. Don’t hide behind inexperience but seek projects with a fair level of autonomy and responsibility. By stepping out of our comfort zone, we learn better and faster.
Keep your eyes and ears wide open, don’t be afraid of change and be humble, but not silent. Most of all, do what you love and do it with passion.
Alena Fischerova, associate, BomhardIP
IP is an interesting and rewarding field of practice. The trio of important virtues to succeed in this field and the legal profession generally are honesty, patience and diligence.
Regina Onwumere, associate, Aluko & Oyebode
Networking is an extremely important aspect of the IP profession so start networking right from the beginning. Giving back to society teaches you a lot—get involved in pro bono activities, legal aid centres, and legal awareness campaigns. These activities will provide you with enriching experiences and help shape you into being a better professional.
Abhilasha Niroola, principal attorney, Mehta & Mehta Associates (MehtaIP)
Be authentic. Sometimes there can be pressure to act and think like others around you for the sake of “fitting in” to a firm or company. This pressure can dull what makes you and your contributions unique and valuable to clients. So be yourself—embrace what drives you, what motivates you and what you are passionate about.
It may not always be easy, but ultimately, it will be these things that will fuel your career.
Annsley Ward, counsel, WilmerHale
Don’t be afraid to take on a bigger role than you believe you are able to handle. Many young lawyers entering the IP field see each and every matter as big and unmanageable challenges, but with a good strategy, mentoring and planning you can make one big task into smaller steps that are easily accomplished.
Emelie Svensson, attorney, Njord Law Firm
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced during your career, and how have you overcome it?
As a young female lawyer, dealing with condescension has been the biggest challenge. I’ve learned to take a step back and focus on communicating clear legal reasoning—most people will abandon their initial assumptions when faced with logic and case law.
Anna Toh, associate director, Amica Law
One of the challenges in my career is simply not seeing enough people who look like me and earning a level of approval simply because I don’t fit the “traditional” mould of an attorney. On a fairly consistent basis, I encounter surprised looks when I enter a room and introduce myself. While this can be disheartening, most women of colour are familiar with this feeling.
To overcome this challenge, I simply continue to show up and be unapologetically me. I know that my work is impeccable. At the same time, I actively work to increase the diversity within the IP and legal space by working to shift mindsets.
Adraea Brown, director, legal–trademarks and brand protection, Harley-Davidson
I’m a crier. Happy, sad or frustrated—tears! But apparently, it’s a no-go in the workplace. Here’s how I’ve overcome it: if I’m going into something that I have strong feelings about, I take tissues (or I try to remember to).
I have overcome the challenge by realising that it’s not my challenge to overcome; it belongs to the person sitting across from me looking at their feet.
Crying has nothing to do with emotional intelligence, professional capabilities or strength of character. It’s just science. Deal with it.
Katie Goulding, senior trademark attorney, HGF
The biggest challenge during the first year in this field of practice is the fact that we are required to give legal advice on a range of issues from commercial viability and marketing, to vesting ownership and infringement. Our work is not relevant only to filing applications or prosecution work.
To overcome this difficulty I tried hard to discuss with experienced people in the same field. Always remember that real practice might be different from what you think you understand by reading books.
Paramee Kerativitayanan, IP lawyer, Chavalit & Associates
