Maria Muntean
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A summer job in hospitality in the USA.
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After briefly coming across it during my law undergraduate studies, IP appealed to me as ‘the fun part of law’. There was not much focus on this area of law at my university, so I did not know much about it, but I wanted to learn, so I decided to do a master’s degree in IP law.
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I joined Potter Clarkson in 2019 upon finishing my master’s degree. I was most impressed with how comfortable I felt straight away interacting with the people who work here – I knew instantly that this would be the right team for me.
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I am specialising in trade mark law and I am currently undertaking the trade mark law and practice course at Queen Mary University of London, which is one of the first steps for qualifying as a trade mark attorney. During my master’s degree, this was the subject I had enjoyed the most.
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The only typical thing about my day is that it starts with a trip to the coffee machine! What follows is always different. This is mostly due to the fact I am being exposed to a variety of tasks which, since I am at the beginning of the career, allows me to develop quicker. They range from advising clients to preparing submissions, which in themselves vary depending on the issue at hand. I enjoy the diversity of the work, getting absorbed in my tasks and the satisfaction of untangling a challenging matter. For the latter, whenever I happen to get stuck, I instantly get guidance from more experienced team members so a challenge never lasts for too long.
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It is always particularly encouraging when mentors show me appreciation when deserved and support when needed. This increases my confidence that I have made the right choice by joining the profession.
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Excelling at any job requires dedication and passion, so as long as someone has this sort of interest towards IP, they should follow it and enter the field. There is no set path to follow and this is especially shown in the diversity of backgrounds of the professionals working here.