[/floatr]Law.com: Japanese Crack Down on Unregistered Foreign Associates
Japan's umbrella Bar group has shaken up the country's international legal community by stating that all foreign lawyers, regardless of position, must be formally registered to practice. Most foreign law firm partners are registered as gaikokuho-jimu-bengoshi, or gaiben, but the majority of associates and counsel are not. In a letter issued on Jan. 27, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations stated that "even if a lawyer qualified in a foreign country who has not been registered as a registered foreign lawyer is not a partner, but an associate, assistant, advisor, consultant, of counsel or any person with another title or position, providing any service that is substantially a legal service will constitute a violation of Article 72 of the Attorney Act." A requirement that all foreign lawyers be registered as gaiben would fundamentally change the landscape of firms operating in Japan. To qualify as a gaiben, a lawyer must have practiced for at least three years, two of which have to have been outside Japan. The registration process can also take anywhere from six months to two years. "That would mean no more junior associates at all," said one Tokyo-based partner of a U.S. firm...Several partners with foreign firms in Japan said they doubted blanket registration was being proposed. They noted that the Japanese definition of practicing law generally meant a lawyer acting independently, so junior lawyers working under the supervision of a registered partner would probably continue to be exempt. But the lack of clarity about the letter's interpretation, as well as the motivations behind it, have led to uncertainty...Robert Grondine, a partner at White & Case's Tokyo office, said there was some fear that enforcement of the registration requirement would give some in the Japanese Bar the ability to interfere with foreign lawyers by perhaps launching "inquisitions" to determine if unregistered lawyers were being properly supervised by gaiben partners...A spokeswoman for the Japanese Bar group said it would release a further statement in the next few days...more...
