Practices
There is Azabu International Law Office, and Azabu International Law Office.
It is our mission to welcome the evaluation in a way that is not possible.
Today’s global market brings valuable business opportunities – as well as compliance challenges and more severe penalty for violation. Before conducting international transactions (such as sales, production, procurement, M&A and R&D), legitimacy of the business activities in each country must be carefully investigated. Needless to say, having a multijurisdictional compliance system is more essential than ever to international companies. In order to avoid breaching laws as typified by antitrust and FCPA (The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act), companies must have an attorney who can create a proper compliance system to prevent the great risk, and quickly coordinate cross-border internal investigations to determine the scope of the problem to minimize the risk when the government arrives at the door.
Our legal service starts by diminishing the potential risk – establishment of corporate compliance programs, provision of legal advice at a practical level, and training of employees in Japan. When companies facing cross-border litigation, we also act as an advocate during investigations, by cooperating with local lawyers to create the best solutions at minimal cost.
Should you need any consultation or legal advice, please feel free to contact us. Our professional attorney with great experience in corporate compliance will assist you in all aspects.
When suspected of or charged with a cross-border anticompetitive act, enterprises must undergo substantial unpredictable difficulties – internal investigation, identification of legal and reputation risks, strategy building for minimizing risks, disciplinary action for the employees concerned, language barriers, and so forth.
In fact, due to the reinforcement of antitrust regulation by DOJ (the United States Department of Justice), more and more global companies are facing billions of dollars of penalty charges and imprisonment of their employees in US. Likewise, other import jurisdictions such as EU, Japan and other Asian countries have been launching a strict crackdown on corporate fraud in recent years. Naturally, the enhancement of risk assessment and risk management is becoming more and more imminent for global enterprises.
To hedge all the confusions and risks stem from cartel suspicion, the first action to be taken is TO CHOOSE AN EXPERIENCED ATTORNEY who are familiar with antitrust laws and leniency policies in each country. Our practices cover a broad range of fields – legal procedures, internal settlement, press control, and compliance building for the future precautions. To top it all, all the services are provided in English. When companies are at great risk, we quickly assess the risk both from civil and criminal perspectives, build cost-effective strategy according to the risk level, corporate with local lawyers, and achieve minimal damage to the companies.
Those who may apply to the following conditions, please feel free to contact us:
- Foreign company whose partner in Japan including their own subsidiary involves in an international cartel
- Foreign company that may subject to be punished under the Japanese antitrust laws
- Japanese company that involves in an international cartel, violating antitrust laws either in Japan or overseas
Amid ongoing globalization of business, penalties for anti-bribery have been tightened year by year in recent years. For instance, when accused of corruption in US, a company must bear incredible risks of ending up with multibillion dollar of penalty charges and imprisonment of employees. Worse yet, the procedures they may undergo is not only criminal charges – but the other charges such as civil action and class action, all of which could increase a reputation risk and risk of disposition by suspension of business. Bribery litigation in Japan is no exception.
Suppose a company faces billions of dollars of penalty, liability for damages, imprisonment of their employees, a reputation risk, several months of business suspension, and an enormous amount of legal expenses – what would be the survival chances of the company? As a matter of fact, in many cases, companies are paying unnecessarily large amount of attorney’s fee.
The service we provide is feasible solutions for preventing and minimizing the above-mentioned risks in the most cost-efficient way. Where we need to work in conjunction with local attorneys in the other country to manage a cross-border investigation or issue, we form integrated teams and arrange a high-quality service efficiently.
We advise on the full range of corporate transactions including NDA (non-disclosure agreement), SPA (special power of attorney), M&A (merger and acquisition) and patent fillings. Our experienced attorney also reviews contracts – advocating legal practices and precautions, in consideration of potential arbitration and cross-border litigation.
For companies wishing to expand their business in Japan, we advise legal practices as well as the other necessary procedures to be taken. When launching business in Japan, a retainer contract and labor regulations are always one of the biggest concerns for foreign entities. We provide one-stop service for the corporate activities in Japan, taking advantage of working experience for several high-profile Japanese and foreign enterprises.
Our areas of work include:
- Antitrust and regulatory
- Bribery and corruption
- Corporate advisory (compliance, retainer contracts, labor regulations, etc.)
- M&A (due-diligence, settlement procedures, etc.)
- Contract review
- Other legal matters
For foreign nations being investigated for a criminal change in Japan, we provide all legal services in English. We cover all areas of white collar cases, general criminal cases, and accusatorial procedures. When accused of drunk driving, driving under the influence, traffic violations, assault or battery, finding a local attorney who are versed in criminal defense determines the charges. Our lawyer is experienced in criminal defense, knowing all the potential risks and prosecution systems. In order to drop or minimize charges, we will proactively communicate with the police and prosecution.
We have a great experience in legal practices for MMA (mixed martial arts) – ranging from professional baseball players or combat sports players to one of the world’s most popular MMA enterprises in US. Conclusion of a contract, visa request, compliance, due diligence, handling of lawsuits, marketing in Japan, and sports arbitration can be all covered by our service.
Any legal matters concerning sports and athletes are supported either in Japanese or in English. Should any entertainment companies or athletes be needing legal support for activities in Japan, please feel free to consult us.
We provide translation service for contracts, evidential documents and legal works, both in English and Japanese. As many of you may have already experienced, using a professional translation company does not mean that the quality of translation is always high. Especially when needing translation for legal documents, in order to save time and cost, it is more efficient to use translation service provided by a law office that has broad familiarity with legal terms.