Carmelo Fontana
LLM LST 2008

 Carmelo Fontana, from Italy, earned his law degree summa cum laude from the University of Rome “Luiss Guido Carli” in March 2003 and was awarded the highest honours for his final thesis on The Partial Assignment of Contract. Following his graduation, Carmelo worked as trainee within Prof. Confortini’s Law Firm as well as contract law teaching assistant at University of Rome “La Sapienza”. In November 2004, Carmelo joined as a lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, where he dealt with various corporate deals, corporate litigations, IP litigations, international transactions and restructuring. Throughout these years, Carmelo attended a Ph.D. in Consumer and Market Law at University of Roma “Roma Tre”, where he focused on the Circulation of the Trademark and Consumer protection. In March 2007, Carmelo joined the European Commission Legal Service where he participated in various infringement proceedings brought by the EC against the Member States in relation to EU market regulation, insurance law, advertising, broadcasting and information society.

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 Rafael Leal-Arcas is a lecturer in International Economic Law and the Deputy-Director of Graduate Studies at Queen Mary School of Law, University of London.

 Rafael's webpage at Queen Mary School of Law, University of London

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 Dong Li is from mainland China, and is currently an associate with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in Shanghai. She holds LL.B. and LL.M. degrees from Fudan University. She was qualified in China in 1998 and started her practice with a top tier local law firm in 2001. Dong Li joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges Shanghai Office in 2004. She has been involved in various domestic and cross-boarder corporate and financing transactions and her current practice focuses on M&A and foreign direct investment in China. Her most recent projects include acquisitions of Chinese assets by multinational companies, restructuring and disposition of Chinese material business by a U.S. based company and a joint venture between a local Chinese state-owned steel company and a U.S. company.

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 Li Tze Wai, Edwin, born in Hong Kong, graduated from The University of Hong Kong with the degree of Bachelor of Laws (LLB) in 1997 and was awarded Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL) with Distinction in 1998. He was admitted as a solicitor of the High Court of Hong Kong in 2000 and was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 2001. Edwin joined the Hong Kong office of Baker & Mc.Kenzie (a world-renowned international law firm) in 1998, and relocated to the Firm’s Beijing representative office in January 2005. He practices in the areas of commercial and corporate law, focusing on corporate finance and securities practice and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), mostly with a Chinese dimension. Since qualification, Edwin has had experience in a wide range of Hong Kong corporate finance projects, and has handled various transactions involving listed companies and assists enterprises in their restructurings and fund-raising activities. He has been actively involved in a number of domestic and/or global share offerings, including several major initial public offerings (IPO) and Hong Kong/New York dual-listings as well as pioneer deals and prestigious, award-winning transactions completed in recent years. Through deal execution, Edwin has become familiar with practices of Hong Kong securities regulators, and specializes in advising listed issuers (including Chinese issuers) and investment banks on continuing regulatory compliance matters. Further, Edwin has also taken part in certain cross-border M&As, venture capital/private equity deals and different share or asset sale transactions.

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Martin Liebi
LLM CGP 2007

 Martin Liebi, of Zurich (Switzerland), wrote his Ph.D. thesis about „hybrid capital“ at the University of Zurich (2005-2006). In 2004, he was admitted to practice in Switzerland. He graduated from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) among the top 3 % of his peer age group (2001). From the very same University he also received a degree in European Law and won several prices. He also holds a law degree from the University of Leiden (NL) and a diploma from the Swiss Tax Academy. During his studies he served as a teaching and research assistant for two professors and was an academic community representative. Before completing his Ph.D. thesis, he was an associate with the largest Swiss law firm, LENZ & STAEHELIN, Zurich, in the field of corporate law and corporate tax law (2003-2005). He is skilled in general corporate matters, cross-border M&A transactions, leveraged buyouts, private equity deals, international tax planning and tax compliance on behalf of major (inter)national corporate clients. His last deal was the sale of the second largest Swiss insurance company to a foreign insurance conglomarate. Martin Liebi served as a Judicial Clerk under Judge Blattler at the District court of Bulach/Zurich (2002-2003). In this position, he mainly handled the bankruptcy of the Swiss national airline carrier. He also worked as a law clerk with BAKER & McKENZIE, Zurich, and facilitated a wide array of transactions and claims in the areas of Corporate, Contract, Bankruptcy and International Private Laws (2001-2002). He regularly publishes articles about current issues in company law.

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David J. Lisson
JSM 2007

 David Lisson is from Toronto, Canada. He received his J.D. (Hons.) and the Bronze Medal from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. He has also received an M.A. in Political Science (International Relations) from the University of Toronto and a B.A. in History (cum laude) from Yale University. While in law school David served on the editorial board of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review with primary responsibility for articles relating to constitutional law. He worked as a summer intern with Human Rights First and as a summer associate in the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. He is also a contributing author to published reports on civil rights and civil liberties in the post-9/11 environment and the illegality of extraordinary rendition under international and domestic criminal law. After completing his law degree, David served as a law clerk to the Honourable Justice Ian Binnie of the Supreme Court of Canada. David received the John Peters Humphrey Fellowship from the Canadian Council on International Law. As a SPILS fellow, he will be examining the crime of genocide under international criminal law.

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 Giovani Loss, from Brazil, holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the Federal University of Minas Gerais – UFMG and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of São Paulo – USP. During his LL.B., Giovani attended several courses at the School of Economics of the UFMG and in national contests he was selected to join the summer programs of the Administrative Council of Economic Defense – CADE and also of the Economic Law Office of the Ministry of Justice – SDE. In addition, he was awarded in national papers competitions sponsored by the IBRAC, Brazil’s scholarly body devoted to the study of antitrust law, and by the IGA-IDEPE, the most prestigious entity of studies in tax law in Brazil. During his LL.M., Giovani studied half of his credits at the Institute of Electrotechnical and Energy of the USP, an institute specialized in the engineer of energy in a graduate level, where he was the first lawyer to study. Also, he received an award, at the IV Brazilian Congress of Energy Planning, where he was the first lawyer to present a paper. Following this, Giovani received the Ling Institute Scholarship to pursue the LL.M. at Stanford Law School. Giovani is currently one of the five Directors of the Brazilian Institute for Studies of Energy Law – IBDE, the most important Brazilian entity of research on energy law and also a chamber of arbitration specialized in energy cases. Giovani’s professional experience as lawyer includes three years of practice at Pinheiro Neto – Advogados, the most renowned Brazilian law firm, in mergers and acquisitions, finance, anti-trust and international business transactions in a range of industries. Also, six months of secondment experience at AES Corporation in Brazil, during the renegotiation of debts before the Brazilian Development Bank – BNDES. In addition, two years of experience at Thompson & Knight LLP working in mergers and acquisitions, project finances, regulatory issues and international business transactions for energy clients all over South America and in Africa.

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 Vidar Ludviksson, of Iceland, earned his 5-year Candidatus Juris degree from the University of Iceland in 1997. During his final year at law school he participated in an international exchange program with Aarhus University (Denmark). Vidar was admitted to the national Bar in 1998 as a District Court Attorney and in 2004 as a Supreme Court Attorney. Since his graduation Vidar has worked for Landslog – Law Offices, as a partner from 2003 and as managing partner from 2005. Vidar has provided legal counsel for the Icelandic Government on negotiations with foreign corporations, such as ALCOA, regarding their development of large scale industry in Iceland and dealt with environmental impact assessment issues. He has provided Icelandic legal counsel for Citigroup (as underwriter) in major 144A Program Offerings in Iceland, advised the National Power Company, ministries and municipalities in Iceland, and handled trials and legal affairs for a number of large companies, including the country’s largest construction corporation, the countries largest hardware chain and the country’s leading pharmaceutical retailer. Recently Vidar completed his final proposals for the improvement of the Icelandic hygienic administration at the request of the Icelandic Ministry of Environmental Affairs. Vidar has tried around 50 cases before the courts of Iceland concerning a variety of issues, such as the constitutional rights of individuals and official bodies, gender based discrimination against an employee, various civil issues, manslaughter and more. He has lectured at the main three universities in Iceland, primarily on the Law of Tort and “Practical Contract Law”. In addition, Vidar has written articles on various legal matters and was elected board member of Amnesty International (Icelandic Section) from 2000 until 2004.

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 Rodrigo Marcilio is from São Paulo, Brazil. He earned his LL.B. from University of São Paulo (USP), and in addition completed a specialization in Corporate Law at Fundação Getúlio Vargas. In 2006, he also earned an LL.M. in commercial law from USP, where he was approved 'cum laude' and had his dissertation entitled "Mandatory Tender Offer as a Result of Transfer of Control" officially recommended for publication. Rodrigo initially practiced as a lawyer for Machado, Meyer, Sendacz & Opice Advogados (MMSO), focusing in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), corporate finance and securities practice. In 2005, Rodrigo joined Pinheiro Guimarães – Advogados, where he handled various M&A deals, such as the US$2 billion multi-step corporate reorganization of Credicard and the acquisition of Companhia de Cimento Ribeirão Grande by Votorantim. He has also been actively involved in a number of high-profile capital markets transactions, including the IPO of Lojas Renner, the first initial public offering of a Brazilian company resulting in dispersed shareholding ownership in the Brazilian market and which was named the "Equity Deal of The Year" by International Financial Law Review, in 2005, and the IPO of Santos-Brasil and Camargo Corrêa Desenvolvimento Imobiliário. Rodrigo has recently been considered one of the Brazilian rising talents in his area by a specialized Brazilian publication.

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 Naoko Matsuzaki, from Japan, is a legal advisor at Hitachi, Ltd., a leading IT/electronics company in Japan. After earning a law degree (LL.B.) from Keio University, she joined the international legal department at NSK Ltd., the world’s second largest bearing manufacturing company. At NSK, she managed bi-annual US anti-dumping proceedings, by compiling theoretical responses with US attorneys and playing a major role at verifications conducted by the US Department of Commerce. In 2002, Naoko joined Hitachi as an exclusive legal advisor in one of Hitachi’s largest divisions handling servers, supercomputers and related computer devices. She analyzes and evaluates business legal issues with US attorneys, and provides legal suggestions to Hitachi executives. In addition, she leads contract negotiations with cutting-edge US corporations on strategic alliance projects regarding computer products and services. She was the first-ever female and first-ever law school applicant sponsored by her division in its 45 years history. Naoko was also featured in a leading Japanese business magazine for her professional achievements as well as her excellent command of English skills.

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Charlotte van Meer
LLM CGP 2007

 Charlotte van Meer is from The Netherlands. She graduated from the Law School of Leiden University in 2003. During her years at university she was elected to the board of her student union (2000 members) and she founded a company which produced advertising placemats. After graduating, she accepted a position as associate at The Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the leading independent Dutch law firm. De Brauw specialises in providing high-end legal advice in business transactions and commercial litigation for domestic and international companies and for governmental bodies. Charlotte is focusing on corporate and securities law. Her work in the practice areas of corporate and securities law provided her with an exposure to complex transactional, advisory and litigation work. Charlotte has, for example, been involved in the unification of Royal Dutch Shell and Shell Transport to one parent company, Royal Dutch Shell plc, which transaction was completed on 20 July 2005.

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Maria Esmeralda Moreno
LLM LST 2007

 Maria Esmeralda Moreno from Paraguay, earned her law degree (J.D.) at the Catholic University “Nuestra Señora de la Asunción,” Asunción, Paraguay, in the year 2004, where she graduated as Top Graduate (Valedictorian) and earned an Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. After obtaining her law degree, she traveled to Spain, to the University of Salamanca, for a graduate course in the area of Private Law (International Commercial Contracts). As a student, she was member of the Editorial Board of the Law School’s Law Review, the most important and prestigious local legal publication of its kind. She has published several legal articles on local and Argentinean publications, one of them (Assignment of Contracts), earned the first prize in the Law Review Competition for Leading Essay by a student. She is Assistant Law Professor of Civil Law, in the Catholic University of Asuncion. She obtained a Certificate on Political Sciences of the University of Bologna, and participated on important international seminars and conferences. She is a junior lawyer at Moreno Ruffinelli & Asociados, a leading Paraguayan law, where she provides legal counseling to several national and international companies, mostly in the areas of intellectual property law, internet and related matters, commercial law, telecommunications, labor law, and contracts. She is member of the International Bar Association and of the Paraguayan Bar Association. She is also a matriculated Public Translator of the English language.

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Mauricio Ipiña Nagel
JSM 2008

 Mauricio Ipiña specializes in Commercial Arbitration and Corporate Law. He received his JD from Universidad Católica Boliviana (1999). He holds a General LL.M. at Tulane University School of Law (2001); there he was admitted at the Editorial Board of “The Journal of American Arbitration”. One year after, Mauricio became a regular student at the LL.M. in Dispute Resolution at University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law (2002); he was granted one of the two vacancies for the post of Graduate Research Assistant. In 2002 he was accepted as intern at the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration in Paris, France; in such condition Mauricio worked as assistant for the Latin American team. After the internship, Mauricio came back to Bolivia and was invited to be part of the Board of the Center of Conciliation and Arbitration at the Bar Association. During that time, the Center was chosen for a project financed by the Inter-American Development Bank and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. At the same time, since 2004, Mauricio has been a university professor at the Bolivian Private University –responsible for the areas of ADR and Commercial Law. Within his practical experience, he has legally represented, as a defense lawyer, the major insurance company in Bolivia in five arbitral proceedings. He also advised clients on corporate law, stock exchange regulations and contractual matters. As SPILS fellow and J.S.M. candidate at Stanford Law School, Mauricio Ipiña intends to focus his research on corporate dispute resolution; he is proposing to conduct empirical research into the attitudes and choices of Bolivian corporations towards the resolution of commercial disputes.

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Roy Ralph van Niekerk
LLM LST 2008

 Roy Ralph van Niekerk (“Ralph”) is a qualified South African attorney and patent attorney. He holds bachelor’s degrees in Law and Engineering. After obtaining his Electrical Engineering and Computer Science degree summa cum laude from the University of Stellenbosch, he went on to study law at the University of South Africa while simultaneously serving his articles at one of the largest South African law firms, Bowman Gilfillan. Ralph completed his LL.B at the end of 2006 and was then admitted as a South African attorney and patent attorney. In January 2007 Ralph and five other patent attorneys teamed up to establish a new IP law firm, Von Seidels, in Cape Town, South Africa. In his current practice Ralph is involved in the preparation and filing of local and foreign patent applications (especially electronic and computer related inventions), registered design application drafting, patent searching, patent and general intellectual property litigation, the drafting of patent infringement opinions and the drafting of IP licence agreements. Ralph joins Stanford’s LL.M. program in Law, Science & Technology as a Fulbright Scholar.

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Gene Soon Park
JSM 2000

 Gene wrote to us: "After 13 years of practicing law in a lawfirm Kim&Chang, Seoul, Korea, I am now enjoying the inhouse life with Lehman Brothers Seoul Office. Life at Palo Alto has always been a nice memory and I would like to share enhanced relations with alumni all over the world. It's great on my part to help SLS launch co-ed with the newly establishing US type law school system in Korea by bridging scholars from both countries nowadays. Just for fun, I posted a photo taken this summer which went on a fashion magazine in Korea. Life is short and everyone make the most of your life!"

Click here to see the photo!

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Camila Peralta
LLM LST 2008

 Camila Peralta, from San José, Costa Rica, earned her law degree from the Universidad Escuela Libre de Derecho in December of 2005, where she ranked in the top 5% of her class. She was awarded highest honors by the examining board on her pioneering investigation titled Extrajudicial Judgment: Right of Honor vs Freedom of Press, presented during the turmoil suffered as two ex-presidents were sent to jail. Her in depth views and analysis caught the attention of leaders at the National Liberation Party, while campaigning for national elections. Consequently, she was chosen to help draft the Government Plan, the keystone document that outlined the administration’s policies and legal actions over the next 4 years. In 2006, after obtaining positive results in the election process and despite her young age, Camila became personal advisor to Vicepresident of Costa Rica and Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy, and was shortly appointed as National Project Director for Costa Rica’s E-government initiative. Additionally, she was responsible for negotiating the necessary external and domestic funding proposals, particularly with CABEI, IADB, and World Bank in order to obtain financial support to launch the project.
Before leaving for Stanford, she sought to complete her public office role and, thus, engaged in an internship at the prestigious law firm Feinzaig, Scharf and van der Putten where she advised clients on public contracting, telecommunications, and public/private alliance issues. Camila balances her demanding schedule by travelling abroad with her husband and training as a runner for half marathons.

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Nicolas Rouleau
JSM 2008

 Nicolas Rouleau, of Canada, completed undergraduate work at the University of Toronto in arts and sciences. He then enrolled in the French Common Law Programme at the University of Ottawa to complete his LL.B. At the University of Ottawa, he co-published a report on parliamentary privilege for the Senate of Canada. He has also published in the area of Canadian minority-language rights. Following his LL.B., Nicolas interned for the United Nations Development Program in Dakar, Senegal. He volunteered for the Uganda Human Rights Commission in Kampala, Uganda, and the International Federation of the Red Cross in Niger. Most recently, Nicolas clerked for the Honourable Justice Marie Deschamps of the Supreme Court of Canada. At Stanford, Nicolas plans to conduct research concerning controls on foreign direct investment in developing countries. He is recipient of a Fulbright Award and the 2007-2008 Viscount Bennett Fellowship.

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Judit Rius Sanjuan
LLM LST 2006

 Judit Rius Sanjuan, from Spain, works for the Consumer Project on Technology (CPTech) in Washington, DC, as an intellectual property attorney. Judit studied law and earned a master's degree in international studies at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona (Spain). With the assistance of an Erasmus grant, she spent one year studying at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and also completed internships at the United Nations and the Spanish Mission. Upon graduation, Judit started working at the Information Highway Group, an information technology consulting firm associated with the leading Spanish business school, IESE, where she worked in the European Projects Department (personal data protection, online ADR, domain names, and jurisdiction) and co-wrote a study on the legal aspects of e-commerce in Europe, which was given the highest possible assessment by the European Commission. Judit has also worked for Intelligent Software Components S.A. (iSOCO), a spin-off company of the Spanish Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (dependent on the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology), where she worked mainly in software licensing. Judit also worked at the in-house legal department of Laboratorios Menarini, an international pharmaceutical company, where she had the opportunity to work on distribution contracts, pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, and IP law. Judit is the author of several publications, including the intellectual property courses of a postgraduate in the legal implications of free software at the on line Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). Judit was awarded La Caixa Scholarship in 2004 to support her LLM in Law, Science and Technology degree at Stanford Law School, from which she graduated in January 2006, after being a 2005 summer legal intern at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and collaborate with the Stanford Center for Internet and Society during the fall of 2005.

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