In 1995, Jonathan took the decision to change careers and began a two year law course at the Guildford, College of Law. Having accepted a training contract with a large London law firm, in 1997, he joined that firm as a trainee solicitor, qualifying as a solicitor in 1999. Over the next nine years he climbed the law ladder to his current position at leading international legal practice, Norton Rose, as Partner and Head of Intellectual Property and Information Technology Dispute Resolution Practice. 

 

Jonathan has notable experience in handling major patent litigation for a variety of industry sectors such as pharmaceuticals/life sciences, engineering and electronics and also advises on disputes in relation to trade marks and copyright, and on contentious I.T. matters. He writes regularly for legal and industry journals and speaks at conferences on intellectual property and industry matters. Jonathan also lectures on the University of London Queen Mary Intellectual Property (I.P.)  Research Institute MSc  in Management of Intellectual Property, and tutors on the University of Oxford Post Graduate Diploma in I.P. Law and Practice. 

 

Warlingham School welcomed Jonathan back in June when he gave up some of his spare time to visit the school. During his visit, he met with the Year 12 Law students and spoke to them about their course, the benefits of them pursuing higher education opportunities and the potential careers that they may follow in the law industry. Law teacher, Peter Jones, said: “The students greatly appreciate Jonathan making time in his busy schedule to explain life in a major commercial law practice. He gave a fascinating and enlightening talk which we all found not only informative but also inspiring. This is evidenced by one of the group deciding to go to university once she has completed her A Level”.   Jonathan Ball commented:  “It was great to come back to Warlingham School after 20+ years and meet the law students. The school has certainly moved on since I was there and the facilities are very impressive. It was also lovely to see some of my former teachers still working at the school! I was very impressed with how the Year 12 students engaged with the talk and I hope that it might contribute in some way to assisting them in their transition into higher or further education and into the workplace." One of the Year 12 students said: “I felt that all the information was very useful and made me realise the benefits of going to university. It has changed my ideas and views. It was a very good talk and definitely opened up my options.”