How did you get into the profession?

Stemming from a general interest in law, I found this career at the intersection of technology and law, which suits both my technical background as a physicist and my desire to argue and persuade others. Towards the later stage of my PhD, I also witnessed many friends and university researchers trying to commercialise their research, seeking business opportunities to bring their excellent ideas into real-world application. Protecting these ideas with patents was always one of their first considerations. Seeing this process gave me a deeper appreciation for the importance of patents (or rather intellectual property in general), and I have since then wanted to become a patent attorney to help these people.

Your main roles and responsibilities

• Handling real patent prosecution cases from day one, including reporting official actions to clients and writing responses to patent offices.
• Conducting marketing and patent landscape research to understand how others are using patents and to identify trends and opportunities across different industries.
• Researching case law and attending CPD talks to stay up to date with ongoing developments in patent law.

What drew you to R&G

One of the main things that drew me to R&G was the variety of subject matter and the opportunity to work with a wide range of clients. This ensures great exposure to different technologies and industries, which I believe is very important for developing a skill set fast, especially at an early stage of my career.

Another key factor was the training offered at the firm. We start with a two-week boot camp, followed by weekly training sessions during the first three months, and then fortnightly sessions for the next three months. These training sessions are designed to give us hands-on practice with real case scenarios, prosecution work, and exam preparation. We also receive feedback from senior patent attorneys, which helps us to improve and apply these skills in our day-to-day work.

Life at the firm so far…

I definitely experienced a very steep learning curve, with great help and support from the firm, especially through meetings and discussion with my training partner. There is also a clear plan in place to help me improve my skills across various levels and topics.

The trainee cohort is very supportive – facing exams can be intimidating as these papers are incredibly tough, but having someone to go through it with really helps ease the pressure.