Message from the General Partner

栗林総合法律事務所
 代表護士 栗林 勉
Tsutomu Kuribayashi, General Partner, Kuribayashi Sogo LawOffice

Established in April 2003, Kuribayashi Sogo Law Office provides services in contract drafting, general meeting guidance, debtcollection, international transactions, M & A and business succession, litigation and dispute resolution, bankruptcy, labor issues, intellectual property rights, and other corporate legal affairs. Legal advice on inheritance and divorce can be provided upon request, and the Firm also hasexperience in a wide range of criminal cases. I studied in the United Statesand also have a license to practice law in New York, therefore in addition to domestic corporate law affairs, the Firm often drafts contracts for international dispute resolution and international transactions (sales contracts, license agreements etc.) and provides support for overseas expansion of small and medium enterprises.

Our lawyers are centered on client dispute resolution and business support. Keeping in mind the importance of a case to each individual client, we ensure that our lawyers and staff have professional awareness and provide a personalized service to each client. We are a group of lawyers who strive to provide the best possible solution for our clients.

As a member of society, I believe that a lawyer must contribute positively to society, protecting human rights and realizing social justice. It is essential to balance the characteristics of a profit group with the characteristics of a public group that plays an integral part in the judicial system. To this end, we respond flexibly to changes in society, continue to study constantly, and actively learn new systems.

Our clients include financial institutions, securities companies, insurance companies, operating companies (listed and unlisted),medical corporations, tax accountants, company workers, and various other consultants. Clients range from family-run small and medium-sized companies to listed companies with tens of thousands of employees. Requests from domestic companies include company establishment, creation of company rules and contracts, collection of receivables, labor issues, leasing, dispute with business partners, internal disputes in the company, registration of patents and trademarks, and cash flow and bankruptcy procedures.

At present, it is crucial for Japanese SMEs to business overseas, due to the declining domestic population and market. Our lawyers are equipped to assist Japanese SMEs in overseas expansion (establish local subsidiaries, create confidentiality agreements with local partners, create sales agent agreements, license agreements, etc.) and provide operational advice.

Due to the globalization of the domestic market, we often assist with the establishment of Japanese subsidiaries of aforeign-affiliated company and offer support for the operation of a Japanese subsidiary at the request of overseas companies. For clients of foreign-affiliated companies, we provide meetings in English and prepare the minutes of shareholder meetings and other related documents in both Englishand Japanese.

Kuribayashi Sogo Law Office provides comprehensive and wide-ranging services by working with various specialists such as certified public accountants and tax accountants, social insurance attorneys, patent attorneys, judicial scriveners, and administrative scriveners. As a member firm of Eurolegal, a group of European law firms and IBA, an international lawyer network, we have the means to provide detailed services tailored to the distinct situations of each country.

I have been a member of the Legal Affairs Council of the Ministry of Justice and have been involved in the revision of the Non-Prosecution Procedure Law and the Housekeeping Trial Law. (Private International Law), and in fiscal 2018, I was involved in many positions related to public office, including the role of Deputy Chairman of the Kanto Bar Association. In the future, based on these experiences, I would like to return to the origin as a legal professor in Japan and work as a lawyer to support the development of Japanese companies from a legal perspective. Thank you for your continued support.

Our Philosophy

For approximately 20 years, ever since its establishment in 2003, Kuribayashi Sogo has been providing highly specialized legal services to Japanese and foreign companies.

Our mission is to support the development of businesses, both Japanese and foreign, in all legal aspects, by providing top-quality legal services, underpinned by our high work ethics as legal professionals. Kuribayashi Sogo Law Office provides legal services to a large number of clients, both domestic and foreign, in a wide range of practice areas, including litigation, international transactions, M&A, finance, insolvency, and general corporate legal affairs.

As Japanese companies become increasingly international, our clients find themselves in business environments that are undergoing dramatic changes. The Firm’s top priority is to see things from our clients’ perspective and gain their confidence. Our attorneys and staff members constantly strive to cultivate their individual skills and to provide exceptional services, both comprehensively and in specialized fields.

With the goal of protecting fundamental human rights and achieving social justice, which is the mission shared by all attorneys, and with the shared mission of contributing to society and the nation through support of corporate economic activities and resolution of disputes among individuals, we combine the specialized skills of our individual attorneys and staff members into an integral whole, and the Firm engages in its practice as one.

We always bear in mind that the disputes that occur in society are deeply rooted in the existence and dignity of individuals and that the application and enforcement of legal norms can bear heavily on the lives of individuals and the existence of society, and we strive to ensure that the application and enforcement of all laws are supported by awareness of norms and the professional ethics of the legal profession.

Firm attorneys through their daily practice endeavor to train and study, using the extensive knowledge and experience that they have gained from their work to contribute to maintaining and enhancing industrial development and the international competitiveness of companies and to contribute to the creation of new values and the development of industrial foundations based on high ethical standards.

Our Objectives

In light of the important roles that legal professionals play in today’s society, we proactively recruit talented young attorneys and train them as professionals to produce abundant human resources who can make real contributions to society. Young attorneys are given the opportunity to study at overseas law schools or undergo practical training at overseas law firms and gain new knowledge, experience, and expertise through internal training and courses conducted by bar associations and other outside organizations. We strive to deepen our interaction with the great variety of people we come to know through our work and to develop strong interpersonal relationships as members of society.

Utilizing the knowledge and experience gained from past cases, we engage in our work with flexible and creative thinking. We work tirelessly to employ the best practices in all matters, and we eagerly undertake the challenges of new fields. We have built cooperative relationships with outside experts in many fields in Japan and overseas.

By remaining aware that the mission of an attorney is to ensure the rule of law, thereby protecting human rights and achieving social justice, we carry out our work at all times with a high work ethic and a spirit of self-discipline. To contribute to the development of social infrastructure, the Firm periodically holds international legal seminars and disseminates information through publications, lectures, and other public relations activities. In addition to pro bono work such as criminal defense and free legal consultations, we participate in all aspects of the formulation and enforcement of laws and regulations and work within the context of our relationship with society.

Law Firm Information

Firm Name Kuribayashi Sogo Law Office
General Partner Tsutomu Kuribayashi
Address 501 BUREX Koujimachi Bldg. 3-5-2 Koujimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan 102-0083
TEL +81-3-5357-1750
FAX +81-3-5357-1760
Office Hours 9:00~18:00 (Closed on Saturdays, Sundays and National Holidays)
Contact Us
Areas of Practice ・International Transactions
・Cross-Border Dispute Resolution
・M&A
・General Corporate Law
・Bankruptcy and Civil Rehabilitation Proceedings
・International Inheritance
Access Subway
Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line / 2 min walk from Kojimachi Sta.Exit 1
Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line / 3 min walk from Hanzomon Sta.Exit 2
Membership

Eurolegal

Our firm belongs to Eurolegal, a network of small and medium-sized law firms in Europe that share information, introduce projects, handle cases jointly, and socialize. One law firm is recognized as a member of each European country and includes most European countries, including the UK, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Poland. From outside Europe, only three law firms, from Japan, Hong Kong and the United States, are recognized as members and can attend meetings. We have been awarded membership as one of the three law firms outside of Europe. In Europe, the EU now allows people and goods and services to move freely, so most cases cannot be resolved in one country alone, and legislation in multiple countries may need to be considered. Large-scale corporations have offices in each country and can share information with each other, but small and medium-sized companies often do not have sufficient systems to resolve more complex cross border cases. Therefore, organizations such as Eurolegal are extremely valuable as organizations that can compensate for this. We frequently take advantage of EuroLegal’s member firms and quickly respond to legal issues in Europe for Japanese clients.

International Bar Association (IBA)

The International Bar Association (IBA) is a voluntary association of lawyers, judges, and other legal stakeholders founded in 1947. Over 40,000 lawyers and over 200 bar associations from around the world participate. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations, the Tokyo Bar Association, etc. are also members of the group, and due to the strength of the IBA, judges from the Japanese Supreme Court participate every year. The firm has been participating in the IBA since its establishment, and has attended meetings in Boston, Chicago, New York, Hong Kong, etc., at the annual general meeting held each fall. The IBA is attended by many US and European lawyers, but the importance of the Asian region has been recognized, and in 2014, the IBA General Assembly was held in Tokyo for the first time in the Asian region east of India. The Tokyo Bar Association is now hosting foreign customers. At the General Assembly, presentations are made by various committees, and it is a place to discuss issues facing lawyers around the world, especially in the Management Committee, where discussions on the operation of law firms were held. Topics that are extremely relevant for attorneys are covered. For example, topics such as establishing a foreign branch of a European office, acquiring another law firm, diving up a firm, and buying corporate real estate. In addition, the Arbitration Committee exchanges the latest information on arbitration procedures for intellectual property disputes, etc. There are also a number of other committees within the IBA that are of interest to Japanese lawyers, such as the Committee on Human Rights, the Committee on Business in East Asia, and the Committee on Bankruptcy Procedures. We look forward to continuing to participate with the members of the Tokyo Bar Association’s International Committee.

INBLF

It is a network of small law firms, but it is a large network of law firms with over 3,000 member attorneys.
Because INBLF is a U.S.-based organization, if you have a legal issue in the U.S., Canada, or any other state, we can refer you to a lawyer in that particular field appropriate to that state.Countries that are members of the INBLF also include law firms in Asia.