Get To Know: Anita Hodea

1. Tell me about key moments or mentors that have most influenced your legal career and shaped your current intellectual property (IP) practice?

As I did not study IP at university, my first real exposure to it came during my first seat at the previous global law firm where I trained. In the United Kingdom, trainee lawyers typically rotate through different departments over a two-year period before qualifying into a specific team. That first seat was a defining experience, giving me the opportunity to work on a technically challenging disclosure exercise in a patent litigation case. While the work was intense, with long nights fueled by coffee and pizza, I look back on it very fondly. The team was incredibly supportive, taking the time to explain difficult concepts, the background of the case and the wider context of patent litigation, which was all new to me at the time. In a full-circle moment, that matter was led by Nathan Smith, who is now an IP Partner in my