I studied ancient languages at university because I liked the satisfaction of being able to apply the rules – and their exceptions – to explain the form of each word in a sentence. I also enjoyed seeing my friends in STEM excited about their research and how it might be applied practically, sometimes commercially. Eventually I wanted in on the buzz, and thought practising law at a firm with lots of IP clients would be a good angle for me. Bristows topped my first Google search.

I came to an IP Workshop a couple of months before I applied for a training contract, and I would really recommend that as a way to get a feel for the firm and the kind of work it does. Bristows does a lot more than IP law, but its specialisms in the Life Sciences, Technology and Brands sectors means that it often attracts clients for whom IP is a key asset that shapes their business.

Once your application form is in, the trainee recruitment process here is heavily weighted towards interviews with partners and senior associates, and I think the huge amount of senior time that goes into speaking to potential recruits is reflective of what it’s like to train here. The friendliest interview I have ever had was at Bristows and, although it’s normal to be nervous, the interviews give you a chance to have interesting conversations with specialist lawyers, and I really enjoyed that opportunity.

I spent the first six months of my training contract in Patent Litigation, three months in Corporate, Tax and Employment, and I’m now sitting in the Competition team. In that time I have worked on litigation proceedings in the High Court, Unified Patent Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal, UK and cross-border corporate acquisitions and some advisory work that wasn’t part of either a dispute or a transaction. There’s a lot of variety to trainee tasks (although expect to read, write and think a lot), and teams are very receptive to us ‘having a go’.

I feel very lucky to be trained by people I admire as lawyers and also for many other reasons. Bristows is a high-achieving place to work and we celebrate colleagues’ legal accolades, but we also celebrate all sorts of milestones in other parts of life. I think the best of the Bristows culture comes through in the tag-team efforts, laughter and team outings after busy deadlines.