In-house counsel in Japan from foreign legal markets face a raft of problems in carrying out their function and lack support networks to help them.
 
Julianne Long, Reuters principal legal counsel, claims they also face a battle to make the global in-house policies of their multinational companies work in the Japanese legal environment, and to justify their local problems to their global counterparts.
 
Speaking at the ALB In-house Legal Summit in Tokyo, Long said foreign in-house lawyers are often viewed as a "foreign interlopers," a result of their ability to practice law in Japan but not having been fully qualified locally.

Long says their role is often misunderstood as a secretarial, compliance or contract management function, and that they have to battle a low legal awareness in Japan.
 
These lawyers also run up against constant language barriers, having to outsource to get localised documentation, deal with a shortage in bilingual support staff, and overcome difficulties in sourcing local expert counsel who can provide advice in English.
 
Relationships with normal external counsel are also a challenge, he said, with the onus often on in-house lawyers to spoon-feed them information despite having hired them to pump the business for the information they require to provide the correct advice.
 
Long says the solution to some of these problems is to educate internally, both raising legal awareness locally and educating global counterparts on the local problems faced in Japan, and to increase the support networks.

In-house counsel to tackle mental stress
In-house counsel in Japan have their work cut out for them in dealing with issues of mental stress according to Anderson Mori & Tomotsune.
Statistics show there have been over 30,000 suicides every year in Japan for the past eight years, with 8,000 each year a result of overwork or mental illness due to overwork.
Speaking at ALB's In-house Legal Summit in Tokyo, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune partner Hideki Kano said the situation was "something like war," and that the Japanese government was taking the situation "very seriously".

The Japanese Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry is scrutinising companies more closely after a review of mental health guidelines this year, and is now placing more pressure on in-house legal counsel to be responsible for monitoring the mental health of employees.

In 2004, 130 people in Japan were eligible for workers' compensation for suicide or mental illness induced by stress and excessive work according to the Labor Ministry. With an increased interest from government, this number is only likely to rise.

Kano said in-house counsel will have to be careful to ensure employees are not overworked, and that situations of mental stress are handled carefully.

In-house Summit Tokyo 2006
ALB recently hosted its second Tokyo-based In-house Legal Summit, bringing together some of the top in-house legal minds in Japan to tackle issues unique to the market.

Keynote speaker Julianne Long, principal legal council at Reuters, brought to light the cultural challenges foreign lawyers are facing while working in Japan.

Long was followed by an informative in-house panel session and topical workshops put on by three of the biggest Japanese firms - Mori Hamada & Matsumoto, Anderson Mori & Tomostune and Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu.

The Summit was also supported by a number of key players in the legal market in Japan. Here is a word from just a few on what they were able to get from the day:

• Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu (Legal services): The new Japanese company law, analysed from a practical standpoint in our workshop by Masatsura Kadota and Soichiro Fujiwara of Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, is truly a hot topic, and was fully appreciated by the capacity audience from the many insightful questions and the energetic discussion afterwards. We were able to interact with counsel from leading Japanese companies as well as foreign subsidiaries of other global companies. This was a great opportunity to bring professionals together and share mutual interests and concerns about how this development affects their business strategies and daily operations.
• Zensho (Legal recruitment): This was the first time Zensho has sponsored the In-house Legal Summit. It was a unique opportunity for us and for Japan's in-house legal professionals to network and share experiences about working in Japan. Many participants told us the event was a valuable opportunity for them to discuss the matters of importance they faced on a daily basis. Zensho was proud to sponsor the summit, and would like to thank ALB for their tireless effort in putting together what we believe was a great success for all involved.
• Hudson (Legal recruitment): It was a great event, and a good location. We got the impression that the Tokyo Legal community is embracing the idea.
• CCH Japan (IT Services): This was our first opportunity to join the ALB In-house Summit. We wanted to expand our brand awareness and service our target market in Japan, and this summit was a very suitable event. There was not only a business benefit, but also many chances to get information from a different field of people. CCH Japan hopes it will be recognised as a valuable and friendly business partner for professionals in Japan as a result of this Summit.