GMAP Internship Report / GMAP インターンシップ報告書
No. 2019-03
I. Basic information / 基本情報
1) Name / 名前：Stephanie Stipsits
2) Enrolled year / 入学年：2019
3) Period of internship / インターン期間： 02 March 2020 - 31 March 2020
4) Place of internship / インターン場所：Oh-Ebashi LPC& Partners, Tokyo
5) Person who accepted your internship / インターン受入担当者：Mr. Takashi Hirose
6) Content of work in your internship / インターン中の作業内容 The main emphasize lay on crossborder transactions and involved in particular:-Revising and drafting of License and Collaboration Agreements in the pharmaceutical sector-Interpreting of International and Japanese Contract Law-Elaborating on Cross-border Liquidation (Japan/Canada/UK)-

Elaborating on German Civil Law-Researching Force Majeure provisions in several national legal systems, especially in South
East Asia

II. Details and impressions / 詳細と感想
I enjoyed my time during the one-month lasting internship at Oh-Ebashi´s Tokyo office very much.
Due to the many interesting assignments in partly completely new legal fields, I gained a lot of valuable
experience and broadened my horizon even more. I was able to expand my perspectives and insights
in cross-boarder transactions, which will be surely a huge asset for my future career in international
practice. It was the first time for me to work in the field of international cross-boarder transaction,
especially dealing with Intellectual Property agreements and license agreements. The detail andattention it requires to draft license and collaboration agreements are immense and the process until
conclusion can take a very long time and multiple steps in revision.
At first, I was a bit worried if I can contribute a lot to a Japanese law firm, but already on my first day
I learned that there is a demand for English speaking lawyers and in my case, also for lawyers with acivil law background and German skills. Some of my assignments actually included the interpretationand translations of German Civil Code provisions, which I enjoyed particularly as I felt helpful inproviding my skills.

1Another big part of my work included the interpretation of international business contracts and findsolutions for complex problems arising out of the contract. I was also involved in a cross-border
liquidation with multiple company tiers and investors from many different countries, which made thecase especially complicated. But I was able to sort out the main legal problems and come up withpossible ways of solving the problem.
During my internship, the situation of Covid-19 became very present and many legal questions arose
regarding Force Majeure provisions and clauses in different national legal systems. One of my tasks
hence included to figure out possible consequences to international business relations and international
contracts due the impact of the virus to international trade. This shows nicely that a lawyer always hasto expect the unexpected and needs to react quickly to changing circumstances.
Personally, it was also very fascinating to experience Japanese work-culture first hand and the structureof a Japanese law firm. I realized that there is not much difference between the life of a lawyer inAustria and a lawyer in Japan. Everyone was very friendly and helpful and I felt comfortable working
at Oh-Ebashi. I also made some new friendship, which I appreciate very much.

(Birthday Dinner)

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(Office view on the Imperial Gardens)（31/03/2020）3