Intellectual Property 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 lawyers advise on issues ranging 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. Many lawyers specialise in either contentious or non-contentious IP work.

Simon Barker is a solicitor at Birmingham firm Martineau. He's had a rather circuitous route to practising IP law, but that's often the nature of the IP lawyer. Simon did a chemistry degree at Queen Mary, University of London and then worked in industry as a field chemist-cum-sales executive. "I worked for a company in Yorkshire selling water treatment chemicals to the food and beverage industry," he says. "But I came to law with a desire for a career in something that was a little more academically interesting."

After his conversion course at the University of Huddersfield, Simon began a training contract at a high-street firm and ended up doing commercial litigation. Later, when he found himself assisting on a large IP dispute, the practice area really appealed to him. "The subject is inherently interesting in that it's all around you," he notes. "And it's interesting from an academic point of view too." He'd finally found his niche.

Simon explains intellectual property as "bundles of rights associated with intangible assets, not bricks and mortar. So we're talking about things like patents, trademarks, copyright and designs, and the rights associated with those. Some are registered and some are not". A litigator by trade, Simon handles his firm's contentious cases. "We help people protect and enforce their rights. So, for example, we sue parties for using trademarks without consent; or if a third party applies for a conflicting mark, we might help a client oppose the application."

Simon's clients range from medium to large businesses across a broad spectrum of sectors. "What's interesting is that you can get involved in all areas of commercial activity," he says. "One day you can be dealing with a clothing manufacturer; a luxury brand owner the next. If you do hard intellectual property - patents and designs - you might be talking about corrosion coatings for pipes, bits of plastic conservatories, motor car parts - even pots and pans!" He's also increasingly involved in non-contentious cases: "We help clients exploit their intellectual property by selling or licensing it, or sometimes mortgaging it."

The nature of intellectual property means that Simon's practice is international in scope. "We have associations with lawyers and trademark attorneys from all over the world," he says. On the contentious side, someone might have infringed a client's rights in a number of different countries, which means that things can get very strategic and activities can require coordination across several diverse jurisdictions.  Even non-contentious work is international, as companies seek to protect their brands globally. Simon explains: "We'll watch for companies filing trademarks that conflict in different territories and then liaise with attorneys in different territories over that. Sometimes it's necessary to instruct specialist agencies to investigate who's doing what and where - the secret agent stuff can be exciting!"

If intellectual property is international, it's also academically stimulating, as practitioners learn about the commercial issues affecting a range of sectors. "With clients that you do a lot of work for, you get to know their industry. That's important because you understand where they're coming from and the issues they face. You have to have an appreciation of what the client's commercial objectives are. At the end of the day, that's what concerns them most." Simon sees himself as a business adviser, too: "We often advise on new product ideas. Clients say, 'Do you think we'll need a patent for this? We're thinking about branding this, what do you think about getting a trademark?' We help clients protect their rights or carve out a marketing strategy or plans for a new product."

Simon's advice for finding a training contract is to do your homework. "Think about the firm you want to work in," he suggests. "Do some research to find out which firms offer good training and a good training programme. You may have an idea about what you want to do, but keep an open mind and get a range of experience. It's important to have knowledge of what goes on in other practice areas - in intellectual property, it's important to know what goes on in a corporate department." You won't be expected to know that much as a student, but be prepared to grasp it when you're a trainee. The other thing you'll have to understand at that stage is chargeable units, warns Simon. "Lawyers charge by six-minute units and you need to get your head around that pretty quickly. Ultimately, that's what brings in the money!"