Commercial Transactions

Do business in Japan with confidence

Our expertise in commercial transactions forms the core of our international practice. We provide advice to regional clients in Osaka, Japan and international clients from all over the globe, handling all aspects of our clients’ needs, including negotiating international licenses, distribution, joint venture, labor, sales and outsourcing agreements. Our team of skilled international lawyers has experience working in both America and Japan and is knowledgeable in the variety of legal issues that can arise in contracts between international companies.

We take the guesswork out of international contracts

With a team of bilingual attorneys who are licensed to practice in Japan and the United States, our office provides clients with the linguistic, legal and cultural understanding necessary to draft successful contracts between international partners.

Entering a new market often brings with it the opportunity, and associated risk, of working with new local partners. Blindly contracting with a new partner in a foreign market without considering the local law and customs can lead to misunderstandings and a breakdown of the partnership. Therefore, it is important to have a carefully drafted agreement that clearly establishes both parties’ rights and responsibilities while respecting both local and foreign law as necessary. With legal experience in Japan and the United States, our firm has the understanding to successfully draft agreements that foster strong international business partnerships.

Sharing of confidential information between business partners is often a necessary part of any successful business deal. Therefore, it is important to have a tightly written non-disclosure agreement in place to prevent the unauthorized leaking of confidential information. Or office can draft a confidentially agreement that will provide security without getting in the way of business.

Settlement agreements can come in many different types and provide an amicable closure to disputes as varied as divorces to personal injury to breach of contract. Therefore, each of these settlement agreements must be crafted to meet the specific needs of the parties in each case while maintaining the strict bar on future liability that forms the backbone of any good settlement agreement. As a firm with a wide practice area, we have the experience to draft settlement agreements in a multitude of different situations and have successfully settled cases both large and small.

A Memorandum of Understanding, sometimes called an MOU, is a document signed between two or more parties that is intended to codify their shared understanding of their negotiations.  MOU can be used in a variety of situations, from casual agreements used to clarify divorce negotiations to formal multi-page contracts used between businesses when pursuing a joint venture or merger.  Committing an ongoing negotiation to writing can help smooth cultural misunderstandings during international business dealings.

From simple agreements to complex ventures, we’re here to help

Let our firm use our years of experience to help your company achieve its goals. Our international staff is well versed in the intricacies of commercial transactions, whether it be simple bilingual contracts to complex joint ventures.

The successful resolution of complex cross border transactions often depends as much on timing, strategy and cultural advice as it does on legal advice. Our international group is adept at a full faceted approach to our clients’ enquiries and requirements. Whether our clients are aiming at building trust and creating a relationship with a Japanese partner, or simply demanding the best terms in a one off deal, our team understands that context and Japanese cultural knowledge can be essential to seeing the transaction through to completion.

We represent clients in obtaining business visas, identifying and establishing the most appropriate corporate entity and all other aspects of setting up a business, including joint ventures, subsidiaries and corporate governance advice. Mr. Ohara serves to assist clients with their corporate governance as corporate auditor in several corporations in Osaka, Japan.

Part of our basic service is providing a precise legal translation, in English and Japanese, of all of the agreements we draft for our clients. With many years of legal translation experience, our team is able to accurately produce English and Japanese language copies of any agreement for both sides of an international business transaction.

If you would like us to draft a contract for an international agreement or would like our help on other commercial transactions involving Japan, please don’t hesitate to contact our office.