Trainee Patent Attorney – Physics / Engineering / Electronics

Appleyard Lees; Leeds, Manchester; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading intellectual property law firm seeks a Trainee Patent Attorney in Leeds. This role offers an opportunity to apply scientific knowledge in protecting innovations for top tech companies. Candidates should have a degree in Physics or Engineering and strong communication skills. The firm provides comprehensive training and a supportive environment for professional growth.

Benefits

Annual salary review

25 days annual leave + bank holidays

Holiday Purchase Scheme

Salary Exchange

Life assurance

Healthcare Cash Plan & Wellbeing App

Group Income Protection

Long Service Milestones

Social events

Vouchers for special occasions

Qualifications

• Degree or PhD in Physics, Engineering or related discipline required.
• Good communicator both in writing and verbally.
• Ability to prioritise competing tasks and manage multiple priorities effectively.

Responsibilities

• Work on real cases from day one with clients.
• Participate in meetings and learn from qualified attorneys.
• Receive training and support to qualify as a patent attorney.

Skills

Communication

Logical Thinking

Teamwork

Education

Degree or PhD in Physics, Engineering or related discipline

Job description

Appleyard Lees, Trainee Patent Attorney – Physics / Engineering / Electronics

START DATE:September 2025
OFFICE LOCATION:We have opportunities in Leeds and Manchester

We are looking for an individual who enjoys learning about cutting-edge research and who want to apply their scientific knowledge to work outside of academia. At Appleyard Lees, you will be able to put your degree to use from day one, as you’ll be working to protect the ground-breaking innovation of some of the world’s most well-known tech companies. The job is intellectually challenging, and you will work on brand-new innovation before anyone else hears about it.

Our clients are developing exciting new medical technologies and consumer electronics. For instance, some of our clients are developing new smartphone technology, and others are applying computer vision techniques to various applications, including medical diagnostics. So, we are looking for individuals with a background in physics, engineering or a related discipline.

Key Responsibilities

You will need to be articulate and good at communicating, particularly in writing. Our work can sometimes be multi-disciplinary and collaborative, and you will need to work with attorneys in other disciplines. So, you will need to have good people skills and be able to work in a team.

You will be trained by our Partners and Senior Associates, and from your first day you will be working on real work for our clients. You will be able to join meetings with inventors, watch our qualified attorneys when they participate in hearings/oppositions, and learn from our talented paralegals. As our clients file patent applications in the UK and Europe, you will gain real experience that is directly relevant to the professional exams you will undertake. In addition to this practical experience, our trainees are given all the support they need to qualify as UK and European patent attorneys. We combine in-house exam-specific tutorials with external courses, to help our trainees obtain the knowledge and skills they need to qualify.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Have a degree or PhD in Physics, Engineering or a related discipline.
• Ability to take on large amounts of information and think logically.
• Good communicator both in writing and verbally.
• Commitment to meeting client expectations.
• Ability to prioritise competing tasks and manage multiple priorities effectively.

We pride ourselves on being small and friendly enough for you to get to know everyone – but big enough to offer you great career prospects. We will assign you with a mentor who will be able to provide professional and personal support throughout your training contract. Providing people with a mentor is a critical part of enabling development and knowing if individuals are ‘on track’ in terms of their career path and progression, it also helps with improving knowledge and skills.

Aside from this, we will fund all of your training including memberships, exams, courses and conferences. We also encourage our technical teams to write articles for our Greenshoots platform and take part in podcasts.

We also offer:

• A supportive and friendly place to work and learn
• Annual salary review
• 25 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Holiday Purchase Scheme
• Salary Exchange
• Life assurance
• Healthcare Cash Plan & Wellbeing App
• Group Income Protection
• Long Service Milestones
• Social events
• Vouchers on your birthday, at Christmas and for Special Occasions
• Charity events

About Appleyard Lees

Appleyard Lees is a leading intellectual property law firm with approximately seventy patent and trade mark attorneys and litigators across offices in Halifax, Leeds, Manchester, and Cambridge.

We provide a full range of intellectual property (IP) services covering patents, trade marks, designs and copyright in the UK, Europe and worldwide. We use our technical and legal skills, and many years of experience, to identify and protect IP assets and to uncover and eliminate the risks posed by other people’s IP rights.

Who we are, and what we do – but also, how we do it – makes us distinctive.

Our clients include some of the world’s most exciting innovators, largest companies, and household names, with a number of clients obtaining Fortune 500, Fortune Global 2000, FTSE 100, FTSE 250, and Forbes Global 2000 status. Our clients operate across a diverse collection of industries, including chemicals, retail, consumer goods, electronics, software, bio and life sciences, pharmaceuticals, metals, and heavy industry, higher education, and hospitality, leisure, and tourism.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) has always been part of the core values of Appleyard Lees. To us, diversity is not just a box-ticking exercise, it is a core part of our firm’s values . Diversity of people means diversity of ideas and perspectives, and these allow us to be more creative and flexible as a business.

We welcome the unique contribution that a diverse workforce will bring to our firm and actively encourage applications from all talented people – however your talent is packaged, whatever your background or circumstance and regardless of how you identify.

Please mention IP Careers when applying to Appleyard Lees.

• Areas of Specialism: Electronics, Electrical Engineering, Engineering - Other, Physics