Steve joined the firm in 2010 after previous stints at research and higher education organisations in the UK and Japan. He has worked in a number of client relations and business development roles for several leading US and Japanese companies in Tokyo, including The Walt Disney Company (Japan) and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

As Head of International Client Services and Business Development, Steve is responsible for strengthening relationships with overseas clients and associate firms, developing new business opportunities, and communicating Japanese intellectual property law and practice with our overseas partners. He regularly represents KIPB at major international conferences, including INTA, AIPPI, FICPI and APAA. He also contributes articles and commentary on Japanese IP law and practice to international legal publications.

Fluent in Japanese, Steve chairs and interprets at all of our international IP meetings and teleconferences with our key clients. He has represented large clients as an interpreter and consultant at hearings and appeals before the Japan Patent Office.

Steve holds an MA in Advanced Japanese Studies from the University of Sheffield, specialising in legal translation and interpreting, and a Certificate in International Intellectual Property Law from Temple University in the US. He oversees the firm's English-language legal communications, reviewing and editing translations of Office Actions, patent specifications and other legal correspondence for our overseas clients, to ensure that complex legal and technical issues are communicated clearly and accurately.

Although retired from the pitch, Steve enjoys watching football, rugby and cricket, and is always happy to discuss history, politics or current affairs over a cup of coffee... or something stronger.

• SEAS, University of Sheffield
  (MA Advanced Japanese Studies)
  
• Temple University, Japan
  (Cert. in International Intellectual Property Law)
• Japanese-Language Proficiency Test
  (Grade 1)

Memberships

• JAT (patent)