Our Lawyer-Linguists

Susanne André, LL.B
Born: Stockholm, Sweden 1972. Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in Law, University of Edinburgh, 1996; Trainee Solicitor at Berwin Leighton, London and qualified Solicitor with Linklaters, an international law firm at their London and Brussels offices 2000-2003. Worked at Vinge, Stockholm during 2004 -2005. Specialised in EU and Competiton Law.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SWEDISH, DANISH, FRENCH

Reuven Ben-Dor, M.A. (Cantab.)
Law Degree, Cambridge University, 1975. Judge Advocate General's Corps, Israel Defence Forces, Prosecutor (1977-1983); Chief Defence Counsel, Northern Command of the Israel Defence Forces, (1983-1990).
Translator authorised by the Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SWEDISH, HEBREW

Robin A. Bernstein, B.A., J.D.
Born: New York, USA. Admitted to the New York and Maryland Bars and the United States Federal Courts for the districts of New York, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Admitted to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. Practiced in a general civil litigation firm in Washington, D.C. Assistant District Attorney, N.Y.C., N.Y., 1982-1989.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SWEDISH

Jonathan Bryce, LL.B
Born: London, England. Bachelor’s degree in Law with French, Sussex University, England, 1996; Diplôme D’Etudes Européennes, Toulouse, France, 1995. Trainee Solicitor and Solicitor at the London and Brussels offices of Allen & Overy, an international commercial law firm, 1999-2005, including secondments at the Stockholm offices of Swedish commercial law firms Gernandt & Danielsson and Vinge.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SWEDISH, FRENCH, ITALIAN

Peter R. Dahlen, B.A., J.D., LL.M.
Director of Government Relations
Born: Delaware, USA. Received his legal education in the United States at The Catholic University of America and a Master’s in European Intellectual Property Law from Stockholm University. Admitted to the District of Columbia and Maryland Bars. Former United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary, Counsel to Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Portfolio included intellectual property, criminal law, privacy, election and campaign finance law, Internet crime and security, and critical infrastructure protection. Served as Legislative Liaison and Issues Coordinator on a U.S. Senate campaign and was responsible for opposition research, debate preparation, and insuring compliance with Federal Election law. Associate at plaintiff’s firm in Washington, D.C. Regular lecturer at the Stockholm University Law Faculty on the U.S. Legislative Process. Co-author of Electronic Dispute Resolution for the Institutet för Immaterialrätt & Marknadsrätt at Stockholm University. A former member of the Congressional Legislative Staff Association, Peter is a member of the Board of Governors of the American Club of Sweden, serves on the Government Relations Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden and is the Overseas Vote Foundation’s Regional Representative in Sweden.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, ITALIAN

Matt Firth, L.L.B. , M.A.
Born: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. LLB (English and French Law) 1995, University of Canterbury, Kent, England. ILEC Regional Manager for Austria and Germany, PLEAD Project Manager. RSA CTEFLA, Diploma and MA in TEFL (dissertation: Materials Design in English for Legal Purposes). Matt has taught English and English for Specific Purposes since 1996 and is currently senior lecturer in English for Legal Purposes (ELP) at the University of St Gallen, Switzerland . He regularly gives training sessions and presentations in ELP, Business English and Internet in language education throughout Europe and is secretary of the European Legal English Teachers’ Association. His research interests include materials development for ELP and blended learning LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN

Bill Harrison, Solicitor (Hons.), M.A. (Oxon)
Born: UK. Received his legal education at Worcester College, Oxford. Admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court in 1978. Practised commercial law in the City of London and Manchester before opening his own practice. For some years Managing Director of a hotel and catering company in the UK.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SPANISH.

Robert N. Houser, B.A., J.D., LL.M.
Director of Language Assessment Services
Born: Philadelphia, USA. Admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Practiced 5 years in the areas of commercial and tort law litigation. Practice included numerous trials and appeals before the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Received his Master’s degree in European Law from Stockholm University. Lecturer in EC Procedural Law and coach of the Stockholm University European Moot Court 1997-1998, 1999-2002. University teams awarded the best oral and written pleas by the European Court of Justice in the 2000-2001 competition. Director of EC Procedural Law (2001-2002) at Stockholm University, and regular lecturer in the subject. Co-author (TransLegal) of the "International Legal English" book published by Cambridge University Press and chief advisor at TransLegal for the Cambridge University ESOL “International Legal English Certificate” (ILEC) examination.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SWEDISH.

Anna Lidgard, jur. kand., LL.M.
Born: Malmö, Sweden. Law clerk, District Court of Huddinge, Sweden. Legal counsel, Swedish Central Bank. Marketing consultant, Swedish Trade Council, London, England.
LANGUAGES: SWEDISH, ENGLISH, SPANISH

Michael G. Lindner, B.A., J.D.
Founder, TransLegal Group
Born: New York, USA. Admitted to the Connecticut Bar and the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Practiced law in a private law firm in the area of civil litigation. Founded TransLegal, 1989.
Translator authorised by the Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SWEDISH

Mª Angeles López-Alberca Pauner
Managing Director, Madrid office
Studied law at the "San Pablo C.E.U" University College, Madrid. Holder of an honours degree in Law, awarded in 1992. Member of the Spanish Bar Association of Madrid. Sworn Translator (English-Spanish, Spanish-English) duly appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in July, 1995.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SPANISH

Thomas B. Mann, B.A., J.D., LL.M.
Vice-president, Translegal Group.
Born: Chicago, USA. Received his legal education in the United States at American University and an LL.M. in German law from Heidelberg University. Admitted to the Illinois Bar and to the United States Federal Court for the District of Illinois. Member of the American Bar Association. Practiced corporate and commercial law in a private law firm in Chicago from 1987 - 1992.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, GERMAN

Angelique Vega-Olsson, J.D.
Born: New York, USA. Bachelors Degree in History and French Literature, Fordham University Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York Law School, Juris Doctor. Practiced Medical Malpractice defense in New York City.
Worked in Stockholm at Tisell Advokatfirman, Mergers and Acquisitions
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SPANISH, SWEDISH

Mandesa Anthony Hedlund, BA (Oxon), MSc.
Born: Jamaica but grew up in Trinidad and Tobago.. Bachelor’s degree in Jurisprudence from University of Oxford and Master’s degree in Law and Accounting from The London School of Economics and Political Science. Called to the Bar of England and Wales (2001). Worked at Chambers in Nottingham, England.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SWEDISH

Anders Palm, jur. kand., LL.M.
Born: Stockholm, Sweden. Reporting clerk, Administrative Court of Appeal, Sundsvall, Sweden. Corporate lawyer, Svenska Philipsföretagen AB, Stockholm. Legal counsel, Nordic Investment Bank, Helsinki, Finland; Legal counsel, Swedish Export Credit Corporation, Stockholm. Founded Anders Palm Intl AB in 1997: advisor on corporate, financial, and securities law.
LANGUAGES: SWEDISH, ENGLISH , FRENCH, GERMAN

Gregory M. Poehler, B.A., J.D.
Born: Boston, MA (USA). Admitted to the New York and Massachusetts Bars and the United States Federal Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Practiced in two large law firms in New York City with a specialization in intellectual property law, including trademark, copyright and patent litigation and domain name dispute resolution. Participant in the Masters Programme for European Intellectual Property Law at Stockholm University in 2006.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SWEDISH

Kenneth J. Raphael
Of Counsel
Ken is an American attorney with 30 years of experience in the practice of law. Born in New York, Ken served as in-house counsel with several US-based, Fortune 500 companies before relocating to Geneva, Switzerland in 2002. Ken is currently a professor with the International University in Geneva where he teaches English Composition, Corporate Governance, Business Law and International Law. Ken also teaches Legal English and Commercial Law at the Moscow State University Faculty of Law in Geneva. Ken is certified by Cambridge University as a qualified teacher of English as a Second Language. In addition to his university instruction Ken teaches Legal and Business English and has spoken about legal and Legal English matters at numerous seminars.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, FRENCH

Randy G. Sklaver, B.A., J.D.
Born: New York, USA. Admitted to the California Bar and the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Received her J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles (1987). Practice included insurance coverage litigation and appeals as well as tort law litigation and appeals.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, SWEDISH

Gunnar Talén
Born: Oslo, Norway. Law degree, University of Oslo. Deputy judge Larvik District Court. Admitted to the bar of the Norwegian district courts and courts of appeal. Practised commercial and corporate law. Vice President, Legal and Administration of an integrated oil company with major licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
LANGUAGES: NORWEGIAN, ENGLISH

Michael S. Walker, B.A., J.D.
Of Counsel
Born, Virginia, USA. B.A., with distinction (1991), J.D. (1994) University of Virginia. Admitted to Virginia (1994) and DC (1996) bars. Practiced for 11 years in realm of disputes/international arbitration as well as general commercial law with a top-ten US law firm in its Washington, DC, London and Munich offices. Accredited by British Institute of Translation and Interpreting and winner of its 2005/2006 John Hayes Prize for the best translation examination in any language combination. Translator of commentary on Austrian Arbitration Act of 2006. LANGUAGES: GERMAN, ENGLISH

William Yeago, B.A., J.D., LL.M.
Born: North Carolina, USA. Received his education at Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sophia University in Tokyo, the Sorbonne in Paris and is a certified English teacher (ESL/EFL) by the California State Board of Education and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Studied law at the University of California – San Francisco, Oxford University (Magdalen college), and the University of Paris II (Assas-Panthéon). Admitted to the State Bar Association of California, the United States Federal Court for the Northern District of California, the California Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Practiced 10 years in appellate law in the areas of Corporate and Commercial law. Currently an Adjunct Professor of Foreign Law and Languages at the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), the University of Paris I (Sorbonne) and Head Lecturer and Bar Examiner at the Paris Bar Association Legal Training Centre (EFB). Contributor to the Cambridge University Press book "International Legal English" and advisor for the University of Cambridge ESOL “International Legal English Certificate” (ILEC) examination.
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH, FRENCH