This article is part of our 'Cambridge Spotlight' series, profiling our lawyers based in our Cambridge office. In the series, we find out about their backgrounds, their journey through law and hear why Cambridge is important to them.
Louisa serves as a Partner within the Intellectual Property division, focusing on the global safeguarding and enforcement of brands. She assists clients across the entire spectrum of intellectual property management, encompassing IP evaluations, strategic planning, as well as the processes of clearance, registration, enforcement, and licensing.
I wanted to get into law because… I wanted a career that was both people focussed and intellectually stimulating. For me law offers both of those things.
I came to be in Cambridge because… My husband and I both grew up in the area and around 10 years ago, when we were both working in London, we decided to move back here. Luckily for me, Cambridge is a great place to be a lawyer, and I jumped at the chance to work at Taylor Vinters and get involved with the Cambridge tech scene.
I chose Intellectual Property law because… it offers a really interesting mix of law, advisory work and dispute resolution, and allows me to be involved with clients working at the cutting edge of technology. No day is ever the same, and one day I could be helping a client in the AI sector with global protection of its brand, and another helping a client with a world changing medical device resolve a dispute.
The thing that motivates me most is… learning about the groundbreaking work my clients are doing and helping support them in achieving their goals. It is such a buzz when your hard work helps a client get the result it wants.
The work achievement I'm most proud of is… the development of the Brands practice at legacy Taylor Vinters and the fantastic work our team has done since starting with just me and culminating with the integration with the excellent Mishcon Brands team last year.
The thing that makes Cambridge such a hub of innovation is… it is full of smart, engaged people who want to make a difference and who are supported by the funding and infrastructure to do so. Cambridge is a small world which means most people know someone who can help you and makes accessing the tools you need to succeed as an entrepreneur easier.
One opportunity from the merger is… without a doubt the ability to access a greater depth and breadth of expertise both within our immediate merged teams and the wider firm. On a personal level the ability to consult and work with industry leading IP lawyers on complex matters has undoubtably allowed me to provide an enhanced service to my clients, and the ability to connect clients with lawyers from practice areas we didn’t previously have has allowed us to offer a broader and more holistic offering to support their needs.
Somebody that has inspired me during my career is… it is hard to single out any one person as I have met so many inspirational people during my career, from the incredible lawyers and colleagues I've worked with to my clients who are doing amazing things to change the world. I think what has really inspired me though is seeing what can be achieved when people work together with a common goal, both in terms of the growth and focus Taylor Vinters achieved prior to the merger, and the success stories of our ground-breaking clients.
One thing I wish I knew when I started my career is… it's ok not to know the answer to everything. I think when you're starting out you can feel like you are expected to know everything and be able to answer every question on the spot, but that's not the case. One of the things that has stuck with me from early on in my career is hearing a senior partner say to a client, "I don't know the answer to that, but I will find out".
One future trend in my practice area is… the increased use of technology and AI for carrying out process-driven tasks. That doesn’t mean we won't need people, but they will be able to work more efficiently and have more bandwidth and time to focus on higher value strategic work.
One thing you didn’t know about me is… I love to travel and have previously climbed to Annapurna base camp in the Himalayas and trekked to Machu Picchu in Peru.