Kate Allen: Mewburn Ellis graduate

Name: Kate Allen
Job: Trainee patent attorney
Employer: Mewburn Ellis LLP
Qualifications: MEng mechanical engineering, University of Bristol

A patent attorney is a specialised legal professional qualified to write, obtain and advise clients about patents and to protect the intellectual property (IP) rights in commercial products or processes.We deal mainly with patents, which protect technological innovations, but we also deal with other types of IP such as registered and unregistered designs, which protect the shape and appearance of products.

A patent attorney can be employed by a private firm of patent attorneys or by an inhouse patent department of a company. In addition to a good degree and broad-based interest in engineering, excellent communication skills are essential to work in the profession, particularly written skills.

If you dread writing reports or letters, or your grammar is shaky, it’s not the career for you! You also need to be comfortable dealing with clients, working to tight deadlines and handling several projects at once. Foreign language skills are a bonus, but not essential.

Why intellectual property?

I spent four years in the aerospace industry after graduating. I enjoyed my work, but was frustrated by the politics, long hours, wages and the lack of tangible day-to-day progress on big projects. Now, I am always working on something different, seeing new technology and feeling challenged.

The major downside of the job is the long training period: there are exams to pass and it can take from three to five years to become qualified. The work can also be quite solitary. However, in my view the bad is outweighed by the good.

I am exposed to many different problems and technologies each day: it is difficult to get bored. It is also a rather friendly, civilised profession and, although the job can be pressurised, the hours are sensible and the pay good.