FAQs

Patent Attorney: You’ll need a degree (at least a 2:1) in a science, engineering, technical or mathematics based subject to get a job as a trainee patent attorney. It’s possible to become a trainee patent attorney after pursuing a different career post-degree.

Training starts from day one. After an initial two week boot camp, assistants will receive on-the-job training which generally involves working for one (or more) fully qualified patent attorney combined with in-house and external tutorials in preparation for sitting the Queen Mary exams one year in.

Trade Mark Attorney: You’ll need a degree (at least a 2:1) and it doesn’t have to be a law degree. It’s possible to become a trainee trade mark attorney after pursuing a different career post-degree.

Training starts from day one. After an initial two week boot camp, assistants will receive on-the-job training which generally involves working for one (or more) fully qualified trade mark attorney combined with in-house and external tutorials in preparation for sitting the Queen Mary exams one year.

Patent Attorney: Examinations are set by the Patent Examination Board (PEB) and the European Patent Office. In order to register for the UK exams, you will need to have passed the foundation exams which will be taken approximately one year after joining R&G. There are four foundation papers, four UK papers and four European papers to sit. Once fully qualified, you will be required to complete a litigations skills course for which there is an exam at the end.

Trade Mark Attorney: Examinations are set by the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA). There are two courses involved in the trade mark attorney qualification process. First, there are regular (compulsory) lectures to attend at Queen Mary University at which trainees are taught the legal theory of trade marks, designs and copyright.

At the beginning of that course you will sit a Professional Ethics paper and if you are a non-Law graduate you will sit a Foundations of Law paper (Law graduates are exempt from this paper). At the end of that course, you sit three or four papers dependant on whether you a Law graduate: two trade mark papers and one copyright & design paper and a foundation in law paper (Law graduates are exempt from taking this paper). Following the QM course, you will return to the office for approximately one year where you will implement the theory learnt at QM.

The second course is at Nottingham Trent University. You will stay in Nottingham for a few days each every other month to attend lectures and take part in small seminar and workshop groups. There are four written and assessments throughout the course, including two oral assessments which are spread throughout the course. There are four One of the written papers at the end of the course, including assessments is a specialist Litigation paper. Once passed, you become a fully qualified UK and European Trade Mark Attorney.

It not a pre-requisite to join R&G with a PhD.

It typically takes around 4-6 years to be a fully qualified UK and European Patent Attorney, and around 4 years to be a fully qualified UK and EU Trade Mark Attorney.

The starting salary for a trainee Patent Attorney will usually be in the range of £28,000 to £36,000. By the time you have qualified your salary is likely to be around £60,000 to £65,000 (Source IP Careers/Fellows & Associates).

The starting salary for a trainee Trade Mark Attorney will usually be in the range of £18,000 to £28,000. By the time you have qualified the average salary is likely to be around £39,000 rising to £59,000 after two years (Source IPCareers/CITMA).

Our application window opens in September and typically closes by the end of December or until all vacancies have been filled (this can be sooner or later than the published deadline). Please note that only successful candidates will be contacted and that we do not accept CVs with covering letters.

If your applications is approved, you will be invited to a first interview which will consist of a written exercise followed by an interview with a Partner from the relevant practice area and a member of the HR Team. If you are successful, you will then be invited back to meet two other Partners from the same group as well as being given an opportunity to have coffee with a couple of our current trainees.