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Roy Saunders

Founder and Chairman, IBSA

Since qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 1967, Roy Saunders has accumulated a wealth of commercial experience working independently in commercial property, international tax, advertising and other industries. He is the Chairman of IFS, a boutique international tax practice based in central London. Academically, he is known throughout the world for his many books and publications, the foremost being his red book, International Tax Systems & Planning Techniques published by Sweet & Maxwell. Roy has also taught an MA Course on International Taxation at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London.

Roy is very proud of the fascinating client base of entrepreneurial individuals that he has built up at IFS. He feels strongly about the role that ethical tax structuring plays in the growth of an economy, and that this needs to be better understood by the public at large. Roy founded the IBSA to enable business professionals around the world to discover new business relationships and promote best practice by creating sustainable business structures compliant with international transparency, corporate governance and social responsibility.

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Michael Lin

Partner, Marks & Clerk

Michael Lin graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and worked in a biotech laboratory in Silicon Valley before going to Boston University Law School. After graduating, Michael was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1996 and the USPTO Bar in 1997. Michael worked as a Patent Attorney at a large multinational FMCG Company, where he specialised in pan-Asian patent matters in the chemical and mechanical fields. During this time he handled holistic IP strategy development and implementation, drafting, prosecution, opinion work (freedom to operate, infringement, etc), due diligence for acquisitions and divestitures, contracts, negotiations, and licensing matters on a regional and worldwide basis.

Michael manages the Life Sciences group in Marks & Clerk’s Hong Kong and Beijing offices. He focuses on drafting, prosecution, and opinion work for companies ranging from the pharmaceutical, chemical, bioscience, materials science, and mechanical fields.

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Jonathan Riley

Partner, Memery Crystal

Jonathan Riley handles commercial law and commercial contracts work.  His focus is on project structuring, management and delivery, including shareholders' agreements, joint ventures, partnering, collaborations, R&D contracts, outsourcing and service agreements, supply contracts and terms of business.

He also advises on related areas of law including agency, distribution, licensing, franchising, sponsorship, merchandising, e-commerce, and related regulatory areas including data protection, anti-bribery, and consumer protection.  He is also highly experienced in managing and exploiting intellectual property rights, particularly in the technology, brands and media sectors.

Jonathan is well used to implementing tax-driven structures and commercial arrangements usually multi-jurisdictional or with a cross-border element.

Jonathan has a strong international client base, with a particular focus on North America and Europe.

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Hetal Kushwaha

Partner, Marks & Clerk

Hetal Kushwaha is a Managing Principal at Marks & Clerk Canada. She is a qualified Canadian patent agent, and is also qualified to represent Canadian applicants directly before the USPTO. Hetal’s primary focus is drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the fields of mechanical, electronic, and computer implemented systems.

With over 15 years of experience in the IP industry, Hetal works with both corporate clients and foreign associates to obtain patent protection not only in Canada but in a global space. With foreign associates, Hetal conducts substantive prosecution before the Canadian Intellectual Property Office on their behalf. With corporate clients, Hetal represents their needs beginning from patent value proposition to the issuance of patents and their maintenance worldwide.

Hetal’s IP career began in-house which gives her a unique perspective of patent portfolio strategies. She has also worked as a design engineer and is a Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario.

As an engaged leader in IP organisations, she is a Fellow with the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada (IPIC), a member of the Fédération Internationale des Conseils en Propriété (FICPI), International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) and the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA). Hetal has also been involved with women’s IP organizations and has served on the executive committee of the Women in IP for AIPLA for several years. Hetal is also the current Vice Chair of AIPLA’s Online Programs Committee.

In 2015 and 2016, Hetal was featured Who's Who Legal: Patents, as a recommended expert. She was also featured in Who's Who Legal Canada 2015, where she was praised for her "high-quality work" and "excellent judgement".