Trainee Patent Attorney – degree required physics, electronics/IT or engineering

We are looking for ambitious graduates with a degree in electronics / IT engineering or physics to join our successful and expanding IT & Engineering practice group to start in September 2023.

You will apply the technical knowledge and expertise gained from your degree to your role as Trainee Patent Attorney, in which you will gain skills in patent drafting, filing and prosecution. As you progress, you will be given the opportunity to get more involved with contentious advice work.

As you will be exposed to a diverse range of cases and clients right from the start, excellent communication skills are a must. You should also have the ability and confidence to build effective working relationships and be able to offer straightforward and practical advice to your clients.

The firm encourages everyone to add value to the firm’s success, so alongside your main responsibilities you can choose to get involved in areas of business that interest you; be it helping with presentations and events, training and recruitment, writing articles or joining working groups to review internal processes and propose change. We always support our people to play to their strengths.

What’s it like to work here

Our structured training programme will provide you with a year of on-the-job learning before enrolling you for the Postgraduate Certificate in Intellectual Property Law. Ultimately you will aim to qualify as both a European patent attorney and a Chartered (UK) patent attorney. We assist you in these studies through external courses and our extensive in-house training programme, as well as mentoring and coaching from senior attorneys, who are always happy to help.

We are based in modern offices in London’s Broadgate Tower where the edge of the City meets Shoreditch. Our culture is friendly, supportive, and collaborative, and within this environment you will take on real responsibility from an early stage. We offer a competitive salary (reviewed annually and upon exam success), great benefits & perks and a whole host of regular social events and wellbeing initiatives.

For more information on the graduate career journey, visit our careers website www.gje.com/about-gje/law-careers/graduates/

Who we’re looking for

We pride ourselves on our people and look for top graduates who demonstrate a passion for science and engineering and who can contribute to the continued development of our business. As a minimum requirement, the successful candidates will fulfil the following criteria:

• Degree in physics, electronics/IT or engineering (2.1 or 1st);
• High academic achievement (mainly As and A*s in GCSE & A Levels or equivalent qualifications);
• Effective communication skills; and
• Excellent attention to detail.

If this sounds like you, apply now with your CV and a covering letter, detailing your motivation for a career in patent law.

About GJE LLP

GJE LLP is one of the UK's leading intellectual property firms and is consistently recognised by the leading UK legal directories. We are based in modern offices in London's Broadgate Tower and Munich. Our culture is friendly, supportive, and collaborative. We offer a competitive salary, hybrid working, excellent benefits, and a whole host of regular social events and wellbeing initiatives. We think it's a great place to work and we have been recognised by Best Companies as a top 20 law firm to work for!

There are three core practice groups: 1. trade marks, 2. chemistry & life sciences (patents) and 3. IT & engineering (patents). We have built a strong and diverse client base working closely with entrepreneurs, universities, SMEs, multi-nationals and legal firms worldwide.

Our success is down to the people we employ

Our firm has a clearly defined strategic vision for where we are heading and an impressive track record to match. There are around 120 of us in our London office, so we're small and friendly enough for you to get to know everyone - but big enough to offer you great career prospects.

Vision & values

We have a diverse workforce, yet we all share a vision and a set of core values. Our vision is: to be the right choice for intellectual property. That means as an employer, we aspire to be the right choice to develop your career. Based on the principles on which our vision is founded, GJE practices the following values;

Care: We take the time to understand the needs of our clients and colleagues, so we can deliver the best possible results for them

Clarity: We provide clear advice and concise recommendations so our clients can make the right decisions quickly and confidently

Creativity: We encourage innovative thinking to help solve problems

Collaboration: Teamwork is important to us; our clients see us as an extension of their own team and our people flourish in a supportive environment

Commerciality: We work hard to understand our clients' businesses and help them realise the value of their IP

To apply

Ensure that you apply directly to us via our website www.gje.com/about-gje/law-careers/ and that, in addition to your CV, you send a covering letter detailing your motivation for a career in patent law. Please ensure that you provide full details of your qualifications, including grades, in your application.

We do accept applications via third party websites/job boards.

Equal opportunities and diversity are important values of GJE and we encourage applications from all suitably qualified persons irrespective of gender, age, disability, religion, belief, sexual orientation, marital status, or race.

If you have any special requirements, please contact us to ensure that we can make any required adjustments for the interview. You can contact us at careers@gje.com.

Note that we start interviewing and assessing applications as soon as we receive them rather than wait for the deadline, so we advise you to apply as soon as possible.