Welcome to the latest instalment of Managing IP’s ‘Five minutes with’ series, where we learn more about IP practitioners on a personal as well as a professional level. This time we have Andy Lee, partner at Brandsmiths in the UK.
Someone asks you at a party what you do for a living. What do you say?
Quite boringly and predictably, a ‘lawyer’. Usually, people will be interested in what sort of law, so it's quite easy to give some good examples of intellectual property work that lay people will understand and be interested in.
Talk us through a typical working day.
I am an early riser, awake by 6am latest. A large (strong!) black coffee is my first thought, required as a matter of urgency otherwise I can’t function. I will spend 30 minutes checking and replying to emails, or sending any emails that I have in mind, or generally musing about the day ahead.
If I am in the office, I will usually try and get to an F45 class first then cruise down to the office at around 9am. I will check in with my team and/or line reports as needed. I will often have various management meetings with other partners or our senior leadership team. The day will unfold, sometimes planned, other times not.
Being a litigator, you are often responding to what the other side or the court does (i.e. a draft judgment might suddenly appear) and so a day that might have seemed run of the mill at the start can suddenly take a sideways turn!
What are you working on at the moment?
I am just drafting the answers to these questions at the moment!
Other than that, I am overseeing a lot of IP litigation. Some key ongoing cases are the Umbro v Dreampairs litigation which is to be heard by the UK Supreme Court in March next year. Also, the Peppa Pig v Wolfoo litigation, a large copyright, trademark, and passing off case. We act for Hasbro which owns the worldwide rights to Peppa Pig.
I also have a couple of outstanding appeals in the England and Wales Court of Appeal. In between that, there is a mixture of High Court and Intellectual Property Enterprise Court litigation at different stages of the case cycle.
Does one big piece of work usually take priority or are you juggling multiple things?
I am fortunate enough to have a fantastic team of lawyers who undertake the day-to-day running of the cases for me. My role these days is much more supervisory, being involved in the management of the business, and on cases being responsible for key strategic decisions and dealing with clients where necessary.
Each case will have a varying number and structure of fee earners. I think my team would say they often are juggling multiple things, but they all work extremely hard and deliver. Every piece of work is a priority and given the same level of care and attention.
What is the most exciting aspect of your role and what is the most stressful?
It is a privilege to be an IP lawyer. The law is complex and interesting, and the facts in cases likewise. I always say that in practically every case I have been involved in, I could have been on the other side and put up a good fight. The range of clients, personalities, markets, and goods that you deal with as an IP lawyer is so varied. I am also a bit of a law geek, and so being able to fashion niche legal arguments is always exciting.
The most challenging aspect can be managing client expectations, dealing with difficult clients, and also, because the law is so complex, navigating your way through the existing jurisprudence and looking for angles that can benefit the client. Whilst challenging, I enjoy all of this.
Tell us the key characteristics that make a successful IP lawyer/practitioner.
Because this area of law is complex, it can be easy to sit on the fence when advising clients.
I think the best IP lawyers are the ones who are brave and bold with their advice. Clients don’t want heavily caveated advice which leaves the decision to them. That is like going to a doctor and being told you might have five things wrong with you, here are three solutions for each but you decide what to do. You want the doctor to say: ‘This is the issue, do this’.
I would say resilience and bravery in your advice and decisions are key - don’t think of the law as it is, think of the law as you want it to be.
What is the most common misconception about IP?
That patents are hard and everything else is easy. That is wrong and most patent lawyers I know agree. The law in patents is relatively settled, the subject matter of course can be tricky. However, trademark and copyright law are unsettled and complex by comparison.
What or who inspires you?
I was a huge fan of Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II. She led with humility and grace and had practically universal respect around the world.
If you weren’t in IP, what would you be doing?
Ambitiously, an astronaut or, more realistically, a police officer. I have always had a fascination with space and if there is one man who is a personal inspiration of mine it is the late Professor Stephen Hawking, although I did struggle a little with his A Brief History of Time book! So, if I could choose, I think being an astronaut would be fascinating.
‘Robocop’ is my favourite movie and I think being a police officer would also be fascinating. I would hope, however, that I wouldn’t meet the same fate as Alex Murphy did in the movie!
Any advice you would give your younger self?
Accept that you can’t please everyone or control everything. Focus on your values and development and don’t worry about what others think of you. Also don’t stress about things that aren’t in your control, which is a lot of things in life! Focus on the things in your control as your future will depend on your controllable actions i.e. constantly striving to improve. Embrace failure – that builds resilience and is how we all improve.
What is your motto in life?
Stolen from another of my favourite movies (‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’)! – The future is not set. There is no fate, but what we make for ourselves.
