Exam training courses

Hi everyone,

We have now created a page on the blog dedicated to the various training courses that are available to help prepare for the EQE and PEB exams.

If you are aware of a course that isn’t on this list but should be, please email informalsyellowsheet@gmail.com with details of the course.

The Honorary Secretary’s POV: Behind the Scenes at the 2024 Student Conference

Ashley Tambe, the Honorary Secretary at CIPA Informals, offers a personal glimpse into this year’s Student Conference. From early morning preparations to the closing of the conference, here’s a firsthand account of his day.

“With 160+ attendees, informative talks, and lovely feedback, it’s safe to say that the student conference was a success! It was a pleasure to be co-hosting this event alongside Lee Davies.”

7:00

“I wake up (way too early for my liking). Strangely, I’m nervous about the moot court, and not the hosting itself. Sounds weird, right? I can explain. For hosting, I have plenty of friends in the crowd to give me a reassuring thumbs up. There’s no script to follow. If there’s anything I forget to mention, I can always compromise. Plus, I will be joined by Lee Davies who is a hosting expert, and can I always just look to him if I need him to jump in.

Now the moot court on the other hand, I was given a witness statement to memorise, and a character to role-play. Firstly, despite having reviewed all the documents on the train to Birmingham, I’ve already forgotten it all. Secondly, as an expert witness, I will need to respond during cross-examination in a way that won’t unfairly bias the trainee volunteers, and that’s harder than it sounds. The trainees spent weeks preparing arguments, and the strength of said arguments will largely depend on the responses that expert witnesses provide on the day. I’ll need to have another read-through of the documents during breakfast!”

9:30

You know how I said I wasn’t nervous about the hosting? I take that back. I arrive at the venue and feel immediately overwhelmed by the buzzing atmosphere. I see familiar faces from last year, members of the Informals committee, and colleagues at my firm. Before I get to say hello to anyone, I’m quickly whisked away for interviews, photos, and a brief chat about the day’s logistics. By the time that was over, there were only 10 minutes until I had to hit the stage! I run over to my friends for a quick catch-up, then check in with the committee members at the Informals stands. Riddhi and Epseeta suggest that Lee and I should walk on stage while Eye of the Tiger is playing in the background. I playfully pass this on to Lee. He makes it happen.

12:00

“Honestly, that went much better than expected. The crowd was very enthusiastic, and I made people laugh a few times. The sessions were fantastic too. Guy Warner, who was part of the session on the new exams, is a phenomenal presenter. I need to get tips from him in case I’m ever doing a presentation like that myself! It was also interesting to hear about different career perspectives from Phillip Lendon, Daryl Bradley, and Debbie Slater. Before I announced a 30-minute break, I told everyone to set themselves a challenge of befriending at least three people who are not already a part of their companies. Now my job is to dart around the drinks lounge and make sure people are doing so!”

14.45

“In the past 2 hrs, we’ve had a session titled ‘Starting Out in Patents: Don’t Journey Alone’ ran by Penelope Aspinall from Jonathan’s Voice, Andrea Brewster OBE from IPinclusive, and Elisabeth Pauli; in addition to a delicious lunch break. Again, the session was lovely and informative. I particularly liked the usage of an online poll that would be displayed on the whiteboard behind the speakers. It’s a smart way to keep the crowd engaged. Also, I’m getting into the groove of hosting now. Next up, the moot court…”

17.10

“The day draws to a close. The moot court was extremely well done. I was mind-blown by the quality of the arguments presented by the trainees who volunteered. One of them had only been in the profession for 6 months, yet argued as if she was a partner with hundreds of cases under her belt! I didn’t mess up any lines as an expert witness, though I did fall off the stage at one point. To be fair, I was told that I played off the fall well. I closed off the session by announcing hot topics (including upcoming yoga sessions, a football tournament, and a student induction day). Time for drinks!”

Key Exam Dates 2024/25

Hi everyone,

The Key Exam Dates page has been updated with the 2024 PEB and 2025 EQE registration and examination dates.

Note in particular the upcoming deadline of 28 May 2024 to register, if you wish to sit EQE Paper F in 2025. This can be done via the EQC portal.

IP Softball 2024

Hello trainees!

For anyone who is not familiar: the softball matches usually entail a few softball games in Hyde Park on a weekday evening with some drinks/food in the sun. It is an excellent way to unwind after a long day at work!

Although softball isn’t officially organised by the Informals, we are happy to maintain a list of contact details to assist teams with arranging matches. We have set up a google form for collecting softball captain contact info, which will then be shared on this page so that captains can reach out and arrange softball matches. The link to input captain info is https://forms.gle/cTAw5JJdxybB4TK27.

Please share this form with whoever at your firm/company has been designated softball captain.

The table below lists contact details for team captains. Captains who have answered “Yes” in the last column are open to others contacting them to ask to join their team if they do not already have a team, with a view to being inclusive of smaller firms and in-house attorneys.

Captains: if there are any errors in the table or if you want to update the information, please get in touch with the blog and website team https://yellowsheet.wordpress.com/meet-the-team-2023-24/.

CIPA Informals Buddy Scheme

Hello Trainees:

Have you heard of the buddy scheme?

The CIPA Informals Buddy Scheme pairs up trainees from different firms so that a mentor can guide and support a mentee as they transition from university, academia, industry, etc. into the profession. In the past, buddies have used the scheme to discuss training paths and working environments at different firms, exam preparation and revision, and managing workloads, feedback, and relationships with their supervisor(s).

The buddy scheme is open to all UK-based trainees. We are especially looking for mentors to provide these trainees with guidance.

However, we are also welcoming sign-ups from new mentees!

Experienced trainees: could you mentor a trainee?

We are sure you remember how stressful things can be when you are new to the profession and feel like you have been thrown in at the deep end. Whilst many new trainees are fortunate to have a strong support network of trainees in their office, those in smaller firms or in-house departments may not have any fellow trainees to turn to. Additionally, we believe that all mentees benefit from having a contact outside of their firm and getting a broader perspective of what it is like to work in patent law.

As well as finding it rewarding to give guidance and help to a less experienced trainee, mentors have previously enjoyed widening their trainee network and getting an insight into life at another firm. Please sign up if you are interested!

Unsure if you should be a mentor or a mentee?

As a rough guide, we encourage trainees who have been part-qualified for over a year to sign up as mentors and trainees who have recently joined the profession or who have just become part-qualified to sign up as mentees. However, this is just a guide. Please feel free to use the system in a way that you feel would be most beneficial for you.

How to sign up

To sign up, all you need to do is fill in a short questionnaire (https://forms.gle/j7G2hFzRHS2MTDJu7). We will then be in contact to match you with a mentor/mentee.