Ian Gill

Background

About Ian Gill

When someone asks you what you do for a living then what do you say? Some professions, such as doctors or teachers, require no additional explanation. However, try saying “I’m a patent and trade mark attorney” and see what the reaction is – this occasionally can lead to interesting discussions, but often people find this too difficult to interact with and just move onto the next question. There are many positives to working in a niche profession, but small talk at parties regarding your job isn’t one of them, and this has made me consider what it is I actually do and why I do it. In many ways the patent and trade mark business is different from other professions as we still do the same core work that we did when we started in the profession, such as drafting patent applications or conducting trade mark clearance searches. Hopefully we do it faster and more skilfully – but we are still doing essentially the same work. Friends in other professions, such as accountancy, tell me that they moved quickly on from work they did as trainees to focus on other aspects of client advice or into almost purely BD roles. That said, working in a medium size patent and trade mark firm allows almost limitless opportunities for learning and development, beyond core attorney work, and in my time at AA Thornton I have had a hand in training staff, running a team, managing our IT systems, managing the firm and (most fun of all!) managing the other partners. This additional work and responsibility has been both challenging and enjoyable, and has broadened my horizons enough to help me appreciate and advise on commercial issues as well as legal issues relating to IP. However the common thread in all of this professional and commercial development has been my desire to help others – whether that be clients or colleagues. I think many of us re-assessed our working lives after COVID and since that time I have stepped back from my management duties to focus on the client work that originally attracted me to this profession. So if you ever happen to ask me what I do for a living then I will say “I help people find solutions to their Intellectual Property problems”. This requires a mix of legal knowledge and commercial experience, all built on a foundation of common sense, and if you choose to work with me then that is what you will get. I am not suggesting that this explanation is any less opaque at a party when compared to the straight answer of “I’m a patent and trade mark attorney”, but at least it is closer to the heart of both what I do and why I do it.