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International Visiting Associate Program (IVAP)Committee Chairs• Ursula Widmer (Chair) contact • Axel Funk (Vice Chair, EU) contact • Jenna Leavitt (Vice Chair, US) contact • Sajai Singh (Vice Chair, Asia) contact |
About the International Visiting Associate
Program (IVAP)
The International Visiting Associate Program (IVAP)
is an ongoing ITechLaw Committee-run program that
provides important business benefits to existing
member law firms, offering a unique cross-cultural
experience for IT and telecom law lawyers. The IVAP
Committee is an excellent way to become actively
involved with ITechLaw, sending your lawyers to
another law firm for 4 to 10 weeks to gain
experience professionally and socially, and to
network with other practitioners.
Travelling Fellowship Award: The Opportunity of a
Lifetime
At ITechLaw’s First International Asian Conference
2005, in Bangalore, India, the Committee assigned
its first fellowship award, the India Traveling
Fellowship Award(TFA) where a lawyer from India was
given the opportunity to visit four law firms in
Europe for a period of eight weeks.
Due to the success of the first Travelling
Fellowship Award, the IVAP Committee presented the
Nordic European Traveling Fellowship Award at the
European Conference 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden. The
two Award winners, from Nordic European countries,
interned with a number of sponsoring law firms from
all over Europe in spring 2006. At the International
Asian Conferences in 2006 and 2007, in Bangalore,
India, the Committee assigned the International
Travelling Fellowship Award for the second and third
time. Three lawyers were given the chance to visit a
total of 11 law firms in 2006 and 2007. In 2009, the
Travelling Fellowship Award was attributed at the
5th International Asian Conference in Gurgaon, with
the award winner having the opportunity to visit six
renowned law firms in Europe.
The Award program will be expanded to the USA in
2010. Stay tuned for more information on the
IVAP page.
Each winner of the award has the opportunity to
intern with a number of sponsoring law firms from
all over Europe and the US, exposing them to the
different legal systems in the field of Information
& Communication Technology (ICT) law, and to allow
the recipient of the Award to experience at first
hand how ICT law is practiced in these
jurisdictions.
•
Visit the
IVAP page for more news, the latest
award information and
participant/winner reports.
About IVAP Committee Chairs
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Ursula Widmer (Chair)
contact Dr. Widmer & Partners, attorneys-at-law Schosshaldenstrasse 32 CH-3000 Berne 31 Phone: +41 31 351 66 33 Fax: +41 31 351 66 50 |
Dr. Ursula Widmer, Rechtsanwältin,
attorney-at-law, is a member of the Swiss bar and
founding partner of the law firm Dr. Widmer &
Partners in Berne/Switzerland (www.widmerpartners-lawyers.com)
specializing exclusively in Information Technology,
Internet, E-Business and Telecommunications Law,
with more than 25 years of experience in advising
companies in Information Technology, Internet and
Telecommunications Law matters.
Ursula Widmer was a member of the academic staff at
the Institute of Swiss Private and Comparative Law
at the University of Berne; her thesis covered the
subject “Liability for software defects." She
is a lecturer in Information Technology and Internet
Law at the University of Berne and a lecturer in
Information Security Law at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ). She has
written numerous publications in the field of
Information Technology, Telecommunications, Internet
and E-Business Law.
Ursula Widmer is a member of the German Association
for Law and Computer Science (DGRI) and of the
English Society for Computers & Law (SCL), and is a
member of the board of the German Foundation for Law
and Computer Science (DSRI). She is a former member
of the Swiss Government’s Expert Commission for
Cybercrime and a former member of the Swiss Federal
Data Protection Commission (federal arbitration and
appeal court). Ursula Widmer is widely recognized as
a leading expert practitioner in Information
Technology, Telecommunications, Internet and
E-Business Law. She is President of the
International Technology Law Association, co-chairs
the ITechLaw Asian Conferences and chairs its
International Visiting Associate Program.
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Axel Funk
(Vice Chair, EU)
contact CMS Hasche Sigle Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater Herrn Dr. Axel Funk Schöttlestrasse 8 D-70597 Stuttgart |
Axel Funk is partner in the Stuttgart office of the
law firm CMS Hasche Sigle and member of the firm’s
practice group „Technology – IT, E-Media,
Telecommunications”. He acquired his doctoral degree
at the University of Munich with a thesis on US and
German trademark law. He is trained as a banker at
Deutsche Bank AG, studied law in Augsburg, Tübingen
and Munich, spent 6 months at patent lawyers AJ Park
& Son in Wellington, New Zealand, was an academic
assistant at Max Planck Institute for Foreign and
International Patent, Copyright and Competition Law,
Munich. Axel practiced law in the United States as a
foreign associate with Miller Martin LLP (formerly
Glass McCullough Sherrill & Harrold, LLP), Atlanta,
Georgia.
Axel is a frequent speaker at international
technology conferences in Europe, the US and India
in the IT, e-business and media sector. Axel is a
member of the Board of Directors of the
International Technology Law Association. His work
focuses on complex and outsourcing technology
projects in the IT, media and financial industry.
Chambers Global ranks him as one of the leading
German lawyers in the field of information
technology law.
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Jenna
Leavitt (Vice Chair US)
contact
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP 725 South Figueroa Street Suite 2800 Los Angeles, CA 90017-5406 USA |
Jenna F. Leavitt is a Senior
Associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP;
Los Angeles. She focuses her practice on
intellectual property litigation and transactional
work, technology and Internet related matters. Prior
to joining Pillsbury, Ms. Leavitt was an associate
with Venable, LLP where she advised clients on the
maintenance, enforcement and defense of intellectual
property, technology and entertainment-related
rights and in the identification, selection,
clearing, registration, protection and licensing of
intellectual property, technology and
entertainment-related rights.
Prior to her legal career, Ms. Leavitt worked in the
technology industry, developing extensive experience
in computer programming, software and hardware
design, implementation and support, and a variety of
Internet-related matters.
During law school, Ms. Leavitt was Managing Editor
of the Arizona Journal of International and
Comparative Law and Assistant Director of the
Courtroom of the Future.
Ms. Leavitt received B.S. and J.D. degrees from the
University of Arizona and is admitted to the
Arizona, California and Nevada bars. She is a
regional chairperson for ITechLaw and is the Chair
of the American Bar Association's Intellectual
Property, Computer Legislation, Identity Theft and
Protection Sub-committee. She frequently teaches
seminars on legal issues.
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Sajai Singh
(Vice Chair Asia)
contact
J. Sagar Associates 4121/B, 19th A Main, 6th Cross HAL II Stage Extension Bangalore 560 038 India Karnataka |
Sajai Singh is a partner heading the Bangalore offices of the law firm of J. Sagar Associates. He completed his Bachelor of Sciences from St. Johns College, Agra in 1986 before completing his Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the Institute of Marketing and Management, New Delhi in 1987. He completed his LLB in 1990 from the University of Delhi.
Sajai has undertaken many additional Indian and international programs/courses, including the Certificate in International Practice from the Centre for International Legal Studies, Austria, the Executive Negotiations Program from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA and the Euro money Project Finance Workshop in Surrey, UK. Sajai is also a fellow of the Central for International Legal Studies, Austria. His work focuses on Computer Law Associate, Information Technology, Business Process Outsourcing, and Biotechnology.
Sajai undertakes transactional work in the areas of foreign inbound investments, joint ventures, strategic alliances and technology transfers and represents clients in a cross section of industries, including, knowledge based and high technology industries, media, communication and entertainment, private equity funds and BPO. Sajai has represented many international businesses and funds, which have funneled investments in India. These clients include established and emerging technology companies, Internet start-ups, connectivity specialists, e-commerce ventures, conversion technology and technology based entertainment industries. He is leading the Life Sciences, Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Practice Group, which combines the strengths of JSA and its associated IP law firm, K&S Partners. Sajai is a member of the American Bar Association, the International Bar Association, the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, the American Management Association International and i-Lex.
