AddressThe global Legal Department is a diverse and dynamic organization within our firm, headed by the General Counsel, with teams for each region including Asia. The Legal Department provides comprehensive legal services and broad risk management support to the firm’s leadership, consultants and support staff.
You will be based in our office in Tokyo, Japan and will report to the Managing Counsel (Asia East). You will work closely with other lawyers in Asia and in the department, and will be expected to liaise with a number of individuals within the firm (e.g., partners, finance colleagues, corporate tax team, professional development and office and sector leadership, local administrative leaders), as well as outside counsel in Asia.
You will be responsible for handling the preparation, review, drafting, and negotiation of commercial contracts in APAC countries (including Japan), and for advising internal clients on legal issues related thereto, under the supervision and guidance of the Managing Counsel (Asia East) and other Legal Department attorneys in APAC.
In particular, you will be expected to:
- Prepare, review and negotiate different types of commercial contracts, such as consulting agreements (e.g., private equity, clean team, or benchmarking engagements, confidentiality agreements, subcontracting and consortium agreements) in English and Japanese
- Review and assist teams in responding to RFPs (Requests for Proposal) in English and Japanese
- Handle high complexity contract (and arrangements/negotiations) work in APAC (including Japan), often working directly with Partners/Client Service Teams and negotiating directly with clients
- Provide client service professionals in APAC (including Japan) with appropriate support on a variety of engagement related legal issues and advise them on internal compliance and risk management issues in collaboration with (and with oversight from) more senior lawyers
- Lead efforts to develop more efficient ways to process commercial contracts or address new issues in APAC (including Japan)
- Leverage expertise and pattern recognition to maintain and update standard form contracts for regional variations and policy changes
- Help monitor and track contract flow volume as well as compliance of projects in accordance with internal policies, with a focus on suggesting improvements in tracking, consolidating and reporting on trends
- Share knowledge via formal training as well as by mentoring/coaching other contracts colleagues as well as new joiners at all levels
- Provide coaching and support to paralegals on contract-related and other responsibilities
- Demonstrated ability to consistently create high level impact across situations and contexts and to handle different types of contracts (including complex contracts and arrangements) with excellent judgement and timely execution
- Experience with RFP review and response
- Ability to work in an international environment throughout several jurisdictions in APAC
- Excellent interpersonal skills, including clear and effective communication skills
- Excellent organizational skills and judgment
- Ability to work well under pressure, multi-task, handle high volume of work, recognize priorities, and manage time effectively
- Ability to function independently, with moderate supervision, and awareness of when to engage a more experienced colleague for support
- Computer skills extremely valuable (including Word, Excel, Outlook. PowerPoint)
- Team player
- Qualified lawyer in Japan or an English-speaking jurisdiction with top academic credentials
- 7+ years in a top law firm or a multinational corporation’s legal department drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial contracts
- Excellent speaking, writing and negotiation skills in English (TOEIC 950 or above, TOEFL iBT 106 or above, or equivalent) and in Japanese (native or equivalent); additional Asian (Mandarin, Korean and Bahasa) written and spoken skills would be advantageous but not necessary
