Your IP career starts here, with a leading light in patent and trade mark law.

We live in exciting times, when innovations in fields such as science, engineering and technology are changing the way we live and work. At Abel & Imray, it’s our job to protect many of these ideas so they can flourish. And you could be a major part of that.

We’re seeking two of the brightest minds to become trainee patent attorneys in our Chem/Bio team – joining a firm with a reputation for the highest professional standards and winning client relationships.

Those clients come from industries as diverse as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, petrochemicals and consumer products – fields you’ll immerse yourself in.

Inspired by pioneering inventions and ideas, you’ll be ready to offer up your technical expertise. In return, we’ll drive your career forwards (and upwards), making the best of your talents and focussing on exam success – all within a dynamic, inclusive working culture.

The opportunity

You won’t sit still here. This is a fast-paced, varied role where each day brings fresh challenges and exciting opportunities. It’s also the first step in a career with a forward-thinking firm that will constantly look at how you can help shape our future – and how we can further yours.

As a graduate, we’ll support you with thorough training. Mostly this will be in-house, but we’ll encourage you to explore the wider industry by attending lectures and taking external courses – in particular the 13-week Intellectual Property Law Certificate with Queen Mary, University of London. You’ll be working towards the examinations needed to qualify as a Chartered Patent Attorney and European Patent Attorney.

The role in Bath will focus on serving clients in the industrial chemistry and chemical technology sectors, seeking to protect innovations concerning refining processes, catalysis, fine chemicals, coatings, printing inks, polymeric materials, lubricants, food technology, paper making, consumer products and pharmaceutical formulations.

The role in London will focus on serving clients in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields, seeking to protect innovations concerning small molecule drug candidates, antibodies, vaccines, drug delivery systems, drug discovery tools, synthetic methods as well as medical devices.

Who we’re looking for

You’ll like nothing more than a diverse workload that allows you to flex your intellectual talents. Being a patent attorney demands a blend of scientific and technical expertise, and specialist legal knowledge, so you’ll be a high-calibre scientist with a curious streak – and a problem-solver at heart.

• You will hold or be aiming for a Degree (or the equivalent) in chemistry, chemical engineering or a related subject (Bath); or in chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology or a related subject (London). A PhD and/or experience of working in industry is helpful in certain disciplines, but not essential.
• As a clear and concise writer with an aptitude for languages you will also have a grade A English Language GCSE, Scottish Standard or corresponding qualification.
• Being a confident communicator is essential, because you’ll be talking to everyone from the Chairman of an international corporation to a laboratory assistant in a niche scientific field.
• Either at the start of your career or looking for a new challenge following experience of working in industry in a relevant sector.

Along with academic success and technical expertise, we value strong managerial and administrative abilities.

More about us

Ours is a firm with a prestigious history, but one eye always on the future. From longstanding attorneys to brand new trainees, everyone who works here has a part to play in defining that future – and that will include you. You’ll be joining our steadily growing firm at an exciting time – for example, we’ve just moved our London office to brand new, purpose-built offices in Holborn and have plans to continue to grow each office over the coming years.

Specialising in patents, trade marks and registered designs, we counsel clients in intellectual property protection – from brand new start-ups to well-known conglomerates. That sees us dealing with IP offices in the UK, Europe and beyond.

In our Bath, Cardiff and London offices, we’ve been growing steadily. That’s set to continue, with a varied list of innovative, international clients spanning design, technology and manufacturing.

Ours is a firm with a prestigious history, but one eye always on the future. From longstanding attorneys to brand new trainees, everyone who works here has a part to play in defining that future – and that will include you.

We’re proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. And while we treat everyone we work with – and for – fairly, we respect diversity. That means nurturing each employee’s particular talents and supporting all to reach their personal goals. We also work hard to promote equality, diversity and inclusivity within the wider legal community we’re part of, as members of IP Inclusive (http://www.ipinclusive.org.uk/).

The closing date for applications is 17 November 2017, and we plan to hold initial interviews in December and January. The successful candidates would then begin work by late 2018, with some flexibility if needed.