The IP Academy

Timeline of the programme

Year two

In your second year, you will complete two further placements which focus on UK and overseas patents as well as building on your European patent knowledge. You will also have the opportunity to learn about trade marks and design.
 
As you progress throughout the year, you will be given greater responsibility and become more independent by having ownership of your own projects. This means that you will start taking on your own case load and assignments, as well as continuing your self-guided learning from year one. This is an excellent opportunity to put your knowledge to the test whilst also cementing yourself as a valued and trusted member of the firm.
 
As you are encouraged to take ownership of your own projects, your work will become increasingly varied as you continue your rotations around the firm. Some examples of this include: working on recordals, working with the finance team to identify issues with invoices and helping them resolve the problem, planning the firm’s Friends and Family Day, and many more! Every trainee’s journey is different in the IP Academy, meaning that you get to direct your career in the way that best suits you.

Timeline of the programme

Year three: Graduating with a qualification as a K&S IP paralegal!

Early in your third year, you will complete the last of your internal training modules.
 
You’ll then be ready to move on to your next role. For this, we’ll work with you to find your strengths and the areas you enjoy most. You’re likely to join our patent paralegal team, perhaps with responsibility for a particular client or alternatively specialising in a particular area of patent procedure or law. If available, you may also elect to take a role in another area of our business, such as in the finance, marketing or trade mark team.
 
Your training will be such that you should slot in easily into whichever position you take, making a full contribution from day one. With the breadth of the paralegal training programme you will also be mobile within the firm, allowing you to move smoothly between teams as work priorities and your own interests change.
 
Your final steps are to complete the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorney’s (CIPA) ‘Introductory Patent Paralegal Course’ and sit the exam in January. To support you with this, you will have a range of training sessions as well as study days to give you the opportunity to focus and consolidate all the knowledge you have gained during your time in the IP Academy. After passing this exam, you are now a graduate and a qualified paralegal! From here, the opportunities are endless.
 
Your contact with the IP Academy won’t end there though – we’ll ask you to help the programme evolve and to assist with training our new round of paralegals.

Paralegal and beyond…

With a track record as a patent paralegal, your next steps await you. You could find yourself becoming the firm’s expert in a particular area of the patent process or heading up a paralegal team. If you really shine, you could eventually end up joining our management team.
 
Your time in the IP Academy provides the perfect foundation for an exciting career where no two days are the same. If this sounds like the right path for you, the application window is now open to join the next IP Academy cohort!