Trainee IP Paralegal in London

Do you want to work in the legal sector, but not as a lawyer or attorney? Have you considered becoming a career paralegal and have the opportunity to play a crucial role supporting our attorneys and clients in protecting and commercialising cutting-edge technologies? We have a fantastic opportunity to join our IP Academy training programme. We will support, mentor and train you over the course of the programme to become a top-performing IP Paralegal at one of the sector's top patent and trade mark firms. You will get to work with and learn from colleagues across the entire firm throughout your training, allowing you to build up an excellent knowledge base of how things work and giving you plenty of opportunity to build relationships. By the end of the programme we will look to place you in one of our Business Support teams as an IP Paralegal.

IP Academy programme

We are recruiting for a place on our IP Academy to start in October 2026. Over the course of your two-year training scheme you will have the opportunity to rotate between a number of our different areas such as:

• Trade marks
• Designs
• IP support (Docketing Team and International Filing Team)
• Finance
• Marketing and business development
• Recordals

Each rotation varies in length. Alongside the on-the-job training as you learn from some of our experts in different areas, you will also complete some self-study using our online learning management system. You will then undergo a written assessment for each course completed.

First Year

You will complete a placement within our Patent and IP support teams where you will experience areas of the European patent process such as preparing a patent application for filing with the European Patent Office, keeping our clients up to date with the progress of their patent, and what happens when a patent is granted. This will give you an excellent understanding of how we protect our client's IP in Europe and you will learn how to provide top-tier client experience.

Second Year

Your placements go into more detail on the European patent process – such as what happens if someone objects to our client's patent, as well as learning more about UK and international patent life-cycles. You will also cover elements of trade marks and designs. As your knowledge and confidence grows you will take on more responsibility for your own projects.

A recent addition to the IP Academy is the Additional Role. A few months into the programme, you will take on an Additional Role alongside your core training in Years One and Two. Alongside your rotations and exams, you will spend around eight hours per week in a permanent supporting role within the firm, contributing to an area that matches your interests and skills and the business needs of the firm. This role provides valuable insight into the wider business, helps you build transferable skills, and allows you to make a meaningful contribution beyond your placements. The introduction of Additional Roles for the 2025 intake has been a real success, and we hope to continue offering them to future intakes.

Across the course of your two years with us you will also gain experience within some of our fantastic business support teams, such as our finance team – where you will learn about how we bill our clients and how we measure profitability, or our marketing and business development team, where you will find out about our brand and how we build relationships to bring in new business. This will give you a well-rounded understanding of how all departments across the firm support the IP process.

At the end of two years, you'll have completed your placements and internal exams and be ready to move into your final role. At this stage we'll find you a position within one of our teams that best suits your strengths and skills. Your final step will be to sit your professional CIPA Introductory Patent Paralegal Course, after which you'll qualify as an IP Paralegal. We'll ensure that we continue to help you develop and grow through the course of your career. You will take responsibility for your own case load, and work directly with attorneys and clients that have been selected specifically for you.

We have a culture built on diversity and inclusivity and are looking for people who share and demonstrate our values: Be curious, Think commercially, Act collaboratively, Take ownership and Make a positive impact.

Who can apply?

You have a keen eye for detail – in a fast-moving legal environment, where deadlines are key, attention to detail and accuracy are critical to our success. You're happiest when you're organising things – people, events, work – we'll rely on you to keep not only your own work organised, but also to manage workflow and client deadlines for our attorneys. You're proactive and love improving things – if you can see a better way to do something, you step up and fix it. We want to continuously improve and we're looking for inquisitive people who will help us do that. You're a team player – you help and support clients, building on team rather than individual success. You put the client first – exceeding our clients' expectations is at the heart of what we do, so we are constantly looking for ways to improve the way we work with them. Applicants must have a minimum 2:1 in their degree discipline, and truly excellent use of written and spoken English. Both new graduates and those looking for an exciting career change are welcome to apply.