Career breaks: business and pleasure

23rd Sep 2022

From wildlife photography to running wreath making workshops, four of our members recount what a career break offered to them.

Whether for parental leave, learning a new skill or simply taking some time to regroup, career breaks are a valuable part of many trade mark professionals’ careers.

With longer breaks and more varied career paths becoming more common, understanding the many forms that a career break can take is key.

Although many of us may still assume that taking a career break will have a negative impact on salary, Fellows and Associates’ 2022 salary survey shows that, over the course of a practitioner’s career, this is not the case.

Our career break policy allows any member to apply for an 85% discount on membership fees for the duration of a career break. 

We asked four present and former trade mark attorneys to weigh in on their experiences of career breaks.

Charlie Bond

I am a Principal Associate in the brands team at Gowling WLG, and joined the firm in 2014. In January 2019 I left to take a career break to travel.

It was a difficult decision to make, because I genuinely loved my job and the team I worked with, but I had always wanted to travel and I was keen to do it at an age where I could enjoy some of the more adrenaline based activities.

The views of people around me differed enormously – some said it would ruin my career, a few were jealous and wished they had the courage to do the same, but most understood my reasoning for doing it and were supportive.

The Gowling WLG team fell into this latter category – they simply encouraged me to stay in touch when I got back (which, obviously, I did).

My travels took me all over South America (Chile, Easter Island, Peru, Bolivia, the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Columbia, Argentina and Panama), then over to New Zealand to live in a van for several months (thoroughly recommended), and on to Australia.

 The trip was slightly curtailed by Covid, but it is difficult to complain – it was an incredible 16 months, experiencing different cultures, seeing amazing things, meeting all sorts of people and making friends along the way.

When I returned I relocated to Leeds (where Gowling WLG do not have an office) but because Covid had opened up new possibilities for home working I had the opportunity to return to my original role, which I did happily.

Since returning, I have been promoted and have generally continued on the career path I had before I took my break.

I did not know what to expect when I returned, and whether my break would put prospective employers off, but I did not find that to be the case.

I also had opportunities to join other firms, so there was seemingly no negative impact on my career from frolicking around the world for 16 months.

Similarly, although I have no plan to do so again myself, I think employers are generally more receptive to this sort of thing now.

My firm has a sabbatical policy, as do many others, and the impression I get is that employers are starting to see that our careers are long, burnout is a real issue, and so if someone can take a period away and then return refreshed then it will likely benefit the firm and individual in the long term.

Sarah Jeffery

Life has long been a balance between ‘work to live’ and ‘live to work’. Many of us have hobbies that we secretly daydream about turning into a career on difficult days.

I have always been passionate about wine, studying for various industry qualifications alongside my day job.

In all honesty, I explored leaving law altogether for a second career in wine.

With this goal in mind, I embarked on the WSET diploma in wines and spirits. I knew it was a big commitment, but the reality was that juggling 20 hours of weekly study time alongside long working hours was too challenging.

I worked in a great role with some lovely colleagues at GSK for over a decade but realised that I had become very accustomed to one company’s ways of working. When a company restructure presented the opportunity to move on, I saw two options- move to another in-house pharma role or take the plunge and focus on my passions. 

I embarked on a “grown up gap year” visiting various wine regions before returning to London to sit exams having gained a real understanding of the places I was studying.

I’m also a keen wildlife photographer and a career break gave me time to spend longer with animals and my camera than is possible during one or two week breaks from the office; photographing jaguars in the Pantanal jungle, whales in the Arctic and being sat on by a young elephant seal in South Georgia (more fun than it sounds).

It was also lovely to visit various overseas trade mark colleagues in their home cities on a more relaxed basis than at conferences like INTA. 

However far you are from the office, trade mark law cannot be escaped- brands (and infringements!) are everywhere.

 Ironically, being away from work actually ended up reigniting my commitment to trade mark law.

Having the luxury of time and headspace in a different environment allowed me to reflect on my career and life goals and opened my eyes to opportunities other than another in-house pharma role.

When I returned to the world of work, I became a contractor as a calculated means of broadening my exposure to differing approaches and cultures in diverse companies, legal teams and industry sectors.

Contracting ultimately led me to a role in private practice at Pinsent Masons, a career route that would never have occurred to me when I first left GSK but which I now really enjoy. 

In summary, a career break that began with a plan to leave law altogether left me revitalised and more open minded whilst also reinforcing how much I enjoy trade mark law, not only in terms of the topic but also our global community.

Sara Leno

Feeling (more than) a little jaded? Sleeping in until mid-morning at the weekends and not really understanding why?

Having less than charitable thoughts about your boss? If you’ve answered yes to all three questions, then it may be time to consider a career break.

This is the stage I’d reached eight years ago, when I decided to take three months off to re-group.

By that time, I’d been in the profession 27 years but it was still too early to retire. As it happens, that three months turned into six before I found another job.

I’d like to tell you I did something very worthy, like working for a charity, or that I travelled to exotic climes, but neither of those happened.

Instead, I was given what I now realise was very precious time with family and friends who needed help, and who are no longer around.

My best friend’s husband was in a hospice, so I was able to visit regularly and recall fondly an evening where we watched a TV programme about Australia and also had a good laugh.

I had a number of lunches with our best man, who had depression which we discussed openly, and could see more of my mother, who had dementia.

I didn’t manage entirely to get away from administration and legal work.

The local neighbourhood was trying to obtain village green status for the land nearby, and I know more about the differences between “by right” and “as of right” than anyone really needs to know!

I own an MX5 sports car and our area of the owners’ club was subsumed into a larger one, so I fought to have our local meeting retained.

On the fun side, I saw 20^th Century Boy (Marc Bolan’s story), Jersey Boys, an ELO tribute band, went to Wimbledon and saw the Meltzer vs. Tsonga match, saw a knitwear exhibition called “Chanel to Westwood” and went to a jewellery exhibition at Goldsmiths’ College.

There was also a trip to Chester, and a holiday in Isla Canela, a part of Spain I hadn’t visited before.

My tiredness was down to my weight and diet, both of which I started to address with the help of a personal trainer.

I did not want to take more than six months off for fear of being out of the loop, but my time off gave me perspective, time to concentrate on my wellbeing, and enabled me to start my next job with renewed enthusiasm. 

Carol Nyahasha

I took a career break for approximately 4 years. For me, the the decision came after the birth of my second child. 

I was still very much career focussed but ultimately felt that progressing my career (and the effort that comes with that) and being the mom of two young children wasn’t compatible. 

 I decided to follow my dream of running an events business which I then set up from scratch and ran on my own. 

I focussed on weddings, social events and did the odd corporate event. 

I also ran wreath making workshops at Christmas time which were great fun – I still do these but only for friends now. 

My speciality was event and floral design and event styling which I really loved, as it enabled me to engage my creative side.

Of course, bringing clients’ dreams to life was very fulfilling – my work was even featured in some leading wedding publications. 

The pandemic solidified my decision to come back to the legal world fulltime given that the events industry was very hard hit at that time.

Ironically, because of the pandemic I found potential employers much more open to flexible working which is really important to me as a working mum. 

I very much enjoyed my time away from the profession and didn’t realise how much I needed it from a wellbeing perspective until I took the break. 

Running my own business, however, really helped me appreciate management, structure and financials. All of this experience has assisted in the way I now deal with and advise clients and how I approach my career progression. 

I would recommend a career break to anyone who is either at a cross roads or needs a mental break from the profession - it can give you a new lease of life and perspective if or when one decides to return.

If you are currently taking a career break and considering making a return to the profession, LawCare’s peer support scheme is there to help you with your next steps. Please click here to get in touch with them.

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