CORPORATE/M&A
Our Corporate and M&A team has extensive legal experience at leading global and Japanese law firms in the full range of public and private cross-border and domestic transactions including mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, share transfers, TOBs, and MBOs. The transactions cover various industries such as technology, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and consumer markets.
While our team has broad and substantial experience representing large multi-national corporations, our firm’s focus is on emerging growth and middle-market foreign companies that are interested in investing in Japan and Japanese corporations that are looking to expand their market share abroad.
Our team also provides companies with legal advice on setting up a Japanese entity (including corporations (kabushiki kaisha), limited liability companies (godo kaisha), branches, etc.) for foreign companies that are interested in starting a business in Japan. We also advise on corporate governance, corporate maintenance, and other corporate legal and regulatory requirements.
EMPLOYMENT
Employment law issues in Japan are often difficult for foreign companies to resolve as Japan’s employment law is very unique and employee-friendly. Also, given the personal and individual nature of employment matters, it is important to understand the cultural issues as well as the labor practices involved in drafting employment contracts and work rules, dealing with the termination of low- performing employees, and resolving labor disputes. With recent employment law reforms, compliance with newly amended laws and regulations has become more critical, especially with regard to employee overtime and harassment matters.
FINANCE
We advise on a wide variety of financial products, including asset, corporate, real estate, acquisition, and aircraft finance. Our deep knowledge and experience in financial regulatory issues help us provide companies with further insight into the financial market of Japan.
Intellectual Property (Litigation/Enforcement)
In IP infringement litigation in general and in patent infringement litigation in particular, it is common practice for the defense of patent invalidity to be submitted and for the defendant to initiate nullification proceedings at the Japan Patent Office at the same time, with the related appeal proceedings held at the IP High Court. Therefore, a team of specialists who have expertise in not only civil proceedings at the court but also nullification proceedings at the Japan Patent Office and the IP High Court becomes necessary. Sonderhoff & Einsel has outstanding teams for IP court proceedings consisting of both attorneys-at-law and patent attorneys. We fully leverage the outstanding expertise of attorneys-at-law in IP infringement litigation as well as nullification proceedings, and the wealth of experience our patent attorneys have in their technical fields and in the IP prosecution process.
Life Sciences
The life sciences sector in Japan combines a variety of areas such as healthcare, medical devices, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. Life sciences companies face unique, complex, and demanding challenges in a sector which is high-paced, innovative, and global. Our team of life sciences lawyers can provide expert advice on complying with the ever-changing regulatory landscape as well as dealing with issues which involve licensing and permits, licenses, intellectual property, data, clinical research, reimbursement, product advertisements, and corporate governance of healthcare companies.
Our life sciences lawyers are also experienced in corporate and commercial transactions, and can therefore advise on unique and critical issues which arise in life science-related M&A, manufacturing, distribution, and supply transactions. We also work hand-in-hand with patent attorneys to provide IP-related advice on the licensing, prosecution, and litigation of patents, trademarks, and designs for our life sciences clients.
Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Our Litigation and Dispute Resolution team has broad and diverse experience in litigious matters including complex commercial litigation, high-profile criminal cases, white collar criminal investigations and litigation, and international commercial arbitration. The focus of our litigation experience has been with defending companies against individual/consumer claims. We have also litigated numerous disputes involving IP issues, labor disputes, and corporate and individual criminal acts under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, Criminal Act, Anti-Monopoly Act, etc.
Regulatory Issues
Our attorneys continually monitor regulatory changes and have negotiated with various ministries and regulatory authorities including METI, MLIT, MHLW, CAA and the JFTC regarding issues involving the consumer protection laws, medical laws and regulations, Road Vehicle Acts, Food Safety Basic Law, Food Labeling Standards, Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Law, Electrical Appliance and Material Safety Act, Electricity Business Act, Telecommunications Business Act, Act on the Protection of Personal Information, Banking Act, Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, competitive policy (Anti-Monopoly Act, Subcontracting Act, Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act), and the Political Funds Control Act. Our attorneys also have experience advising on US anti-trust and FCPA issues.