Three LLM Graduates Spend a Summer at Fenwick & West LLP

Three 2004 LLM graduates speak of their experiences as summer associates at a high technology and life sciences law firm.

This year, for the first time, the law firm of Fenwick & West LLP offered Stanford LLM students the opportunity to work as summer associates in the firm’s Palo Alto office. Three students—Frederic Debusseré, an associate with the law firm Stibbe in Brussels, Belgium, Liu Fang from Linklaters in Beijing, China, and Tobias Somary from CMS von Erlach Klainguti Stettler Wille in Zurich, Switzerland—were invited to participate in the firm’s first LLM summer associate program. Frederic was an LLM student in the Program in Law, Science & Technology; Liu and Tobias were LLM students in the Program in Law, Economics & Business.

This invitation from Fenwick & West enabled a lively exchange of legal expertise from different jurisdictions and helped build lifelong professional relationships. What follows are excerpts from an interview in which the three Stanford participants told us about their experience as the first batch of F&W LLM summer associates. As the interview begins, Ralph Pais, partner in Fenwick’s Intellectual Property Group and lecturer in law at Stanford Law School’s Gould Center (where he teaches one of the school’s most popular negotiations classes), shares his vision for the program.

LST@Stanford: What was Fenwick & West LLP hoping to achieve by launching a summer associate program for LLM students?

Ralph Pais: Our goals included the following: providing the LLMs a chance to experience U.S. practice so that they would be more familiar with how we approach projects, which would allow us to work together more effectively in future matters once they returned to their home jurisdiction; building closer relationships with lawyers from other parts of the world (particularly from regions where our clients conduct business), so that we would have closer ties and possible contacts for future client needs; building or strengthening ties with foreign firms with which the LLM students are associated; enriching our summer program by having participants from diverse legal backgrounds and systems who would provide different insights and perspectives; gaining insights from the LLMs about differences in legal approach and practice in their respective jurisdictions; and adding another element to our already close relationship with Stanford Law School.

How did the LLMs contribute to the work of Fenwick & West LLP?

Ralph Pais: They worked along with our attorneys and summer associates on client matters. They were available to provide legal advice specific to their jurisdiction as and when those sorts of matters arose. They made presentations on differences in legal training and practice in the U.S. and their respective jurisdictions.

What were the specific challenges?

Ralph Pais: Because this was something new for us, our lawyers did not fully understand or appreciate how the LLMs were different from summer associates. Getting the LLMs effectively integrated into the firm and workflow took a bit more effort than we had anticipated or planned for, but we were able to make necessary adjustments. We also learned what to do differently in the future, which will allow us to provide a better experience for next year’s LLM participants.

What future interactions do you expect from this program?

Ralph Pais: The friendships that we formed will be continued. Also, we expect that as opportunities present themselves, referrals of work among different firms will be likely.

Liu, what were your intentions in participating in this program?

Liu Fang: I decided to participate in this program, because I was very interested in learning about how U.S. lawyers handle international transactions. While Fenwick does not have any overseas offices, it does have a significant amount of international work, which convinced me that it can provide me with a good opportunity to observe and get first-hand experience in its international practice.

Why Fenwick, Tobias?

Tobias Somary: I came to Stanford during my sabbatical year after having practiced in Zurich for five years. With a good job waiting for me at home, I was not interested in pursuing long-term employment possibilities in the U.S., but rather a short, yet in-depth experience with a solid law firm in the Bay Area. These interests coincided with the purpose of the program that Fenwick was offering, and the result was a win-win situation that ideally will lead to the establishment of a long-term business relationship for both sides. I was surprised that none of the other firms in the Bay Area had picked up on the idea.

Besides their exceptional approach, Fenwick has a practice focus that perfectly matches the interest groups of the two Stanford LLM programs: a top IP & technology practice for the Law, Science & Technology students, and a great M&A, VC and start-up practice for my colleagues in the Law, Economics & Business program. These issues made my decision to apply for an internship with Fenwick a logical course of action.

What kinds of interesting assignments did you get as summer associate?

Frederic Debusseré: As an IT & IP lawyer, I mainly worked on technology licensing agreements, IP rights, due diligences, and European privacy issues. I noticed that IP & IT lawyers in the U.S. have to deal with the same kind of legal and business questions as lawyers in Europe; the only real difference is the law. I was very pleased to have had the opportunity to introduce Fenwick lawyers to some key issues about lawyering in Europe in the course of an internal lunch presentation I gave together with Tobias.

What was particularly impressive about working at Fenwick?

Tobias Somary: It was fascinating for me to gain work experience in that vibrant environment where innovative projects and interested venture capitalists are brought together. I also found it interesting to see how the community does not necessarily perceive business failure as a bad thing but as a necessary step on the way to success, which is very different from the Western European view. The lively economic environment certainly has had a great impact on the legal practice: I found that the lawyers were generally less formal, yet fully familiar with the client’s business, flexible, fast and professional. I have taken many insights back to Switzerland and very much hope to integrate them in my personal practice.

Do you have any suggestions or advice for next year’s LLM associates?

Tobias Somary: I recommend that all future LLMs apply for this program. However, the greatest challenge may lie in getting your work permit in a timely manner. Make sure you get your act together way in advance, around February. This internship is too precious to miss.

—article and interview by Ji-Hyun Park