IP work can be divided into two main areas: hard and soft intellectual property. ‘Hard' intellectual property relates to patents, while ‘soft' intellectual property covers trademarks, copyright, design rights and passing off. IP barristers advise on issues that range from commercial exploitation to infringement disputes and agreements that deal either exclusively with IP rights or with IP rights in the wider context of larger commercial transactions.

James Whyte is a barrister at specialist IP set 8 New Square. He was called to the Bar in 2005. As is the case with many who specialise in intellectual property, James's background is in the world of science: "I studied natural sciences at Cambridge, specialising in genetics. I stuck it out for a fair while, also doing a PhD in molecular cell biology at Cambridge. I'd realised early on in my PhD that I didn't fancy staying in science for the long term and the research was very frustrating at times - I spent over a year on something in which I made no progress whatsoever! So I was considering my next move."

Encouraged by others who thought he'd enjoy law, James explored both the barrister and solicitor routes: "I went to Slaughter and May for some work experience and also did a handful of mini-pupillages. Looking at them both, it became clear that it was the Bar I preferred." Having studied his GDL at City University and BVC at BPP, James did his pupillage at 8 New Square. He reflects: "Pupillage is painful by its very nature and it's never going to be a bundle of laughs. But it was made as easy as it could have been by the very friendly people here and the fact that I was learning a lot."

James explains his decision to focus on intellectual property: "I wasn't committed to intellectual property in any way when I started the conversion course and thought I'd just see what subjects I most enjoyed. However, when I did the mini-pupillages at the IP sets, I discovered that intellectual property was what I enjoyed! I also wanted to keep up my scientific interests and enjoyed the subject matter, so that helped to sway me. I half-suspected that the fact that almost everyone at the IP Bar had a science background was an advertising ploy used by the clerks to entice clients, but I now see it's very valuable, from the point of view of having both a general technical background and a scientific way of thinking. For example, I was involved with a trial concerned with genetic engineering, so I had a very good idea of what was going on."

As James is at at the junior end of the IP Bar, his court experience is usually as part of a team and not flying solo. He explains: "My work has been very trial heavy and I've been going from one thing to another. However, I'm mostly acting as a junior - or a junior's junior - and I'm not in court on my own very much. I do the odd small application here and there, but things only really begin to build up after the first few years. I've been involved in a certain amount of patent litigation, a big copyright-related trial and a trademark case in the Court of Appeal. My workload varies a lot depending on whether it's during the build-up to a trial, when I'll be totally focused on that particular case. At other times, it's a question of trying to keep my other cases on the boil at their various stages of development. That might include advisory work and meeting with experts and solicitors, in order to help things to progress."

James remembers fondly a case in the early stages of his career, where his adversary was someone rather close to home (or rather, down the corridor): "I did a passing-off trial at the start of my tenancy where we enjoyed a convincing win and I felt I'd done a good job. It was particularly gratifying that the other side thought they had a very strong case - not to mention that the lead opposing barrister was our head of chambers! That happens quite often: because the IP world is so small, both sides may be represented by barristers from the same chambers. You find yourself going to lunch with someone you've been slating in court the day before!"

Beyond the thrill of a win, James highlights those elements of his career from which he derives the most (and least) pleasure: "I thoroughly enjoy the interplay between science and law, and the exposure to the technical side of things. It's good to engage with experts, critically appraise what they're saying and understand things without having to have it all explained. That's the good part of the job. The bad part is that there's often just too much work, and when you do too much of anything it ceases to be enjoyable. I shouldn't really complain that there's plenty of work, but it's a bit of a fiction that you're in control of your time as a barrister, especially at my stage of things. You might be attracted by the idea of being your own boss, but you are still employed - it's just by the clients, and you're at their beck and call. I suppose you could organise your working day as you see fit, but when there's so much to do that it's all day, all night and all weekend, there's not much flexibility. Having said that, because almost everything we do is in the High Court, which shuts over summer, that can be quite a quiet time and it may be possible to take long summer breaks."

With such an emphasis on science across both hard and soft intellectual property, James thinks without some scientific background you may struggle to get a foot in the door at the IP Bar: "While some IP barristers have only done science A-levels, they're in the minority. The tendency is for people to have at least done a science degree, if not a PhD or a master's. Unless you've got a bit of science, you'd have no chance at this set." James considers a few other skills to be essential: "Universal to the Bar, selfmotivation is important. You also have to be very pedantic - attention to detail is key because you're the one that has to spot all the detailed points. Having a good commercial instinct is also important. When I look at the successful silks in the IP world, they have commerciality in addition to the legal skills. I'm always impressed by their understanding of how to get the client to where it wants to be, commercially speaking."

So you've decided that intellectual property is for you and you want to secure a pupillage. James has some suggestions on how to do just that: "There's no requirement to have studied intellectual property at undergraduate level, because many have come through the conversion course. However, there are only really four specialist IP sets, so you should try to do minipupillages at all four. That will both benefit your application and give you a sense of what each is like. It would be surprising if someone who was serious about intellectual property hadn't done that."

And as ever, "the better your academic background, the more seriously you will be taken from the start". Beyond the academics, a positive approach will stand you in good stead, says James: "It's very competitive, so stay upbeat. I know many impressive people who didn't get pupillage or tenancy, and there's no doubt that it's extremely difficult and there's an element of luck. So you've got to approach it in a positive frame of mind - stick with it and hope for the best!"