I chose to study Biomedical Science at undergraduate level as I was fascinated with the human and medical side of biology and thought I might want to work in clinical labs. I quickly realised lab work wasn’t for me and explored careers in healthcare and teaching. After graduating, I worked as a Teaching Assistant and soon found that what I really wanted out of a career was variety, intellectual stimulation, and a continued link with the scientific and technical aspects I’d previously enjoyed.

I had considered studying Law when deliberating degrees but ultimately had a misconceptions about careers in Law. I certainly had no idea about IP or legal careers in tech and life science. After graduating I started to explore law again, focusing on firms with a strong life science and tech focus. This led me straight to Bristows, and I spent a lot of time reading into their clients, expertise, and culture. I also read previous trainee experiences, and very quickly decided I could see myself fitting in and thriving here.

To confirm this, I applied for a STEM IP Workshop. This gave me a great insight into the day-to-day tasks at Bristows and what IP work really involves. I thoroughly enjoyed the application of technical knowledge to the legal problems and found the variety of work exactly what I was looking for in a career. I applied for a training contract soon after and was privileged enough to be offered a place. While interviews are always daunting, I felt that the interviewers just wanted to get to know me, making the interviews easier to treat as regular conversations.  In more technical and problem-solving questions, I was given the time to think through my answers which put me at ease. In general, questions didn’t feel like they had a “right or wrong” answer; I truly felt free to express my thoughts on the topic.

So far, I have completed two 3-month seats in Corporate, Tax and Employment and Commercial IP/IT and DCL. I am currently completing a 6-month seat Patent Litigation. As a trainee who didn’t come in with a solid idea of where I might want to qualify, it has been invaluable being able to experience a broad range of work in different teams.

Some of the stand-out tasks I have completed during this time include:

• Contacting local counsel and collating their advice to create a note on gender pay gap laws for a client in Employment
• Searching for expert witnesses and assisting with expert calls for Patent Litigation matters
• Assisting with completion tasks for a Corporate transaction
• Drafting a technical primer document outlining the science and patents behind a cancer therapy for a Patent Litigation matter
• Reviewing service agreements in a complex drug production supply chain
• Reviewing responses for further information and considering their position in complex pleadings for a defamation dispute

Day-to-day, I’ve also worked on legal research, drafting and sending correspondence to opposing solicitors, drafting ancillary transaction documents, and completing reviews of commercial contracts and licenses.

I’ve felt supported and welcomed in the first year of my training contract and have connected with people across the firm due to regular social activities and charitable events run by the many extra-curricular groups. I’m excited to carry on building these connections and experiencing even more rewarding work in my next seats.