A New Exciting Position as Legal Counsel at Bacardi for CCLS Alumna.
Maria Francesca Autuori talks about her new role and her professional journey after completing LLM.
Maria Francesca Autuori (Intellectual Property Law LLM, 2020) says: “When I enrolled in the Intellectual Property Law LLM at Queen Mary, I was looking for more than just an academic credential - I wanted insight, practical grounding, and a path into a complex and fast-evolving area of law. What I found was a course that delivered all of that and more.
The programme covered the full spectrum of IP - from licensing and commercialisation to trade secrets, copyright, and trademarks, but what made it stand out were the specialist modules. Studying fashion and film law gave me a new appreciation for how intellectual property plays out in real creative industries and helped me connect legal theory to the business as well as cultural forces driving innovation.
An especially formative experience was taking part in QLegal’s pro bono programme. Through it I secured an internship with a startup designing wearable tech - garments embedded with sensors to monitor heart activity and transmit the data via Bluetooth. It was the perfect environment to test what I’d learned in class. I drafted NDAs, advised on IP strategy, and navigated some of the early-stage legal challenges tech businesses face. That internship turned into a trainee role, where I had the chance to focus more deeply on patents and commercial IP work - all while preparing for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).
In 2023, I joined Diageo’s Scotch whisky IP team, where I worked on protecting iconic heritage brands and managing complex global portfolios. It was a steep learning curve, but a rewarding one - especially collaborating with legal teams across multiple jurisdictions. Today, I’m a Legal Counsel for IP and Marketing at Bacardi, advising across a broad brand portfolio on everything from sponsorship agreements to global campaigns.
Each stage of my career has been built on the solid foundation Queen Mary provided - not only through academic excellence but through meaningful real-world exposure and a network that continues to be relevant.
It’s also worth noting that, having arrived in the UK before Brexit, I did not require visa sponsorship during my career progression. This undoubtedly simplified certain aspects of my path, particularly in the early stages. However, that logistical ease doesn't lessen the impact of the education, support, and opportunities I received at Queen Mary - each of which played a vital role in helping me establish myself in the UK legal market.
Looking back, the LLM didn’t just shape my understanding of IP - it helped shape the direction of my entire legal career.”