Practice Areas: Japan

Our commitment to providing clients with quality work and personalized service includes delivering exceptional value, using technology to provide effective legal solutions, and employing a diverse workforce to bring realworld and innovative perspectives to clients.

With approximately 900 lawyers in 19 strategically located offices worldwide, McGuireWoods serves public, private, government and nonprofit clients from many industries, including energy resources, automotive, manufacturing, healthcare, technology and transportation, to name just a few, thus meeting clients’ needs from virtually any area of law. Recognizing the strong economic ties between Japan and the United States, McGuireWoods proudly offers a Japan Practice Group that includes lawyers and support staff fluent in Japanese who have decades of experience representing the interests of Japanese clients. The group’s lawyers combine legal experience with an innate understanding and sensitivity to Japanese culture and the essential nuances of Japan-America business relationships, enabling them to offer counsel and advice attuned to the Japanese way of doing business. Our lawyers also frequently speak and provide training programs on topics relevant to conducting business between Japan and the United States.

Global access to experienced legal services and advanced technology are essential to the success of international business. McGuireWoods uses client-focused teams from all of our offices to provide a full range of legal services to U.S. and overseas clients doing international business – whether for domestic clients doing business abroad or international clients doing business in the United States. To ensure constant communication, all of our offices are connected on a wide-area data and voice network and a 24-hour Internet e-mail gateway for lawyers and clients so that at any time, the full resources of the firm can be accessed from anywhere in the world. In addition to our own in-house capabilities, we have close working relationships with lawyers around the globe. We are the exclusive member firm for Virginia of Lex Mundi, the world’s leading association of independent law firms. Lex Mundi member firms are present in more than 160 countries, states and provinces, and cover virtually every business market worldwide. Our firm’s membership provides us with global reach and access to unparalleled legal resources that enhance our ability to serve clients’ needs seamlessly around the world.

Mergers & Acquisitions
For a Japanese business considering a merger with or acquisition of a business entity in the United States, or for a U.S. business contemplating an acquisition in Japan, we can provide seasoned counsel and experienced guidance in all phases of the transaction. Our Japanese language capability is extremely helpful in dealing with clients and Japanese counsel.

Joint Ventures
Many Japanese business interests choose to do business in the United States through partnerships, joint ventures or similar collaborative arrangements. We carefully structure such relationships to be tax efficient. We also help with detailed planning to ensure smooth operations during the life of the venture.

Litigation
Lawsuits in the United States are much more common than they are in Japan. We help clients avoid lawsuits and arbitrations, but if a client becomes involved in a commercial dispute, a suit by an employee, or any other type of litigation, our large team of experienced litigators can provide a superior defense. Our attorneys are particularly adept in helping clients understand and comply with the requirements the American legal system imposes on litigants, many of which have no Japanese equivalent. And when a client needs to bring an action against another business, we can provide a powerful offensive team.

FDA Regulatory Compliance
We have a genuine interest in helping Japanese clients bring their quality products to market, because we believe that Japan develops some of the best health services products in the world, and those should be made available to American consumers. Because of rigorous government oversight of such products, we offer comprehensive regulatory services to help clients navigate through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – from the test studies idea to profitable commercialization. Our experience with Japanese health products companies, Japanese language capabilities, and FDA regulatory knowledge makes us the premiere fit for Japanese medical device companies.

Labor & Employment
One of the keys to success in doing business anywhere in the world is understanding the vast number of laws governing the relationships between employers and employees. We regularly advise clients on all aspects of national and local labor and employment laws, and how to best avoid liability for violation of these laws. Further, explaining these laws to clients in Japanese by a McGuireWoods lawyer, may be just the way to help them best understand the fine points of these laws.

Banking, Capital Markets & Finance
McGuireWoods also represents Japanese banks as well as businesses seeking bank loans and other forms of financing, and all related derivatives and hedging programs. This includes access to private and public capital markets through issuance of equity, debt and hybrid securities and structured products and use of American Depositary Receipts.

Tax Planning
Our tax lawyers provide counsel to foreign clients regarding the most tax-efficient form for doing business in the United States. Careful tax planning can eliminate or minimize many taxes that might otherwise apply to a client’s business. For international operations, it is especially important to receive experienced tax counsel as part of a worldwide strategy to decrease the overall taxes of the enterprise. International Trade Foreign companies doing business in the United States often have issues regarding international trade, such as import-export issues, duty planning, and admissibility requirements for various products. They often need representation before regulatory agencies and
assistance with commercial issues. We are skilled in representing companies in all these matters, including physical and financial trading of a wide range of energy and other commodities.

Risk Assessment & Analysis
Our Japan Practice Group helps companies analyze the risks associated with conducting their particular business in the United States, and offers helpful advice for avoiding many of these risks. Not adequately assessing such risks and planning to avoid liability can be a costly mistake.

Immigration
Most Japanese companies doing business in the United States need assistance with immigration matters in order to send personnel from Japan to the United States for training, management and other purposes. We have a team of lawyers to assist with all of the immigration law requirements of clients’ businesses. Government Relations
In the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, McGuireWoods Consulting provides U.S. and foreign corporations with a comprehensive government relations practice before the U.S. Congress and all federal departments and agencies. The consulting group also affords our clients with greater access to contacts within multinational institutions headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Intellectual Property
Many emerging medical devices have highly developed and sophisticated intellectual property needs, or they may face patent obstacles from other companies. We work with these companies to advance and protect our clients’ interests in their valuable products.

Representative Matters

• Represented various Japanese and other foreign corporations in connection with establishment of U.S. operations.
• Represented a major Japanese auto parts manufacturer in the acquisition of a brake parts manufacturer in the U.S. Midwest.
• Assistance to Japanese-owned companies and their North American sales representatives in protecting their relationships and receivables during the bankruptcies of major U.S. customers.
• Represented a subsidiary of a Japanese corporation in its acquisition of all outstanding capital stock of a U.S. machine tool company.
• Represented a large Japanese bank as arranger, administrative agent and lender in a $320 million three-year credit facility made available to a large chemical producer and one of its wholly owned subsidiaries.
• Represented a Japanese medical device company in 510(k) and PMA processes including comprehensive approval, post-market compliance, and marketing support.
• Successful defense of a Japanese company sued in the U.S. by an international oil giant for activities in Japan claimed to violate 40 years of trade secret and license agreements.