From qualified position in London-based private practice...
When I started in the patent profession, I worked for a private practice firm in London. After a few years of commuting whilst taking the exams, I wanted to have a better work-life balance. I decided to move to a firm outside the capital and found my way to Potter Clarkson LLP.
There were several reasons why I chose to come to work for Potter Clarkson in Nottingham. One was that I aim to work to very high professional standards. This is a hugely impressive feature of the firm, both in the way that it runs as a business and also in encouraging best practice in professional work, with monthly practice meetings and an active Professional Standards Committee on which I now serve.
In many firms, trainees are left to fend for themselves when it comes to preparing for the professional exams. At Potter Clarkson, we have a dedicated Training Partner and a well-organised training system to help assistants to pass the UK and European exams and develop commercial awareness skills. We have an excellent track record of examination successes. I believe that investment in people is the key to success in our profession. Partly for this reason I act as a tutor for our trainees.
As a patent attorney I enjoy doing professional patent work most of all, rather than administrative or formal tasks. I was pleasantly surprised at Potter Clarkson at the amount of work carried out by its support staff. There are well organised, trained and experienced records and formalities departments that deal with updating the records and deadline management system, filing applications, validating European patents and many other tasks. As a result, I can concentrate on advising clients.
Working to deadlines is an essential and sometimes challenging part of a patent attorney's professional life. Most firms use commercially available software products to help manage these deadlines, and I know from my own experience that they are far from perfect. The IT department at Potter Clarkson has developed an in-house integrated deadline management system which provides a much easier way to cope with the ever-present deadlines.
The quality of direct clients and the variety of work makes life at Potter Clarkson extremely rewarding from a professional point of view.
Another advantage of the firm is the way that attorneys work together in specialist technical teams, allowing you to work on technology that you really understand. I work in the Chemical and Healthcare Group and because I do not have to try to work on cases outside that area, I can deepen my knowledge and experience of chemical and healthcare patenting, which is really satisfying.
However, because all our professionals are located at a single site, experts in other technical groups are close at hand should clients need a multi-disciplinary service.
Working in Nottingham also means that I live in pleasant surroundings with my family and I can enjoy a cycle along the River Trent into the office each day, which is a lot more enjoyable than being crammed onto a commuter train!
