I joined Renesas Electronics in 2019. Originally from the Philippines, I received a scholarship from the Japanese government to complete my Master of Law at Kyushu University. Specializing in international business and economics law with a focus on technology, I wrote a thesis on artificial intelligence as used in the medical field. I also studied robotics and autonomous vehicles.
I chose Renesas Electronics first and foremost because of my interest in technology law. That's why, when I saw an advertisement on Renesas Electronics indicating the company was looking for lawyers, I applied because it fit my interests. I have worked as an in-house lawyer at a technology company in the Philippines for a couple of years; however, its business transactions were mainly domestic.
Because Renesas is a global company with its headquarters in Japan and offices in Asia, US and Europe, it's a very interesting place to work because I get to interact with other people from all around the world. Projects that are given to me aside from contract review work are very appealing because I get to deal with a lot of people from our offices in US, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Working on projects with individuals from our global locations is very exciting for me.
I want to assure interested applicants that one doesn’t have to have knowledge of every aspect of Renesas’ business in order to take on the role of corporate counsel at Renesas. What is important is that one should have the interest to learn the business and the industry in order to progress.
After I joined Renesas, I needed to study and understand the technology and the business because most of the legal agreements deal with source products, and being familiar with the technological terms is very helpful. It makes reviewing contracts easier and really helps me understand the products referenced in the contracts, licensing requirements, etc. which is my responsibility as part of the legal team.
I am interested in technology law because, first, the area of technology law is quite new. I studied it in the university; and now, seeing self-driving cars in reality is very interesting. Learning how Renesas products, like microprocessors and microcontrollers, contribute to the technology that is used in self-driving cars is fascinating. I like discussing with the business team, “What is the use of this? What is the use of that?” to continue learning about the technology since I find technology law exciting.