Kate, a former founding partner of James & Wells, is a registered patent attorney (in New Zealand and Australia), has degrees in physics and chemistry, and is internationally recognised as a leading IP strategist with particular experience in patent matters. She is also an educator in all matters IP and intangible asset related and has extensive expertise in establishing and managing IP portfolios.

After stepping down from the James & Wells partnership in 2015, Kate established some non-IP related businesses and sits on a number of corporate boards. Kate is now focussed on providing strategic IP and business advice as a consultant at James & Wells.

While Kate’s real-world business journey began with partnership in James & Wells, it expanded rapidly through her role as liaison between James & Wells and many of its corporate clients such as Gallagher Group, Zespri, AgResearch and Bomac. Exposure to the world’s top IP advisors and strategists through her involvement with the IP Business Congress gave her an international perspective. Kate is roundly experienced in business life as a consequence of running her own non-IP related businesses and holding independent directorships and trustee positions on a variety of boards.

Kate has university degrees in physics and chemistry and works across numerous technologies with the benefit of obtaining patents for clients in numerous technological fields.

Kate was the first New Zealander to be recognised in IAM’s top 300 international patent strategist list and the first New Zealander to be recognised by them consecutively for five years. Managing IP magazine also declared her an Expert of Experts in IP strategy and Lexis Nexis gave her their Client Choice award. She has also received numerous international accolades for her patent work.

Internationally recognised as an IP educator, Kate was asked to address Vienna’s ASTP conference – the Association of European Science and Technology Transfer Professionals – after a paper she wrote on brainstorming came to the attention of the prestigious body. Locally, Kate provides workshops and seminars internally for businesses as well as for bodies such as Callaghan Innovation and LegalWise.