Internships

Internships at Mathys & Squire

There is no better way for you to get to know us and gain insight into life as a trainee patent attorney than by joining our team as an Intern.

Throughout the year there are ad-hoc opportunities to join us on an internship programme. Please check this page regularly to see when we are running our next intern intake. In the meantime, read what our former interns thought about their time with us below.

Jess Harrison

Jess was attracted to an internship in IP law as “it presented a chance to combine my technical knowledge and interest in STEM with analytical problem-solving in the legal field. I was attracted to Mathys & Squire as a firm due to their creative, innovative and client-focused culture, as well as their distinguished reputation. What I could not have anticipated was how friendly and helpful everyone at the firm would prove to be!

From day one I was given real tasks and responsibilities. The meritocratic ethos of the company meant that – even as an intern – my thoughts and opinions on complex cases were accounted for and valued. My mentoring partner, Jane, was incredibly generous with her time and helped me to experience many of the different aspects encompassed within this varied career.

The majority of my experience was in prosecution work. Initially I was a little overwhelmed by the volume of legal regulations and terminology in combination with the advanced technical understanding that is required within this field of work. However, I soon began to pick up the key themes. Fundamental to this job is the ability to understand how an invention works and what makes it unique, then to distil the concept into something simple. I was also given the opportunity to participate in tutorials held for the Technical Assistants. This was an invaluable insight into the training and qualification process involved in the early stages of this career.  I was encouraged to have a go at past exam papers and received constructive feedback from the mentors on my work.”

The best part of the internship? “Continually being faced with challenging cases and being pushed to find a new alternative approach to the problem. This experience has given me a taste of a career that satisfies my passion and curiosity for technology, whilst also requiring a combination of dialectical thinking and creative problem-solving abilities.”

Three words to sum up the experience: Challenging, insightful and inspirational!

Haris Mallick

Haris was introduced to the Patent Law field through a seminar hosted by a university alumnus working at an IP law firm.

“It taught me about the idea of viewing inventions through a legal microscope – to extract the ‘novel and inventive’ concept formulating the invention. The skill of consolidating scientific knowledge and legal provisions into claims, to seek the broadest possible protection for such inventions piqued my interest in the field. I was motivated to search for an internship and experience a Patent Attorney’s duties first hand.

Prior to starting this internship, I had mentally prepared myself for the knowledge gap that would exist initially. I was still overwhelmed by the amount of regulatory provisions set forth by the UK Patents Act and the EPC regarding every nuance from the prosecution stage, to post-grant proceedings and opposition of a patent. However, the supportive and developmental work ethos applied by members of the Mathys & Squire team allowed me to quickly pick-up on key legal provisions and how to apply them in day-to-day patent prosecution and opposition work. This was supplemented with tutorials and case law review meetings, which helped to expand my understanding of the field and provided tips and advice regarding the qualification process to becoming a Patent Attorney. These factors, along with direct teachings from Partners, Associates and TAs certainly made for an eye opening and invaluable experience.”

My key take away? “IP law is a field that allows people with scientific backgrounds to view research and inventions from the perspective of intellectual property, providing its owner the commercial and economic benefits resulting from it. The protection of such benefits is advocated by ethical and legal theories shaping modern jurisprudence, such as utilitarianism and the labour theory. Consequently, Patent Law requires the practitioner to be multifaceted by combining legal and scientific expertise with strong interpersonal and language skills to liaise with clients and regulatory bodies such as the UKIPO and EPO during different stages of the patent cycle. This internship at Mathys & Squire allowed me to experience the different facets of the field.”

Three words to sum up the experience: Educational, engaging and inspirational.