Lawyer on Air

Marose comes from a family of inspirational women and she will definitely inspire you with her outlook on life and how she has made the most of opportunities that have presented themselves to her. Marose shares with us how her outside activities are actually a way to improve her knowledge and network in her chosen area of arbitration. If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we...

Mindy Allen is sharing her knowledge of the Japan legal recruitment market with us in this episode. She has made a transition from lawyer to legal recruiter since we last spoke with her. We’ll dive into not only why she chose to move away from legal work for now and what it’s like to be a recruiter. She gives us her up to date insights for lawyers who want to know more about career moves in the ne...

Rika Beppu was adamant she would forge her career through her own hard work as an English lawyer working in a UK firm. When her firm offered her the role of a lifetime and an opportunity to be the founding partner of a new office in Tokyo, this really challenged her idea of how she had planned her career and it did not include Japan! Listen as we hear how Rika navigated her career to where she is...

Tina Saunders ticked all the boxes as she moved through her career as a lawyer, but when she was offered partner track, she hesitated. Listen and hear what happened next when Tina asked for a one year sabbatical from her firm. If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Head over to Apple Podcasts to leave a review and we’...

Monika Oyama never thought she would set up her own law practice, especially when she made partner at a firm at a young age. Listen as we hear how Monika was able to start her own firm that incorporates her “dream firm” aspects that she wrote down in a journal years ago while also contributing to causes that mean a lot to her.  Thanks to Mangyo Kinoshita at southgate for introducing Monika to...

Akiko Araki shows us that in addition to big law there is another way to do law in Japan. Your way.  Akiko is the founder and Managing Partner of Araki International IP & Law. We follow her career from her first inspiration to be a lawyer to cleverly setting up her own practice when she transitioned into studying IP law. If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d lo...

Maria Abe shows us that anything is possible with a little bit of an adventurous heart and a willingness to try new things even when you are unsure. Maria has navigated the challenges of starting her career during the World Financial Crisis of 2009 and takes us on a fascinating journey of how she came to be a practicing lawyer in Japan. A truly inspirational story for anyone who is feeling like th...

Yuko Noguchi shares how she narrowed down the many options she wanted to pursue with the help and advice from respected colleagues and lecturers. Yuko has done an amazing job of achieving the kind of career that many would envy, culminating in her current role as Head of Legal at Google, Japan. Listen as she takes us on an unbelievable journey through the bold choices she made to be where she is t...

Are you wondering if you could be an associate in a law firm, even though you are “older”? Yumiko Ohta didn’t let anything stand in the way of passing the bar exam and joining a law firm later in life. Now a partner in one of the best places to work , Yumiko shares her story of leading her career and family choices. If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear abo...

Have you ever wondered if it was too late to do that law firm experience, to go in-house or to law work in a completely different area? It is never too late to fill a gap in your CV, as my guest Chika Hirata shows us in this episode! Chika is mentor to up and coming professionals, and loves to give back, just as she was mentored by one of our most popular episode guests, Lawyer Extraordinaire, Roy...

Yuka Teraguchi never dreamed she would make partner in a law firm and also be able to start a family. My Lawyer Extraordinaire guest is now doing both and I’m so glad to share this episode with you so we can bring her story into the spotlight for a moment. You will be inspired as to how you can find that specialty that you can be great at and overcome the uncertainties of being promoted during you...

Keiko Ohara and Junko Ohara are mother and daughter lawyers and my guests in Episode One of Season Four! If you are wondering what the journey of being a lawyer and a parent might be like and what your own kids might be thinking as you try to navigate your career, this episode will give you insights that might surprise you. It’s a really heartwarming episode that goes to show that parents and chil...

Striving for perfectionism and how that prevents people from speaking up is one of the key things that has been coming through from season three on the Lawyer on Air Podcast. This prevents people from speaking up or asking questions for fear of embarrassment or showing oneself as lacking in knowledge or understanding. Let’s hear from three of our lawyer extraordinaire guests on these topics and ma...

You may have been listening with envy to the women lawyers from Allen & Overy (A&O) who have been featured on the show so far. Well in this episode we bring you the Managing Partner of the Tokyo A&O office, Matthias Voss. You’ll hear what their hiring process looks like and the motivations that guide the way that the firm is run. It is a must listen for anyone wanting to enter a law fi...

Hiromi Shiraishi is my guest today and she shows us how when people put up their own barriers that stop you from advancing in your career, you can choose to step around them and find your own path. If you are working as in-house counsel and want to know how you can be more visible and help others more effectively in the organisation, then this is the episode for you. We would love to see more of o...

We have a wonderful special guest on the show from Michael Page, Tokyo, Alkis Kotzampasis. Alkis shares the latest trends in the Japan legal market and how you can best work with a recruiter even if you are not looking for a new position right now. I have worked with Michael Page myself over the years so I knew they would give us honest and useful advice for how to make best use of their services....

Even when your law career doesn’t go smoothly, perhaps you have been laid off or there are other challenges on your path, trusting your gut can help you to find the right way forward. My guest is Bonnie Dixon, the first foreign woman to be made a partner of a Japanese law firm. You will not believe how Bonnie created this opportunity for herself. Bonnie also shows us other ways we can serve our co...

Lexi Takamatsu had just sat down for the very first time in her new home in the US, opened her laptop to find an email which would change the trajectory of her life again. Lexi shares how by finding what she likes about her legal practice and focusing on those areas, opportunities have come to her that she never imagined. If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to he...

How do you become an art curator but then become a lawyer working in construction law? Hojung Jun shows us how you can take time to discover your niche and come to love the law by finding exactly where it suits you to work in this incredibly vast industry. She shows us a fascinating side of the construction industry and how it can be complex, exciting and international. If you enjoyed this episode...

Overcoming glass ceilings, cultural differences and English language challenges, Junko Mukoyama is my next inspirational guest on Lawyer on Air. She explains how Japan has changed so much in just one generation but also the barriers she came up against in her career and how she took control of her career and ended up smashing through them. If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some wa...

What would it be like to work in the Tokyo office of a major law firm such as Morrison & Foerster (MoFo)? Well in this episode we bring you the Managing Partner of the Tokyo office, Ken Siegel, sharing his insights and experience with over 25 years of working in Japan at the top of M&A law. It is my great pleasure to give you this rare opportunity to hear from Ken about the latest on hirin...

What do you do when you have two competing loves, such as Japanese language and law? Olivia Nomura didn’t settle for one, she went for both. In this episode, Olivia shares how she was able to become a Japanese speaking foreign lawyer working in Tokyo for a big international firm, who now manages exciting multi-jurisdictional M&A deals. Oliva shows us how she perseveres in the short term for he...

Welcome to the first episode of Season 3! You will love the Lawyer Extraordinaire for Episode One: Mariko Mimura. Mariko is a great example that stepping upwards and outwards is entirely possible at any stage of your career. She is also living proof that you can go from working in-house and return to a law firm role as an attractive value add to a firm having excelled on the inside of business at...

The first woman partner at a major international law firm in Tokyo is my guest in the finale of Season Two of Lawyer on Air. Not only is she a Partner but she is about to take her second maternity leave, so this is an episode not to be missed for anyone considering taking leave to spend more time with their family or considering a sabbatical and wondering how it might affect your career. If you en...

Being raised in a financially struggling family in the Philippines did not stop my guest Lani Vinas from becoming a top level legal director in a law firm in Japan. Whatever you might think are your limitations, this episode will blow them all away for you. Lani tells us her story of her childhood and how her hard work combined with the generosity of others made it possible for her to be where she...