Three tough questions for Valerie Lipman

Part of our working method is that we thoroughly immerse ourselves in the situation of each individual customer. This quickly creates a good and personal contact. That only works if you also show who you are. One of the ways we do that is with this column. Three tough questions, with which you can now get to know Valerie Lipman (attorney at law in entrepreneurship and intellectual property & ICT) a little better.

Do you ever download a movie?

"No, I don't. In daily practice I deal with intellectual property law, among other things. So I regularly see the unpleasant consequences when someone else's intellectual property rights are misused. So much material can be found online and it seems like everything is freely available to everyone, but of course that is not the case. Especially for photographers, designers and copywriters, this is a sensitive issue. It bothers them because they lose their rightful compensation or their work is associated with parties they do not want to be associated with. Abuse remains difficult to control, so the chances of being punished for it are still slim. As a result, many people think it's not that bad. The advent of Netflix and Spotify, for example, makes downloading less interesting to many. In this way, fortunately, such programs have a good, regulatory function."

Do you find current world politics a threat to the separation of powers?

"Pfoe, that's a tough question! I think there are indeed boundaries being crossed in today's world politics. For example, you see this regularly reflected in the policies of leaders such as Trump, Putin and Erdogan. Also in the Netherlands there may be cases where the separation of powers is violated. For now, I am not afraid that current world politics will have major consequences here in the Netherlands. For us, from our profession as lawyers, the separation of powers is a very important value, which attorneys is certainly actively working for. One example is the independent, non-political Dutch foundation Lawyers for Lawyers. They support attorneys worldwide who are threatened or suppressed in the performance of their profession."

Which criminal from film or series would you be willing to defend?

"Actually no one! I didn't choose criminal law for a reason. So such a Frank Underwood from House of Cards, pushing someone in front of the subway ... no, he can't count on my defense. Of course, even in my areas of law, some parties are more evil than others. But in corporate law, it generally does not involve life or death. Financial loss is generally recoverable, but loss of life cannot be reversed. It is important for me to be able to put myself in the client's shoes, and that seems very difficult in the case of a criminal. Although of course it depends on what exactly the crime was..."