Insights
The guides we have published, grouped by practice area.
Crisis Management and Incident Response
Commissioning a cyber incident investigation: deciding on scope, deliverables, and additional costs
Initial and follow-up cyber incident reports: explanations and updates to customers and business partners
A cyber incident at a vendor: requesting information to assess the impact on the company
Customer compensation and recovery costs after a cyber incident: records for liability allocation and recourse
Internal approvals for cyber incidents: decision-making authority, alternates, and review records
Initial response to business email compromise, and the allocation of loss
Responding to Regulatory Investigations and Dawn Raids
Internal Misconduct Investigations and Response
Cyber Incident and Data Breach Response
Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Labor and Employment
When a dismissal or a requested resignation is challenged
Responding to a request for collective bargaining
Where a departing employee is suspected of taking information
Responding to harassment of employees by customers
When employees or former employees claim unpaid overtime pay
When a contractor claims to have been a worker
When a newly hired employee brings in a former employer’s materials
Employment Disputes in Japan: A Guide for Employers
Regulatory and Compliance
Supporting materials for claims about effects and performance, and rules on unsubstantiated advertising
Stealth marketing rules and handling influencer and review advertising
Reviewing premiums, prize draws and contests, and promotional campaigns
Reviewing No. 1 claims, comparative advertising, and satisfaction claims
Reviewing claims about prices, discounts, free offers, and limited periods
Responding to issues under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations
Assessing advertising content: prominent claims and disclaimers
Alleged violations of the Premiums and Representations Act, voluntary correction, and regulatory responses
Advertising review procedures, representation management systems, and oversight of external providers
Advertising rules for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical institutions
Internal whistleblowing and the amended Whistleblower Protection Act
Payment and pricing in entrusted business transactions
Corporate Legal Affairs
M&A and Business Succession
Disputes over who owns the shares, including shares held in another person’s name
Personal guarantees that remain after an M&A or business succession
Disputes over fees and the terms of engagement with M&A intermediaries and financial advisers
Breach of representations and warranties in M&A and indemnity claims
Termination of an M&A contract and refusal to close
Demands for the purchase of shares, and determination of the price by the court
Competing activity and the poaching of staff by a seller after an M&A transaction
Integrating a Japanese Business After M&A: Technology, Data and Export Controls
Cross-Border M&A and Regulation
Acquiring a Regulated Financial Business in Japan
Acquiring a Pharmaceutical or Cosmetics Business in Japan
M&A and Investment in Hospitals and Clinics in Japan
M&A in Japan for Foreign Acquirers and Investors
Intellectual Property, IT and Data
When a customer requests copyright assignment for custom SaaS development: preserving updates to shared functions and services for other customers
When support for electronic medical records or other systems is ending: securing the conditions for continued use and data migration
Before agreeing to joint ownership in a joint development agreement: setting the terms needed for commercialization
Alleged OSS license violations in shipped products or ongoing services: remediation of past deliveries and decisions on future supply
Technology and trademarks used by group companies: designing post-reorganization use and future separation
Revising employee invention rules: treatment of past inventions and rewards
When software use rights are called into question after an acquisition
Intellectual property remediation during IPO preparation: reviewing rights, contracts, rules, and practices
Patents and trademarks used by the company are held personally by its president: decisions before business succession
Patenting manufacturing technology or keeping it secret: decisions and records in anticipation of process changes
An invalidation trial against a key patent: responding, seeking corrections, and assessing the business impact
Responding to a patent infringement complaint or a petition for a provisional disposition (interim injunction) in Japan
Responding to a trademark infringement warning letter in Japan
If your Japanese distributor has registered your brand as a trademark: cancellation, transfer, and continued sales
Responding to pharmaceutical patent disputes
Responding when a joint research partner’s consent to licensing a jointly owned patent cannot be obtained
Responding to patent infringement allegations concerning testing and manufacturing for clinical trials or approval applications
Responding to patent infringement allegations concerning API supply and contract manufacturing
Responding to a provisional disposition (interim injunction) to stop pharmaceutical sales immediately before launch
Injunctions based on pharmaceutical patents with extended terms: responses by companies facing claims and by patent holders
When trade secrets are used overseas: jurisdiction, securing evidence, and export controls
Commercial use of AI-generated advertising and voices: permissions and rights to check
AI training opt-outs for a company website: limits of crawl controls and legal measures
When confidential information has been entered into generative AI
Disputes over intellectual property licenses
Responding to the misuse of trade secrets by a competitor
Responding to counterfeit products
When a patent application has been filed without authorization
System Development Disputes
Responding to IP Infringement Warning Letters
Banking and Finance
International Practice
For employees working in Japan
Articles for English-speaking employees. About consultations for employees
Unfair Dismissal in Japan — Advice for Employees
Fired in Japan? What to do next
Laid off in Japan? Redundancy dismissals and your options
Asked to resign in Japan? What to check before you sign
Put on a PIP in Japan? What it means and how to respond
Severance pay in Japan: entitlements and negotiated packages
Employment contract not renewed in Japan? Your options
Severance package negotiations in Japan: working with a lawyer
Probation extended or employment terminated in Japan? Your options
Dismissed or asked to resign by a foreign-capital (gaishikei) company in Japan? What to check, and what does not change