The Japanese-qualified lawyers known as bengoshi are finding more work in a part of the legal job market that barely existed in Japan a decade ago: in-house positions. According to the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA), 770 bengoshi are now working in corporate law departments, up significantly from 64 in 2001. However, they still make up a tiny fraction of the 32,000 bengoshi currently qualified to practice. (Only bengoshi can represent clients in Japanese legal matters; foreign attorneys who are licensed to practice in Japan can only provide legal advice about their home country.)
Lawyers and recruiters say that several factors have led to the in-house hiring increase. The economic downturn that followed last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami has forced companies to cut costs, which has meant that more legal work is being handled at headquarters. And scandals such as the one at Daio Paper Corporationwhose former chairman, Mototaka Ikawa, was sentenced in October to four years in prison for using the company’s money to pay off gambling debtshave prompted a greater emphasis on compliance.
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