Join us for our ThinkHouse Foundations Autumn Seminar 2024, taking place on 17 October in Birmingham.

ThinkHouse Foundations is our tailored programme for in-house lawyers starting out in their careers. Drawing on the topics and insights that matter to you, we explore the opportunities and challenges faced by paralegals, trainees and lawyers with up to five years' experience. These events are specifically tailored to the needs of the in-house lawyer and also offer the opportunity to network with their peers at a similar career stage.

At the seminar we will deliver training on four topics, three legal sessions and one skills-based, all designed to help broaden your knowledge and provide practical take-away points you can apply in your day-to-day role.

Trade Secrets - what are they and how can they help with your IP strategy?

Trade secrets used to be obscure – look at a definition of "intellectual property" in a contract and trade secrets will be a long way down or may not appear at all. But trade secrets are now becoming increasingly important to businesses - driven by new technologies, the increasing importance of data, and the increasingly competitive and sometimes tense geopolitical landscape. But what are they exactly? And how can they be used as part of an overall effective IP strategy? In this session Arnie Francis will provide an introduction to these topics to help you understand and advise your business on how trade secrets can be used to protect a business's intangible assets

Working together

Delivered by experts from our Learning & Development team, this interactive workshop will give you greater understanding of your working and communication styles, and the impact this can have on others. Based on the Insights Discovery personality model, the session helps with the development of stronger working relationships. You will learn more about your personal communication style and preferences, recognise and understand different styles and preferences of others and learn how to flex your own style to create greater impact and build stronger relationships.

A new Government brings big changes to employment law

Philipp Borisov and Olivia Gissel will be covering the Labour Government's commitment to 'make work pay' through the introduction of a sweeping Employment Rights Bill within the first 100 days of taking charge. During the session, they will highlight what the new Employment Rights Bill seeks to achieve and will provide some practical tips on what your organisation may want to consider as they prepare for the forthcoming changes.

Boilerplate in contracts

Why should you care about boilerplate clauses (i.e. all those standard clauses that tend to appear at the end of the contract)? Georgia Morris and Rachel Pennell will use their different litigation and contract drafting viewpoints to discuss some of the key boilerplate clauses found in many commercial contracts, and why it's important to pay attention to them.

We hope you can join us for a morning of legal updates, skills development and peer networking.