Incoming LLM Students Look to Build Upon First-Year Successes of Program

In the 2002-03 academic year, the Master of Laws (LLM) program in Law, Science & Technology proved itself a great new addition to Stanford Law School. Students in this program come to Stanford to undergo a year of rigorous academic and professional training in legal practice and interdisciplinary analysis related to current developments in law, science and technology, including such areas as e-commerce, jurisdiction and dispute resolution in cyberspace, biotechnology and health science issues, intellectual property regimes and contractual developments related to the global information economy. Some members of our first graduating class have moved on to work for U.S.-based law firms or technology companies, while others have decided to apply their new expertise by continuing on career paths with previous employers.

This April, after a long and selective admissions process, ten new students were selected to participate in the 2003-04 LLM program.  The admissions committee was fortunate to receive applications from some of the most talented young professionals from around the globe.

Program directors seek out a diverse group of the best and brightest technology lawyers who wish to further their professional training by entering our LLM program.  The incoming group of students reflects a wide array of experiences, interests and professional specializations.  Drawn from eight different countries and four continents, our new students include attorneys at international law firms who specialize in IP and technology law, owners and in-house counsel of tech-based corporations, attorneys who have worked in the public sector for technology and science-related agencies, and scholars involved in the legal research and training that surrounds such issues.

For more information about the LLM program in LST, please visit our website at:

http://www.law.stanford.edu/admissions/adv/lst/

Below, please find a brief biography of each of the selected candidates, followed in some cases by a short interview:

Oliver K. Breme, from Germany, studied law at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University of Bonn, where he also worked in the cyberlaw research center.  He received a doctorate from the University of Bonn for his thesis on liability in the field of IT security and digital signatures.  Oliver has lectured on IT/IP law, privacy law, environmental law and criminal law at private education institutions.

His professional training includes work for a San Francisco law firm and a major role in the establishment and operation of one of Germany’s first certification authorities for digital signatures and encryption.  He has contributed significantly both to the development of the German digital signature act and to the integration of the respective European legislation.  Oliver has acted as a legal and technical expert for German and European committees, offering numerous presentations on IT security, public key infrastructures (PKI), smartcards and cryptology.  Until recently, this LLM candidate was in-house counsel for Element 5, a leading e-sales distributor of the products of over 5,000 international software companies.  Oliver is a member of the German-American Lawyers’ Association (GALA).

Oliver, why did you choose to get your LLM from Stanford Law?

I believe that the unique combination of an extraordinary faculty, small
classes, a very focused program with a strong technological orientation,
a highly dedicated staff, and the proximity of the Silicon Valley is a huge
asset. If you add the beautiful campus, the fellow students from all
over the world and the Californian way of living and learning, you sure
get a truly magnificent combination.
Daniel Debow is from Toronto, Canada.  He earned an LLB and an MBA from the University of Toronto (with a focus on corporate law, law and economics, and finance), and a BA in psychology from the University of Western Ontario.  While still in law school, Daniel co-wrote the business plan for an enterprise software firm called Workbrain, and upon graduation he promptly joined this company, taking on a variety of legal and operational responsibilities.  He has developed standard license and services contracts, negotiated commercial contracts, and established HR and sales operations functions.  Daniel’s work has enabled Workbrain to grow to 265 employees and become one of the top 30 software firms (by revenue) in Canada.  He now serves as Vice President of Marketing, leading a team in market analysis and strategy, product marketing, demand generation, sales support and media/analyst relations. 

Daniel has been a summer associate at Goldman Sachs in London and at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York.  His academic interests thus lie at the intersection of technology, business and the law.  He is particularly interested in the effect of private contracting on the rate of technology adoption, the impact of enterprise software on the nature of the firm, and judicial choices that result in national differences in productivity.

Daniel, you've been in the LLM program for a few weeks now. how is it going?

The first few weeks here have been fantastic.  Every day is one of
discovery - a new corner of this amazing campus, a new friend, or a great
new class.  I’ve been completely impressed with how approachable and
interested the faculty are.  It’s obvious that they enjoy working with the
LLM students.  So far, so good!
Frederic Debusseré, from Belgium, earned his law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. He studied as an exchange student at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago. He is currently a researcher at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Law & Information Technology of the Catholic University of Leuven, where he teaches in the LLM European Legal Informatics Study Programme. 

Frederic is also a junior associate with the Brussels-based international law firm Stibbe.  His practice at Stibbe touches on a wide variety of IT-related issues, including e-commerce, personal data protection (and digital privacy), electronic signatures, domain names, Internet service provider liability, and hardware/software outsourcing contracts.  He is the author of several publications and has spoken at a number of conferences on IT law issues.

Frederic, what is the most important legal issue in the field of technology law facing your country today?

Important technology law issues facing Belgium today include dealing with the recent E-Commerce Act of March 2003, the Anti-Spam Act of May 2003 and the Illicit Domain Name Registration Act of June 2003, as well as transposing the EU Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications of July 2002 timely, i.e. by October 31, 2003.
Miyuki Hanai, from Japan, earned an LLB from the University of Tokyo.  There, her coursework focused on commercial code, civil law, and the practice of international business law.  While working towards the LLB, she also joined the Legal Aid Service of the University of Tokyo, a pro bono legal counseling service.

Miyuki has since been working as an associate attorney with the Law Offices of Anderson Mori.  She has had opportunities to work on wide-ranging legal matters for both Japanese and overseas clients, delving into IP, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, litigation (including the deposition of a U.S. litigation held in Japan), and more general corporate matters such as structured finance.  In one case, she dealt with a civil action to obtain trademark and in the process assisted a professor in his preparation of a legal opinion to support her  claim.  She has also handled a patent infringement, and taken part in negotiations regarding research and development agreements.  In her spare time, Miyuki participates in IP study groups inside and outside the context of her practice.
Rodrigo Orenday Serratos earned his LLB degree from the Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City, where he participated in the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.  He has also received postgraduate diplomas in Intellectual Property, International Financial Law, Democratic Governance, and International Business Law from the aforementioned school.  With this strong corporate background, Rodrigo is able to serve the Mexican Central Bank by working on arbitration, the negotiation of international treaties and contracts, the establishment of subsidiary financial institutions and representative offices, as well as intellectual property matters.  Other areas of interest and engagement include the process of legal reform (primarily concerning freedom of information), settlement systems, electronic signatures, and personal data protection.
Ohad Mayblum, from Israel, earned his LLB from the University of Haifa, where he also earned a BA in economics.  Ohad has been working as an associate at Eitan, Pearl, Latzer & Cohen-Zedek, Israel’s largest technology-oriented law firm.  He practices intellectual property litigation, licensing, and employment law.  He has represented numerous multinational technology companies in deals in Israel and has provided intellectual property counsel to international and domestic companies.  Ohad has authored a number of publications and given presentations on issues dealing with employment law, e-commerce transactions, intellectual property law, and privacy law.

Takatoshi Monya is from Japan, and he earned his LLB from the University of Tokyo.  As an associate with Nishimura & Partners, one of Japan’s largest law firms, Takatoshi practices in many different legal areas.  He has worked on both finance law, litigation, and both domestic and international corporate law. His work on litigation has involved a special emphasis on matters of intellectual property. 

In 2002 Takatoshi took leave from Nishimura & Partners and began serving as Deputy Director of the IP Policy Office at the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.  In doing so, he became the first Japanese lawyer to work as a government official and to take direct involvement in the reform of Japanese IP legislation.  Takatoshi drafted amendments to the Unfair Trade Competition Law and researched legal structures to be used to facilitate IP securitization in Japan. 

Previous to working for the Japanese government, Takatoshi had studied IP law intensively at the University of Washington and conducted research on IP law at the Max Planck Institute in Munich.  During his professional career, Takatoshi has also authored various papers and lectured on issues dealing with IP law and finance law. Outside the office, he has competed in full-contact karate.
Carlos Motta, from Brazil, earned his LLB from the Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Mackenzie in 1999.  In 2000, he was a guest student in the graduate program of E-Commerce at the Faculdade de Direito do Largo São Francisco (USP/SP).  Carlos is currently an associate with the firm Souza, Cescon Avedissian, Barrieu e Flesch, where he practices in the areas of Corporate Law (primarily Mergers & Acquisitions) and IT Law.  Previously, Carlos was fortunate to have worked with two of the most prominent Brazilian law firms (Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice; and Goulart Penteado, Iervolino e Lefosse, associated with Linklaters). As an academic, he has authored numerous publications and given presentations on a variety of issues related to IT Law. He is also the cofounder and general coordinator of the Brazilian Centre of Internet Legal Studies (www.cbeji.com.br). As the premier Internet legal resource in Brazil, the site provides articles, legislation, jurisprudence, and news related to internet law in Brazil and abroad.  Since 2001, Carlos has been a member of the Computel Law Association.
Hideto Niioka, from Japan, is a graduate of the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany.  He specialized in tax law (Fachanwalt für Steuerrecht) and engaged in research experiences at the University of Valencia, Spain, before finishing his doctoral thesis, entitled “Clinical Trials in Patent Law – A Comparative Study in Europe, Japan and U.S.”  Later, he worked as a fellow and research assistant for Prof. Dr. h.c. Josef Straus at the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property Law, Unfair Competition and Tax Law. 

Hideto is currently an associate at the Frohwitter Intellectual Property Counsellors law firm, where he practices as one of the few Japanese-German Attorneys-at-Law in Europe.  Working for North American, Latin American, Asian, and European clients, his experiences at Frohwitter are particularly focused on patent law.  Hideto analyzes litigation, licensing (in support of technical standardization), the diligence of IP portfolios in healthcare and mobile telecommunication technology fields, pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, IP as assets for M&As, and corporate law.  He has worked to devise M&A deal structures, and participated in the drafting and negotiation of major corporate transactions.

Ji-Hyun Park, from Korea, earned her LLB from Yonsei University in Seoul, where she also obtained her Masters in Civil Law with a concentration in Property Law.  She is currently serving in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) as a member of the legal staff in their Arbitration and Mediation Center. She has substantial experience in administering domain name disputes and she has also spent a large part of her career managing arbitration cases for international IP disputes, especially those concerning license agreements and distribution contracts.  Ji-Hyun has spoken at several conferences on Digital Copyright in E-Commerce transactions.

Ji-Hyun, how do you hope the LLM Program in Law, Science & Technology will contribute to your professional legal training?

It will broaden my horizon, giving me an opportunity to learn about global issues as well as those important in the U.S.  It will help me to see the bigger picture of what I have been doing, and see what future prospects can be explored from the academic point of view.