One among Japan’s ‘Big Four’ law firms, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto’s dispute resolution team boasts 45 partners and over 50 other qualified attorneys. The team is experienced in handling the full range of domestic and cross-border disputes, notably active in corporate, employment and real estate disputes. The firm has a strong presence in East Asia with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Bangkok, Yangon and Jakarta.
Mugi Sekido and Kana Manabe are key figures in the team. Sekido is highly respected for his commercial litigation expertise. Yutaka Miyoshi is a notable IP litigator.
In one work highlight during the research period, the firm represented Japan Post in defence of claims brought under the Labour Contract Act by a high number of fixed-term employees over differences between the terms and conditions of their employment contracts and those of employees employed permanently. This case is being widely covered by the media because of the similarity of the plaintiffs’ arguments to the new policy of ‘equal pay for equal work’ that the Japanese government has introduced.
In another case, the firm represented Toshiba in defence of claims brought by former or current shareholders in tort alleging ‘improper’ disclosure of financial information by Toshiba in past years. The shareholders assert that they would not have purchased Toshiba’s shares had they known about alleged accounting irregularities or that the share price of Toshiba was illegally inflated by the alleged accounting irregularities.
In the white-collar crime space, the firm is representing Japan Display (JDI) in an investigation following the confession of an ex-employee claiming his involvement in accounting fraud for more than five years. The firm’s partner, Yasuhiko Fujitsu, was appointed as the chair of the special investigation committee in support of the investigation. The team acted for JDI to facilitate the investigation and address regulatory issues including the administrative inspection by the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission and the disciplinary action by Japan Exchange Regulation. This case is one of the biggest accounting scandals in Japan in the past decade. The amount of the administrative monetary penalty imposed on JDI is the third largest in Japanese history.
Coincheck, EduLab, Kansai Electric Power, Kansai Super Market and Kawasaki Heavy Industries worked with the firm in the past 12 months.
Client feedback
“Mori Hamada & Matsumoto works particularly swiftly and diligently. In addition, this law firm is highly competent and the respective lawyers are polite and friendly.” – Product liability and recall
“Their legal advice is always timely, accurate and business-oriented. Also, I have the impression that not only the partners but also the associates of MHM (Mori Hamada & Matsumoto) have a truly deep understanding of our companies and our businesses. Their advice is always practical from a real business standpoint. They have outstanding writing skills, and the speed necessary to run alongside the business.” – Product liability and recall
Mugi Sekido
“Mugi Sekido is particularly polite, friendly and attentive. He is always well prepared and aims to find the best possible solution for the client.”
“With high-level language skills, deep understanding, and extensive experiences in handling international conflict for many Japanese clients, he conveys our messages to US attorneys quite accurately and ‘digests’ their complicated legal language into simplified terms for our easy understanding.”
