CLASS OF 2021

Positive strides

Zoe Butler and Tess Waldron of Powell Gilbert feature on WIPR’s 2021 Influential Women in IP and Trailblazer lists, respectively. They discuss the main D&I issues confronting the sector and what should be done to tackle them.

What attracted you to the world of IP?

ZOE BUTLER: I started out my academic life convinced that I was destined for a career in science. Although my mother was a lawyer—specialising in family law—and my role-model, it wasn’t until I was part-way through my degree that my interest in law was piqued. I can still picture the moment my mother told me that she had read about this area of law called IP which seemed to offer the perfect combination of a legal career and an interest in science.

The appeal was immediate and, although I enjoyed the diversity of work during my training contract, I kept gravitating back to IP and, in particular, patent litigation. I loved the diversity of work, the international dimension to the work, and the increasing relevance and significance of IP to different industries.

TESS WALDRON: If I had to sum it up in one word, I’d say variety. I have always been fascinated by learning how things work and what they do. When I was a child, I loved science books that featured a different topic on each page, so that on one you’d learn about the solar system and about how fish breathe on the next.

I find that patent law gives you the same breadth of experience. Since I was a trainee, I have learned about a plethora of different technologies, including anti-epileptics, transcatheter heart valves, video compression, microscopes and robotics, all of which have been fascinating.

With each new client or matter you get to meet new people, including experts who are right at the top of their fields, and find out about new businesses and sectors. It is always different and hugely stimulating.

What can be done to attract more women and people from diverse backgrounds to IP?

WALDRON: In the UK, there is a lot more to be done to attract people from diverse backgrounds into law generally, let alone into IP. At the individual or firm level, it is difficult to address in any meaningful way the broad structural inequalities that underpin the sector’s lack of diversity, but it is important to try our best to mitigate those factors.

At Powell Gilbert, we are actively involved with sixth form (years 11 and 12) mentoring schemes, as well as with IP Inclusive, which is dedicated to improving diversity in the IP profession.

”The profession is not reflective of the wider population, in particular in terms of ethnicity, disability and socio-economic status, so there is a lot of room for improvement.”
Tess Waldron, Powell Gilbert

In terms of women in IP, the issue may be more one of career progression and retention rather than attracting people into IP in the first place. I am lucky that I work with some great female role models at Powell Gilbert and externally and have always felt very supported, but women are still generally under-represented at the top of the profession, in particular among the judiciary.

There’s no easy fix for this, but a very practical thing we can do is to encourage both partners to take shared parental or adoption leave when they become parents. Once domestic and caring responsibilities more generally are shared equally there is less likely to be a “motherhood penalty”.

BUTLER: I agree that when it comes to women in IP, the issue is perhaps more one of keeping women in the profession rather than necessarily attracting them to a career in IP in the first place. We have recruited some very talented women as associates at Powell Gilbert and we strive to provide them with a clear career progression path and support in realising their potential, as we do for all our associates—around half of whom are women.

Encouraging all associates, whatever their gender, to take shared parental/adoption leave is an important practical step that we can take to signal that we consider domestic and caring responsibilities as gender-neutral. I am involved in the firm’s recruitment efforts, and it is a source of frustration that we don’t see a significantly more diverse pool of candidates applying for associate positions.

Initiatives such as Powell Gilbert’s mentoring scheme are important, but clearly more needs to be done to address structural inequalities that hold back people from diverse backgrounds from considering law or science in the first place.

Is the legal profession doing enough to promote D&I?

WALDRON: I believe that the legal profession is sincere in its efforts to promote diversity and inclusion (D&I) and remains years ahead of some other industries. But the profession is not reflective of the wider population, in particular in terms of ethnicity, disability and socio-economic status, so there is a lot of room for improvement.

BUTLER: There are a number of great initiatives in the legal profession to promote D&I whether within individual firms with flexible working initiatives, generous paternity/maternity/shared parental/adoption leave policies and mentoring schemes, and in the wider profession with organisations such as ChIPs and IP Inclusive. There is a genuine desire on the part of the legal profession to do better in terms of D&I, but there is some way still to go.

”As a result of the pandemic, a lot of diversity initiatives such as mentoring and summer schemes have either been cancelled or taken place virtually, which reduces their effectiveness.”
Zoe Butler, Powell Gilbert

What impact has COVID-19 had on D&I initiatives?

WALDRON: Unfortunately, the pandemic has adversely impacted D&I generally, including initiatives. It has been well documented that the pandemic has disproportionately affected women, who have borne the brunt of school closures and home-schooling and who have dropped out of the workforce in record numbers and ethnic minority groups, who have tended to suffer more severely from the disease.

It has also significantly affected lower socio-economic groups, who are more likely to have been working outside the home during the pandemic—and who have been more exposed to COVID-19, and are less likely to have the resources necessary to home-school effectively.

BUTLER: As a result of the pandemic, a lot of diversity initiatives such as mentoring and summer schemes have either been cancelled or taken place virtually, which reduces their effectiveness. It is a very challenging time for young people to gain experience and access those initiatives and support networks that might encourage and support them to take the next steps in their career.

As a profession we need to consider carefully how we try to address some of these impacts and undo some of the damage.

How are you involved in promoting diversity?

BUTLER: Powell Gilbert is proud to support IP Inclusive, which is dedicated to improving diversity in the IP professions, as well as ChIPs, a non-profit organisation that advances and connects women in technology, law and policy. Tess and I are on the committee of the ChIPs London chapter.

WALDRON: As well as being involved in ChIPs, I mentor more junior members of the firm and I was instrumental in the design and adoption of Powell Gilbert’s market-leading paternity/maternity/shared parental/adoption leave policy.

Who or what inspires you?

BUTLER: In addition to having worked on some amazing cases over the years, meeting world-leading scientists, inspirational clients and lawyers from overseas, I have been in the fortunate position of being involved in founding and growing Powell Gilbert.

I was one of five partners who set up the firm 14 years ago and being involved in creating a firm with people you trust and admire professionally and personally has been inspiring.

My parents were also an inspiration. My mother was a partner in a law firm juggling a busy career with a family at a time during the 1970s and 80s when there were few women in her position. My father took a career change when I came along and worked from home—something that was unusual at the time.

”I hope we start to see a better gender and diversity balance in the more senior ranks of the profession.”
Zoe Butler

WALDRON: I have been fortunate enough to have met a lot of inspiring people through work, most recently individuals involved in the development and rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines.

I am inspired by my German paternal grandmother who was involved in Wilfrid Israel’s Kindertransport programme before coming to the UK in 1940 and spending the rest of World War 2 writing propaganda leaflets. She was a remarkable woman, and I would have loved to have been able to spend some time with her.

What advice would you give to those entering the IP profession?

WALDRON: You don’t necessarily need a science degree to be a successful patent lawyer, just an inquiring mind. A little common sense goes a long way, and if sometimes you have to go the long way around in your career, it doesn’t mean that you won’t get there in the end. In fact, a non-traditional career path can be a positive asset.

BUTLER: Be proactive. Put yourself forward for particular types of work or cases and identify people you would like to work with. In terms of career progression, this may require making bold moves and taking a risk—not something that comes naturally to lawyers—such as moving firm or taking a different path, for example, taking on an in-house role.

And don’t be afraid to ask for help, whether it’s with work, to develop your skills or because you feel overwhelmed.

What are your hopes for D&I in the future?

WALDRON: That it improves. Our first task is to try and undo some of the harm caused by the pandemic, to D&I in the legal profession, but also to those whose education has been disrupted significantly over the last 18 months.

We need to redouble our efforts to attract and promote individuals from diverse backgrounds, both to inspire the next generation and to increase the diversity of thinking and approaches in the profession.

BUTLER: I hope we start to see a better gender and diversity balance in the more senior ranks of the profession such as partnerships, among senior barristers and the judiciary. The profession perhaps needs to think more radically, for example, by promoting more vocally different routes to the judiciary, such as encouraging more solicitors to apply for judicial positions.

The profession might also think about the structure of the various levels of the judiciary, perhaps, even considering more panels rather than judges sitting alone, which might make the judiciary more attractive to a wider spectrum of people. In my experience, there is often greater diversity among the judiciary in other European countries.

Zoe Butler is a partner at law firm Powell Gilbert in London. She can be contacted at: zoe.butler@powellgilbert.com

Tess Waldron is an associate at Powell Gilbert in London. She can be contacted at: tess.waldron@powellgilbert.com

Images, from top: Shutterstock / sportpoint, jenson, 4Max, Southworks, Robert Kneschke

2021

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