PETOŠEVIĆ PEOPLE: Q&A with Aliya Madiyarova

Before joining PETOŠEVIĆ in 2020 as the head of our newest office in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, Aliya Madiyarova worked in IP for 10 years. Aliya’s practice covers all areas of IP law, with a particular focus on patent, design and trademark prosecution and enforcement. We asked Aliya about her work, her favorite food and music, things most people don’t know about her and much more.

1. How did you start your career in the IP field?

   Immediately after completing my LLM at the University of Manchester in the UK, I submitted my CV to one of Kazkhstan’s law firms, asking to work in their London office, and they accepted me. I also came across intellectual property cases while working in London, and after returning to Kazakhstan, I moved to that law firm’s IP department.

2. What is the most challenging aspect of your work?

   Multitasking.

3. What do you most enjoy doing at work?

   Receiving thanks from the clients!

4. What would you be working in, if you weren’t working in IP?

   I would be working in the sphere of genetics, in genetic engineering. I participated in a research project in this field and found it very interesting.

5. What was the first job you’ve ever had?

   I worked at a shooting range when I was a schoolgirl.

6. What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?

   Having picnics with my family in the summertime.

7. What book did you read last?

   “The Man Who Laughs” by Victor Hugo. It was the second time I read this book and it was worth it.

8. What is your favorite song/music at the moment?

   I love to explore different genres and their brightest representatives. At the moment I’m listening to jazz, Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald.

9. What is your favorite dish of all time?

   Kazy — a traditional homemade horse meat sausage. I have never met a Kazakh who does not like kazy.

10. If you could meet anyone in the world, from the past or present, who would it be and why?

    I would meet my grandfather. I have heard a lot about how people respected and appreciated him.

11. What was your favorite subject in school and why?

    Biology – the teacher was very nice!

12. What did you want to be when growing up?

    I wanted to be a doctor.

13. Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.

    I bake healthy and delicious bread. I learned to ride a bike and swim only when I was 30. There is a little girl whose full name is just like mine, and she is my cousin.

14. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

    I would love to learn scuba diving, so that I can explore the underwater world.

15. What is your biggest frustration about the world around you?

    All good things come to an end.

16. What is the most important thing you have learned in the last five years?

    Becoming a parent and being patient and understanding.

17. What do you wish you could have told yourself at age 13?

    “Trust yourself and keep going!”

18. What cities/countries have you lived in?

    I have lived in two cities in Kazakhstan — Almaty and Nur-Sultan. Outside my home country, I spent several months in Wisconsin Dells, WI, US, where I participated in a work and travel program as a student. I also studied, lived and worked in the UK, in Manchester and London.

19. If you could live in another country of the 30+ countries where PETOŠEVIĆ operates, which would you pick and why?

    I would live in Montenegro. Although I’ve never been there, Montenegro seems to be a warm and lovely place, where I could maybe learn scuba diving.

20. If someone came to your city for 24 hours, where would you take them?

    In the summer, we would watch the sunset on the Esil river. Everyone says that sunsets in Nur-Sultan are beautiful. In the winter, I would take my guest to the countryside, to the Burabay lake in northern Kazakhstan.