John W. Payton
John Payton was born in Springfield, Ohio (U.S.A.) on April 26, 1953. He earned Bachelor degrees in Business Administration and Political Science from Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio in 1975, and his Juris Doctor degree from the College of Law of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 1979. John is admitted to practice before the Bar of the State of Ohio and the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. He is fluent in English and Dutch, has a working knowledge of German and French, and some command of spoken Japanese.
One highlight of his legal education was the summer work-study program in Tokyo, Japan organised in 1978 by the University of Santa Clara, California in co-operation with Tokyo University and various prominent Japanese law firms. This program allowed John the opportunity of serving an internship with Nakamura and Partners, a Tokyo law firm specialising in international intellectual property law. After graduation, John spent five years with United McGill Corporation (Columbus, Ohio), establishing an Asian sales representative network, managing their Dutch Branch Office (1981-1983), and drafting transnational license, construction and subcontracting agreements for McGill's pollution control and industrial pressure vessel businesses.
In 1985 John joined the Corporate Legal Department of Philips International B.V. (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) initially as a member of the Asian, then the North American, and finally the Contracts and Regions groups. He advised management and drafted agreements concerning product development and marketing, joint ventures and patent, know-how and software licenses. Throughout his employment with Philips he managed the Litigation Group, and maintained responsibility for in-house preparation of responses to litigation. In 1992 John left Philips to form Payton Business Legal Advice.
John and Asako Iwama were married in Tokyo in 1982. Asako earned her Bachelor of Arts in Church Music from Wittenberg University in 1976, and her Masters of Sacred Music from Northwestern University in 1978. They are the parents of two daughters, Noëlle (1985) and Emi (1986), reside in the village of Vessem, and are active members of a Dutch Protestant church in Eindhoven, as well as of the Japanese Christian Fellowship in the Netherlands.
