Curiosity has sustained Jessica Lee’s career as a Patent Attorney and Trade Mark Attorney, as has her genuine interest in people, and the stories behind innovation. Jessica’s recent promotion to Principal is an exciting next step in an exceptional track record of supporting complex IP challenges.
I’m delighted to be joining the Principal ranks. It’s a meaningful milestone because it reflects the confidence of colleagues I greatly respect.
Jess says. “I’m excited to continue working with our clients and colleagues, and to have more opportunities to contribute ideas and help shape how we deliver client-focused solutions.”
Georgina Higginbotham, Practice Lead, EICT, puts it simply. “Jess is trusted by clients and genuinely engaged with them, bringing commercial acumen and deep technical expertise. She’s a true collaborator whose positive impact strengthens the team.”
Jess’ elevation to Principal comes off the back of a wealth of experience across diverse industries. She has worked with companies from ASX-listed multinationals to founder-led start ups. Her technical expertise includes medical devices, travel and airport technologies, telecommunications, machine vision, image processing, renewables, agricultural machinery, home appliances, consumer products and design protection.
The best things come naturally
When it comes to her work, Jess says it doesn’t always make sense to try to force a relationship or outcome. She finds that the most useful conversations happen when people are not trying too hard, but are instead listening properly, and allowing trust to build naturally.
This philosophy also helps her to break through difficult challenges, by taking strategic breaks.
“I’ll go out and spend 20 minutes plucking out weeds or doing something very normal and boring…and then I feel like I can deal with it a bit better.”
“I’m a firm believer that sometimes not thinking about something is still allowing it to be processed in some deeper layer of the subconscious.”
This might explain her diverse hobbies. A chance to switch off and come back refreshed while her mind processes in the background, but also simply a chance to enjoy time with family.
Whether she’s travelling, skiing, hiking, walking by the beach or going out to the theatre, it helps her to switch off and return with a clearer perspective. She often gets back to her Canadian roots by taking her family to go skiing in Whistler where she has built a lot of happy memories over the years.
Crossing borders and disciplines
Few IP practitioners can traverse as effortlessly across regional and technical boundaries as Jess. Fluent in English and Mandarin, and having lived and worked across Asia, North America, and Australia, Jess navigates both cross-cultural conversations and complex technical disciplines with the same ease. Her ability to connect the dots across a variety of fields is highly valuable to her clients and colleagues.
She first studied Engineering Science at the University of Toronto, then completed a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering at McGill University in Montreal. Before moving to Australia, she also spent time working in a startup in Canada – an early exposure to the pace, uncertainty and energy of innovation-led businesses. When she first arrived in Sydney around 20 years ago, Jess was considering two very different paths: a research role at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, or training as a patent attorney. After years in university and research environments, she chose the Patent Attorney path and never looked back. She later added a Master of Industrial Property to this impressive CV.
An active community member
Outside of client work, Jess contributes meaningfully to the broader IP and innovation community. She provides IP guidance for startup investors and founders through Sydney Angels, and is a member of the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce.
“At first I just wanted to talk to other Canadians because I was homesick.” She says of her motivation to join. Over time, that simple motivation grew into a way to connect with people across industries, hear from business leaders, and contribute to conversations around the Canada-Australia relationship.
Jess also works closely with trainees and juniors at Griffith Hack and has tutored the patent drafting course at UTS. She is a Fellow of IPTA, a member of AIPPI and FICPI, and is actively involved with the Asian Patent Attorneys Association, where she sits on the Anti-Counterfeiting Committee.
Despite her impressive resume, when you ask Jess what she loves most about her work, she talks about the people and businesses behind the ideas. She enjoys understanding what makes an innovation important and finds great satisfaction in seeing how intellectual property protection helps clients achieve their business objectives, especially when a product she helped protect makes it into the world.
Get in touch with Jess here, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
