Welcome to the Japan In-House Summit 2014
 

Where: Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo -Akebono Room, 47/F,2-2-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan

When:  Tuesday, 18 November 2014

Time:  8:30 am - 5:00 pm

A unique platform for the frank exchange of views, sharing of best practices and formulation of strategies to deal with opportunities in 2014 and beyond.

Asia's most respected legal industry publication, Asian Legal Business Magazine, is proud to present ALB Japan In-house Legal Summit in Tokyo This special event is tailored to bring together leading senior-level corporate counsel, business leaders and private practice lawyers. The summit represents a unique opportunity to interact with some of the most active and influential lawyers from Japan.
  • Plenary sessions and panel discussions
  • Focused practice area workshops
  • Networking Sessions
Why you should attend:
  • FREE* to in-house counsel and business leaders
  • In-depth workshops focusing on the latest legal issues presented by top domestic and international law firms
  • Opportunities to network and meet leading legal experts and peers
  • Panel discussion on the vital role of in-house counsel by some of the world's most distinguished and dynamic corporate counsel
  • VIP networking luncheon and refreshments
  • Speaker notes
Key Topic Highlights:
  • Hear a special keynote from the International Corporate Counsel Association and the American Chamber of Commerce Japan
  • Take away valuable insight on managing Data Protection and Privacy and implementing a sound guideline on privacy notices
  • Gain key insight on the evolving role of the corporate counsel as one of the company’s business strategist
  • Explore the key advantages on resorting to domestic and international arbitration to solidify accountability in Japanese companies
  • Examine the different career progression opportunities of Japan’s In-House Counsel today

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 8:30                  Registration
 
9:05                  Chair’s Welcoming Address
Yoichiro Itakura, former Privacy Officer, Consumer Affairs Agency, Government of Japan
 
9:10                  Keynote Opening Address – Japan’ s legislative developments and the establishment of the International Corporate Counsel Association
Takayuki Kitajima, Board Member, International Corporate Counsel Association and General Counsel – Japan & Korea, Representative Director, Unilever Japan Holdings K.K.
 
9:30                  Keynote Opening Speech – Strategies and challenges in addressing recent regulatory and legislative reforms in Japan’s private sector
Allan Smith, former president, American Chamber of Commerce Japan & Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, RGA Reinsurance Company
 
9:50                 An In-House Counsel’s survival guide to digital evidence 
 
  • What to do when faced with an internal investigation where most of the facts are lost in mounds of emails, computer documents and other electronic data?
  • How to meet your discovery obligations in Western litigation and international governmental investigations?
  • What technologies and services can you utilize to drastically reduce the cost of a digital investigation? 
Scott Warren, General Manager, Head of Japan, Epiq Systems eDiscovery Solutions
 
11:20              Refreshment Break
 
 
11:35              In-House Counsel Panel: Applying reputation management tools as part of overall brand protection: going beyond anti-counterfeiting efforts
  • Adopting a proactive (as opposed to a reactionary) brand protection approach
  • Dealing with “beyond anti-counterfeiting” issues: look-alike-products and reputation  management on social media platforms
PANELISTS:
 
  • Takayuki Kitajima, Board Member, International Corporate Counsel Association and General Counsel – Japan & Korea, Representative Director, Unilever Japan Holdings K.K.
  • Mizuho Kageshima, Senior Legal Director, Coach Japan
  • Takamiki Nishikawa, Senior Legal Counsel, Fox International (Japan)
12:35              Networking Luncheon
 
13:35              Mastering International Concession - A combination of government, sponsor and lender perspectives
  • Gauging key issues in a concession agreement  and its related financing matters
  • Managing risk allocation, force majeure, and  contract termination
  • Evaluating tariffs and tax effects on concession  agreements
John Paul Huntington Vigman, General Counsel, Veolia Japan KK
 
15:05            Refreshment Break
 
15:20            In-House Counsel Panel – Aligning strategic interests and regulatory compliance in Japan
 
  • Managing data protection and privacy:  guidelines in implementing a sound practice on privacy notices
  • International arbitration in Japan: an in-depth guide on resorting to domestic and international arbitration to solidify accountability in Japanese companies
  • The role of the In-House Counsel: evolving from  a legal advisor to  a business strategist
  •  
    Career progression options and advice for the In-House Counsel
MODERATOR: Tatsuhiko Kamiyama, Member, British Chamber of Commerce and Partner, Clifford Chance Law Office
 
PANELISTS:
  • Andrew Thorson, Global General Counsel, Nissan Motor
  • Kaori Miyake, General Counsel, Schneider Electric
  • Claire Chino Mitsuru, General Manager, Legal Division, Itochu Corporation
  • Naoya Bessho, General Counsel, Yahoo! Japan Corporation
  • Reinhard Schu, Vice President, General Counsel, KVH
16:50           Closing Remarks
 
17:00            End of the Japan In-House Legal Summit 2014
 
 
 

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Takayuki Kitajima, Board Member, International Corporate Counsel Association
Takayuki started his career as a legal assistant in a Japanese trading company, Nissho Iwai Corporation (currently known as Sojitz Corporation) in 1987. At that time, he was in charge of domestic legal issues, especially debt collection and related works. Through two overseas assignments (Germany 1991-1993, UK 1997-2001), he also extended job fields to international matters like project finance, IPP, joint venture and license arrangement, asses sale and purchase, distressed debt management and etc. 
 
Andrew Thorson, Global General Counsel, Nissan Motor
Andrew Thorson is the Global General Counsel of Nissan Motor Company, headquartered in Yokohama, Japan.  Andrew leads Nissan’s 160-person global legal function, and an HQ legal department staffed with attorneys from China, England, France, Japan and the US.  Andrew is a California attorney but has been based in Japan most of the past 25 years.  He holds an LL.M. in Japanese Civil Law from the Kyoto University Graduate School of Law, and a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law.  
 
Kaori Miyake, General Counsel, Schneider Electric
Kaori Miyake is General Counsel Japan for Schneider Electric since 2011. Prior to Schneider, she was Senior Legal Counsel for GE Healthcare overseeing its Medical Device, Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical Divisions from 2008 to 2011. She was Senior International Counsel for Federal Express Corporation from 1999 to 2008 overseeing Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Guam and Saipan. Kaori articled and is licensed in Ontario, Canada and practiced at Cassels Brock & Blackwell in Toronto from 1997 to 1999. She holds JD from Queen's University, Dipl SLS from University of Ottawa and BA Law from Carleton University and Rikkyo University.   
 
 
Claire Chino Mitsuru, General Manager, Legal Division, Itochu Corporation
Claire received her B.A. (cum laude) from Smith College and her J.D. from Cornell Law School. She was a partner of an international law firm before she joined Itochu Corporation as its corporate counsel.  In April 2013, she became the first female executive officer of any major trading company. She has received several recognitions such as a “Young Global Leader” (World Economic Forum), Yale World Fellow (Yale University), Asia 21 Fellow (Asia Society), U.S. Japan Leadership Fellow (U.S.-Japan Foundation), “Top 25 In-House Counsel in Asia” (Asia Legal Business), “Asia Pacific’s Innovative Lawyer” (Financial Times).  She is a member of Cornell Law School’s advisory board. She is a classically trained singer and strives to be a “singing lawyer.”  In December of 2014, Claire will be giving a recital at the Suntory Hall Blue Rose.
 
Naoya Bessho, General Counsel, Yahoo! Japan Corporation
Naoya Bessho joined Yahoo! Japan in 1999, created the legal division in 2000, and is currently CCO and General Counsel and oversees legal, intellectual property, internet safety, governance, compliance, and risk management departments. Mr. Bessho currently represents Yahoo! Japan on several committees and working groups including the Consumer Commission Expert Committee for Personal Information Protection, the Cabinet Office Committee for Improvement of the Internet Environment for Youth, and Safe Internet of JAPAN. He has also been at the forefront of Yahoo! Japan’s disaster relief efforts during and after the Great East Japan Disaster and continues to work with governments and businesses to fulfill the potential of the Internet to impact lives in a positive way.
 
 
Scott Warren, General Manager, Head of Japan, Epiq Systems eDiscovery Solutions

Scott Warren, a licensed US attorney, began his legal career as a litigation attorney in California, moving to Japan in 1993. He spent 13 years as in-house counsel in Japan, serving as the first foreign general counsel for Sega Enterprises, and then as senior corporate attorney for Microsoft, getting Xbox launched in Asia.  In those capacities, he also handled IP licensing, transactional agreements, anti-counterfeiting and anti-cybercrime efforts, employment matters and internal investigations.  He was the Asia regional managing director of legal technologies for a large risk consultancy and technology company. He now oversees Epiq Systems, a world leader in legal technologies, providing eDiscovery and document review services in Japan, working with corporations, and the law firms that support them, on issues where the Law and Technology collide. 

 
Reinhard Schu, Vice President, General Counsel, KVH

Reinhard Schu, Vice President, General Counsel, is managing legal, commercial, regulatory and government relations matters for KVH. From 2008 to 2012, Reinhard served in a number of legal roles at Colt Technology Services Group, London, including most recently as Corporate Legal Director with overall responsibility for M&A, standard terms of business and corporate policies. Prior to Colt, Reinhard spent 12 years in private practice advising clients in the Telecommunications and IT sector, last serving in the Technology Transaction Group at Morrison & Foerster LLP in London and Tokyo. Reinhard holds a law degree from Universität des Saarlandes, Germany and a Master of International Business Law from Queen Mary College, London. He is qualified as a lawyer in Germany and England.

Yoichiro Itakura, former Privacy Officer, Consumer Affairs Agency, Government of Japan

Yoichiro Itakura is an Attorney at Law in Japan at HIKARI SOGOH LAW OFFICES since 2009. He has specialty in Data Protection, Intellectual Property, and International Relations. He is a former Senior Specialist in the Office of Personal Information Protection, Consumer Affairs Agency, Government of Japan (2010-2012). As a government official, he was in charge of international relations in the area of personal information protection. He is a member of OECD Privacy Expert Group and a former delegate of OECD Working Party on Information Security and Privacy (“WPISP”, now “WPSPDE”), APEC E-Commerce Staring Group and Data Privacy Subgroup, and Asia Pacific Privacy Authorities Forum. He holds J.D. (Keio Law School, 2007), M.S. in Informatics (Kyoto University, 2004), B.A. in Policy Management (Keio University, 2002).

John Vigman, General Counsel, Veolia Japan KK

John has been the general counsel of for Veolia Environment's operations in Japan (Veolia is the world's largest water and environmental service company - VE is the stock listing) since 2011 and is currently working on various water and renewables projects, PPI and O&M projects throughout the Japanese archipelago and occasionally industrial waste water projects in elsewhere in  Asia for Japanese clients.  He works with a team of four, handling the Japanese related matters as well as reporting to the head office in Paris. Recently, he has been handling more renewable energy projects on the Japanese feed-in-tariff as well as industrial waste projects.  Prior to joining Veoila, John was with Shearman & Sterling in New York's Project Development & Finance team handling project finance transactions representing owner/developers, contractors and non-recourse lenders. The practice consisted of negotiations in turnkey EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contracts for owner/developers for power plants (gas, HFO, coal, combined and single cycle),  upstream/midstream Oil & Gas projects,  LNG regasification terminals, biomass,  nuclear generation , industrial manufacturing, underwater power transmission cable, and five star hotels and included the representation of  JBIC (the Japanese government bank guarantying project finance loans for Japanese entities ) in Asia and Latin America, large Japanese trading houses,  and been on the opposite side of the table on IFC financed transactions in fossil fuel (Asia, Africa, Latin America ), wind and geothermal. John began his career as a finance associate at White & Case in New York City.

Takamiki Nishikawa, Senior Legal Counsel, Fox International (Japan)

Takamiki Nishikawa is the Representative Director and Vice President of Fox International Channels (Japan).  As Senior Legal Counsel he looks after Fox’s business and legal affairs in Japan and Korea.  As a member of the 21st Century Fox media group, which has been under close scrutiny from the regulatory authorities after the News of the World phone hacking scandal and which operates in many high risk areas like Africa, Latin America and Asia, FIC places high importance on compliance.  Takamiki works closely with the Chief Compliance Officer of the Fox Group on FCPA and other compliance matters. Previously Takamiki was Deputy General Counsel of Ralph Lauren Asia Pacific with responsibility over Japan and Korea. Prior to in-house counseling, Takamiki was in private practice with Anderson Mori & Tomotsune. he has also been in government employment dealing with multilateral trade at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and was involved in the ACTA negotiations and the IP chapters of various FTA agreements, as well as the NAMA negotiations. He was educated at Eton College and Tokyo University (Law).

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For more information about the event, please contact Prince Gregorio on prince.gregorio@thomsonreuters.com / +632 789 5328

Register for the Japan In-House Summit 2014

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For the first 200 In-house Counsel and Business Leaders. To register, please click above

Any representatives from law firms, related legal service provider companies and vendor companies are welcome to contact our sponsorship team for information on how to register for the event
PLUS:
  •           Includes VIP Networking Luncheons
  •           Refreshments
  •           Speaker Notes

Sponsors of the Japan In-House Summit 2014 

 

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