Facing huge national security threats, the U.S. government imposed the most novel and complex semiconductor export control rules ever written in October 2022. Those rules were designed to limit Chinese access to advanced integrated circuits for artificial intelligence and other technology innovations with potential military applications.
The new rules, 139-pages issued by the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, forced semiconductor companies with operations in the U.S. to scramble to interpret and immediately comply with the massive new regulatory regime.
Tokyo Electron, an $84 billion Japanese-based global innovative semiconductor production equipment maker with significant U.S. operations, turned to a 32-year-old Dallas lawyer only four years out of law school for guidance.
Maria G. Alonso did not disappoint.
“Maria immediately pulled up her sleeves and went to work, advising company executives in the U.S. and Japan on the nuances of the new rule and how it would impact the company in the U.S. as well as its operations abroad,” said Stinson partner Elsa Manzanares, an expert on export and import regulations.
According to Manzanares, Tokyo Electron leaders relied on Alonso “to translate what this all meant and what needed to be done to ensure compliance. If the company ever needed the expertise of an export controls lawyer, now was the time and Maria had the technical and people skills to do the job.”
“There is no doubt Maria Alonso was the right person at the right time for semiconductor equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron Holdings,” Manzanares said. “She has no agenda beyond getting things done and doing them well. After practicing for over 20 years, I have worked with numerous attorneys on boards and committees, and there is no one else like Maria when it comes to commitment, work ethic or organizational skills.”
Tokyo Electron officials were so impressed with Alonso’s efforts related to the new rules and the positive impact that her guidance had that it awarded her its global Employee of the Year Award, which was the first time that a lawyer with the company had received the honor in the company’s 60-year history.
Citing her success, the Association of Corporate Counsel’s DFW Chapter and The Texas Lawbook have named Alonso one of two finalists for the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Rookie of the Year.
ACC-DFW and The Lawbook will honor the finalists and announce the winners at its annual corporate counsel awards ceremony on Jan. 25 at the George W. Bush Institute.
“We had a meeting between our CEO from Japan and the undersecretary of the U.S. Commerce Department when a detailed question on compliance was raised and our CEO turned to Maria and she provided the answer,” said Maria Rescigno, director of legal in the U.S. for Tokyo Electron. “I joke that she won employee of the year for Tokyo Electron [right then].”
“Maria is a subject matter expert in trade compliance and provides clear and practical guidance,” Rescigno said. “She knows how to tactfully push back on our business partners when necessary, which is a special skill.”
Alonso was born in Santa Ana, California, and was raised in Fort Worth. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants.
“My parents come from modest backgrounds,” she told The Lawbook. “My father worked as a carpenter, and my mother was a stay-at-home mom.”
Alonso, who is an active member of the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, was not only the first in her family to become a lawyer — she was the first to graduate from college.
Her first serious consideration of becoming a lawyer came during her junior year at the University of Texas at Austin. She was studying to become an elementary school teacher, but she came to realize that the teaching profession was not a good fit for her. After graduated college in three years, she started working at a law firm while she studied for the LSAT.
“I started working at a law firm to help me decide if pursuing a career as a lawyer was for me,” she said. “Realizing and accepting that teaching was not for me determined my career path because for the first time I allowed myself to be open to the opportunity of choosing a different career path. This was a difficult decision because my entire life my aspirations were to become an elementary school teacher.”
Alonso graduated from the SMU Dedman School of Law in 2018. She joined Torres Law, a trade law-focused boutique based in Dallas, where she focused on international trade law.
In November 2021, Tokyo Electron U.S. Holdings hired Alonso as its international trade attorney advising on a broad range of matters, including Foreign Trade Regulations and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.
“I always had an interest and career aspiration to be an in-house attorney, but I never imagined it would happen so early in my career,” she said. “This practice area has grown a lot over the years, and the semiconductor industry has quickly been a major focus of trade laws and regulations, so I knew that my in-house counsel role at Tokyo Electron U.S. Holdings would provide many career growth opportunities.”
Alonso said Tokyo Electron “has been a perfect fit” for her.
“The biggest challenges at TEL have been the U.S. regulatory changes that the semiconductor industry has experienced,” she said. “This challenge is not unique to TEL but impacts the entire semiconductor industry.”
Manzanares, who nominated Alonso for the Rookie of the Year honor, said the Oct. 7, 2022, rule changes by the federal government gave Alonso the opportunity to show her skills and her intelligence.
“As is the case for many government regulations that are implemented without notice and with immediate effect, there was a lot of grey and the answers not so clear,” she said. “Maria took on the challenge without any hesitation and in her usual calm, meticulous and confident way. Most other attorneys at her level would probably have been intimidated by the challenge.”
Manzanares said Alonso’s work did not end with those rule changes. Newer revised rules affecting the semiconductor industry were announced Oct. 17, 2023, and Alonso was again on center stage for her company.
“Maria’s role is unique because she is working at the cutting edge of U.S. export control issues in an industry that is considered vital to U.S. national security, and she is excelling in her role,” she said.
Alonso said she feels fortunate to work at Tokyo Electron.
“Honestly, every day is my best day to work at TEL,” she said. “Even though I work for a large global company, it feels like I work for a small company because everyone is approachable and willing to help. I am very fortunate to work for a company with an amazing company culture.”
Premium Subscriber Q&A: The Lawbook visited with the 2023 DFW Corporate Counsel Rookie of the Year Award finalist about the factors she considers when deciding about hiring outside counsel.