Key Responsibilities
At Appleyard Lees, you’ll be working to protect the ground-breaking innovation of some of the world’s most well-known tech companies. Many of our clients are developing exciting new Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies. You don’t need to have a degree in AI to join our team – in fact, most of us don’t! But, it will help if you have gained experience in drafting and prosecuting software patent applications, and knowledge of UK, European and US software patenting guidelines. Although we also work on physics-, electronics- and mechanical-based inventions, the bulk of our work in the Cambridge office is software-based.
Our work can sometimes be multi-disciplinary and so you will need to work with attorneys in other disciplines. For example, some of our clients use AI to identify and develop new drugs, use mathematics/statistics to diagnose diseases or predict treatment efficacy, or use software to control medical robotic devices. So, in addition to the technical skills, you will need to have good people skills and be able to work in a team.
Skills, Knowledge and Expertise
- Qualified attorney with 1 to 3 years PQE
- Experience in drafting and prosecuting in the software space.
- Have an undergraduate degree or PhD in Physics/Theoretical Physics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics or similar.
- Proficiency in business development and networking
- Good communicator -written and oral
- Commitment to meeting client expectations
- An interest in practising and learning how to coach, guide and mentor trainees
Benefits
We pride ourselves on being small and friendly enough for you to get to know everyone – but big enough to offer you great career prospects. We will assign you with a mentor who will be able to provide professional and personal support throughout your training contract. Providing people with a mentor is a critical part of enabling development and knowing if individuals are ‘on track’ in terms of their career path and progression, it also helps with improving knowledge and skills.
Aside from this, we will fund all of your training including memberships, exams, courses and conferences. We also encourage our technical teams to write articles for our Greenshoots platform and participate in podcasts.
Other benefits we offer include:
- 34 hour working week
- A blend of office and home working
- Annual salary review
- 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
- Life assurance
- Healthcare cash plan
- Social outings – summer parties, AL Junior events, Christmas party and more
- A voucher on your birthday
- Charity events – games nights and fuddles
- A friendly and inclusive place to work and learn
About Appleyard Lees
Appleyard Lees is a leading intellectual property law firm with approximately seventy patent and trade mark attorneys and litigators across offices in Halifax, Leeds, Manchester, and Cambridge.
We provide a full range of intellectual property (IP) services covering patents, trade marks, designs and copyright in the UK, Europe and worldwide. We use our technical and legal skills, and many years of experience, to identify and protect IP assets and to uncover and eliminate the risks posed by other people’s IP rights.
Our clients include some of the world’s most exciting innovators, largest companies, and household names, with a number of clients obtaining Fortune 500, Fortune Global 2000, FTSE 100, FTSE 250, and Forbes Global 2000 status. Our clients operate across a diverse collection of industries, including chemicals, retail, consumer goods, electronics, software, bio and life sciences, pharmaceuticals, metals, and heavy industry, higher education, and hospitality, leisure, and tourism.
Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) has always been part of the core values of Appleyard Lees. To us, diversity is not just a box-ticking exercise, it is a core part of our firm’s values . Diversity of people means diversity of ideas and perspectives, and these allow us to be more creative and flexible as a business.