Where did you study before coming to Bucerius Law School?
My undergraduate degree was at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, I studied nutrition before going into professional fitness.
You have worked in Silicon Valley in fitness. How does that match with law?
The great part about working in the Silicon Valley is you are surrounded by top tech companies. Seeing the different professionals and different jobs led me to realize 3 jobs were seemingly the best: high grade engineers, entrepreneurs, and lawyers. That inspired me to continue my studies, and, in the end, law seemed to be the most diverse and frankly entertaining choice.
If you could choose, what would be your perfect job?
If money was no object, I'd love to sit on conservation organizations boards helping them integrate technology from other fields into their programs (hello IP licensing!).
Beyond that if for some reason if someone I know became president and they wanted me to be the secretary of the interior (in charge of all national lands) that would be perfect. So many legal issues to tackle and use to preserve the diverse lands of the US.
How do your previous studies connect to intellectual property?
Nutritional is on a path that is equal parts natural and tech. With genealogical work, blood tests, and quick read nutritional panels, nutrition is more science than ever. I got to use some interesting technology while in school so learning about how they are developed and licensed out was fascinating.
Why did you decide to do this summer program?
I wanted to do something my summer year that was actual learning. From what I gathered about internships your first summer you are not very helpful in the law sense, just more extra help. Studying abroad seemed like a great chance to diversify my skills and stand out.
Have you noticed any differences between US and German Law Schools?
You drink much smaller coffees! But in serious, the Bucerius Law School is absolutely STUNNING. My school is based in the city where we do not have a lot of space. All the greenery in Hamburg was incredible to be able to see, absolutely amazing.
Where do you see the benefit in studying abroad?
Seeing how many companies are international, it was great to see how that actually works and how different countries' laws can affect little things we do not pay a lot of attention to. Also, simply being able to connect with people in other countries was great.
Which site visit did you participate in? What did you learn from it?
I went to Google and the 3D lab. If you ever get the chance to work for google in licensing, take it! That was an incredible opportunity and showed me a side of IP that I didn't know was there and one that I would love to be in.
What new experience are you going to put into practice?
The negotiation skills are deeply rooted in my thought process now and I do not ever want to lose them. It was amazing to learn and see how some people are naturally better at one angle or another. I've always been good at the "talking" part of law and I could see this becoming a specialty.
Where do you see the biggest chances in working together in an international group?
Seeing how different countries emphasize certain things in learning shows where if I was to work with an international firm what specialties I would have. It was fun to learn what we each knew more about.
Who would you recommend the program to?
Anyone unsure of what is best to do after your first study year. Take the chance to learn more about interesting courses and stop focusing on what you will do after you graduate. There are only so many chances to take classes, enjoy them!
How did you like Hamburg?
Hamburg is gorgeous, with so much greenery and waterways. I never expected it to be as beautiful as it was and just walking around (or biking!) was nice. Learning the hard way shops aren't open on Sunday wasn't great, but in general I had no issues speaking almost no German.
All the little things add up, always a chance of rain, happy hours in beautiful parks, water everywhere, old beautiful buildings, different foods (weirdly almost no German restaurants), and the red brick bike lanes. You only need to get yelled at/almost run over once to learn to stay off those!
Hayden, thanks for the interview!
