Kuribayashi Sogo Law Office’s Overseas Network

Kuribayashi Sogo Law Office Network

Through accepting overseas lawyers (Hong Kong, China, UK, etc.) for training, joining various legal associations such as IBA, Eurolegal, etc. and participating in their conferences, we are striving to establish cooperative relationships with local law firms in a wide range of countries including Hong Kong, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States.

Eurolegal

We are a member of Eurolegal, an association of European law firms. Eurolegal is an association of small and medium-sized European law firms that share information, refer cases, handle cases jointly, and get to know each other. One law firm from each European country is admitted as a member, covering most European countries such as the UK, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, and Poland. Only three law firms from non-European countries are admitted as members: Japan, Hong Kong, and the United States, and can participate in the conference. We are one of the three non-European law firms admitted as a full member. Currently in Europe, because of the free movement of people, goods, and services due to the integration of the European Union, most cases cannot be resolved in one country alone and may require consideration of the laws of multiple countries. While large firms have offices in each country and can share information, small and medium-sized firms do not have sufficient human and material resources to handle cases that cross multiple countries. Therefore, it is extremely valuable to have an organization such as Eurolegal to compensate for such organizational inadequacies. We would like to take advantage of our membership in Eurolegal to provide our Japanese clients with prompt assistance with their legal issues in Europe.

Eurolegal Member Firms

Germany

Kai Schadbach, LL.

Gervinusstr.15 60322 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

www.schadbach.de

France

Mandel & Associés

47, Rue Saint-Andr é Des Arts 75006 Paris, France

www.mandel-office.com

The Netherlands

Wieringa Advocaten

IJdok17/1013 MM Amsterdam Postbus10100/1001 EC Amsterdam

www.wieringa.nl

United Kingdom

Brabners LLP

Horton House Exchange Flags Liverpool Merseyside UK

www.brabners.com

Poland

Peter Nielsen Partners

Al. Jana Pawla II 27, Atrium Centrum 00-867 Warszawa, Poland

www.pnplaw.pl

Switzerland

Werder Viganò AG

Bahnhofstrasse 64 CH-8001 Zürich

www.werdervigano.ch

Hong Kong

Sun Lawyers

14th Floor, Wing Hang Finance Centre, No.60 Gloucester Road

Wan Chai, Hong Kong

www.hksunlawyers.com

Dezan Shira & Associates

In January 2020, the firm signed a letter of intent with Dezan Shira & Associates, which operates primarily in China and Hong Kong. Dezan Shira & Associates provides legal, accounting and other professional services to a wide range of regions including China, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and India. Through cooperation with Dezan Shira & Associates, Kuribayashi Sogo Law Office is able to provide a higher level of professional services to Japanese companies in China and Southeast Asia by utilizing its working relationship with local lawyers and accountants on legal and professional issues in these regions. Through our overseas network, we are able to gather information on local laws and smoothly select appropriate professionals to support Japanese companies in their overseas expansion. We will also be happy to introduce our overseas partners to our clients, which we hope will help them build their own networks. Dezan Shira & Associates has local offices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. Please contact us if you are interested in establishing a local company, researching local laws and regulations, or resolving disputes with local companies.

Dezan Shira & Associates

Unit 507, 5/F, Chinachem Golden Plaza,

77 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East,

Kowloon, Hong Kong

https://www.dezshira.com/

Dezan Shira & Associates

Suite 1803-1805, Tian An Centre, 338 West Nanjing Road

Huangpu District

Shanghai,China 200003

https://www.dezshira.com/

Legal research and advice on establishment and operation of local companies

The establishment of a local subsidiary through sole investment allows for more flexible decision-making than in the case of a joint venture. However, the procedures for establishing a local company vary depending on the laws and regulations of each country, and establishing a local company with sole capital contribution may not be allowed. In addition, regardless of whether it is a sole proprietorship or a joint venture, the day-to-day operations of the established local company must comply with not only local corporate laws, but also labor laws and various other laws and regulations. We provide necessary advice based on our research of local laws and regulations and our experience in corporate and labor law practice. For example, we provide advice on the operation of shareholders’ meetings, on labor issues such as the dismissal of local employees, and on handling corporate crises.

Cases resolved through Eurolegal

Eurolegal member firms have assisted Japanese companies in the following matters:

Obtaining company information in the UK

A Japanese company had made an investment in a UK company, but was unable to make any contact with the UK company. Therefore, we conducted a search on the Internet to obtain information about the company in the UK, but were unable to obtain accurate information. In order to file a tax return in Japan, we needed to obtain reliable evidence that could be confirmed by the tax office, which led us to contact our firm. We contacted a UK law firm, a member firm of Eurolegal, and were able to obtain information from the commercial register as well as court information, including the name of the trustee and the date of his appointment, which enabled us to provide accurate information.

Investigating fraudulent activities of a subsidiary in Europe

A Japanese company has many overseas subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries, and we received information that fraud had been committed at a Japanese sub-subsidiary located in a European country. With regard to audits of subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries, it is preferable for auditors to travel to the site and conduct investigations by checking accounting books, etc. However, investigations by auditors dispatched from Japan alone are not always sufficient for problems that are not necessarily expressed in figures. Therefore, in order to appoint a local law firm and have it conduct an investigation into the existence of fraudulent facts, the president of a Japanese company contacted our firm to introduce a local law firm that would represent the Japanese company in the country. The country was also small and had no Eurolegal members, but we were able to get an introduction to a local law firm from a member firm in a neighboring country, and the day after the president inquired, we were able to introduce him to a local firm that advises many large Japanese companies.

Debt collection in the Netherlands

A Japanese company had a large amount of claims against a Dutch company, and for some reason the payment of the debt was delayed. The Japanese company decided that legal proceedings were necessary to collect the claims and contacted us to introduce a Dutch law firm through its in-house lawyer. We introduced a local lawyer who is a member of Eurolegal, which led to discussions between the Japanese company and the local lawyer, and the local firm was asked to handle the case.

Discussions with the trustee in Germany

A Japanese company was concluding a contract with a business partner in Germany when a local lawyer informed the company that it could not deliver the goods because the business partner had decided to enter into rehabilitation proceedings. We contacted a German law firm and asked them to confirm whether the company was taking judicial proceedings, to provide an overview of such proceedings, and to obtain information regarding the trustee in question.

Contract Negotiations in Italy

In a situation where a Japanese company needed to appoint a local lawyer to negotiate a contract with an Italian company, we were contacted by the company and our firm was able to introduce the local law firm.

Liquidation of a subsidiary in California

A representative of a Japanese company approached us about liquidating a subsidiary of a Japanese company in California. Although not a member of Eurolegal, we were able to obtain the services of a local accounting firm to handle the liquidation. We have previously asked this firm to liquidate a company on a different matter, and they have handled the liquidation procedures in California at an extremely reasonable price.

Review of Contracts by Chinese Lawyers

Our firm reviewed a contract for a transaction with China, but based on the client’s request to see how it would look from a local attorney, we also had a Chinese attorney review and comment on the contract as a second opinion.

Probate Procedure in Hong Kong

In a case where a Japanese national had died and left a deposit in the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, we engaged a Hong Kong attorney to file a probate petition to terminate the Hong Kong bank deposit.

Litigation proceedings in Singapore

In a case where a Japanese company sued a Singaporean company in Singapore court, we were represented by a Singaporean law firm and received a summary judgment, a simple form of judgment. Please note that there is no treaty between Japan and Singapore regarding mutual recognition of judgments, so it is not possible to mutually recognize or execute a judgment that has been won in the other country. However, since the fact that a final and binding judgment has been obtained in the other country strongly implies the existence of a claim, it is possible to obtain a summary judgment by submitting the text of the judgment as evidence.