Public Service Activities in 2008
Activities
Bar Association Activities
Lawyers at the firm are actively engaged in activities with bar association committees and served as court appointed defense counsel and duty attorneys. Some of the activities our attorneys participated in during 2008 are introduced below.
In 2008, Harumichi Uchida assumed the office of Vice Chairman of International Councils of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. Uchida has also served as the Secretary-General of the Inter-Pacific Bar Association and as Japan's Country Councilor of LawAsia and he has put this international experience to good use in bar association activities.
At the end of 2008, Gotaro Ichiki resigned from the office of Secretary-General of the Japan Legal Support Center (commonly known in Japanese as "Ho Terasu," meaning "Law Terrace"), a position in which he had served since 2006. Ho Terasu was established as a center providing legal support to the people of Japan, based on a philosophy of creating a society in which a person can receive the information and services he or she needs to resolve legal problems anywhere across the nation. Ichiki has been involved with Ho Terasu since preparations began for its establishment, and as the center's first secretary-general following establishment, he worked to develop and spread its influence around Japan. At the same time, the firm has participated in the training of attorneys to be assigned to Ho Terasu, and in January 2008, Takahiro Kamio entered the firm for one year to gain practical experience before leaving to take a position at Ho Terasu (Kamio left to take a position at the Saitama Branch of Ho Terasu in February 2009).
In the period from January to December 2008, the firm's attorneys were assigned to 80 cases as duty attorneys, 46 cases as court appointed defense counsel and provided free legal counsel in 76 cases.
Public Sector Activities
Many lawyers at the firm have been transferred to public offices and other public organizations to participate in forming policies and systems and drafting bills, or to serve as members of various councils, research groups, and advisory panels. In 2008, the firm dispatched a number of attorneys to the Ministry of Justice and the Financial Services Agency, and in December of the same year,
Shuya Nomura assumed the office of Special Advisor to the Financial Services Agency (as Director of the Legal Compliance Inspection Office of the Executive Bureau of the Certified Public Accountants and Auditing Oversight Board (CPAAOB)).
The firm's attorneys also participated in activities carried out by various public organizations for the realization of social justice. Harumichi Uchida has served as Vice Chairman of the Japan Competition Law Forum since 2005 and Director of the Fair Trade Institute since 2006. In addition, Hajime Tanahashi has participated as a member in both the Committee for Creation and Growth of Start-ups and the Fund Case Study Group at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Both of these committees released reports in 2008.
Educational Activities
A number of lawyers from the firm have been teaching at law schools, universities and legal organizations. In 2008, Gaku Hayakawa and Tadaaki Matsumura both assumed the role of Lecturer at Surugadai Law School, while Kentaro Minegishi took on the position of Lecturer at Chuo Law School. In December 2008, Katsuyuki Shibata was appointed by the Minister of Justice as an Examination Committee Member for the Second-Stage Examination (Criminal Law) of the Old Bar Examination.
International Pro Bono Activities
Lawyers at the firm have been proactively involved in international pro bono activities, participating in maintenance projects for law systems of various countries and activities with law-related international groups.
In October 2008, Kana Manabe returned to Japan after finishing an assignment she started in 2007 in Phnom Penh as a legal adviser for a project to support the formulation of a legal system for Cambodia at the Department of Justice of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Through this project, known as "Japanese Cooperation to Support the Formulation of Key Government Policies on the Judicial System in the Kingdom of Cambodia" and run by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Manabe was involved in supporting the drafting and enforcement of laws and ordinances relating to a civil code and a code of civil procedure for Cambodia that are based on the laws of Japan.
Additionally, in May 2008, Harumichi Uchida assumed the role of Member of the International Task Force in the Antitrust Law Section of the American Bar Association.
Public Service Activities in 2008:News
- Public Service
- Yukinaga Kojima assumed the office of expert member of the Case Study Committee of the Japan Corporate Auditors Association
- Public Service
- Kana Manabe returned from a training in the United States and a JICA project in Phnom Penh
- Public Service
- Hajime Tanahashi joined as the Member in Committee for Creation and Growth of Start-ups at METI and it released the final report.