Japan

Employment Practice

Lawyers in White & Case's Tokyo office are an integral component of our global network of labor law practitioners. Our highly experienced team of Japanese and foreign lawyers handle a wide spectrum of employment issues from labor disputes to compliance matters.

In contentious matters, we act in a variety of capacities that range from advising legal departments of multinational and domestic clients in relation to disputes and employee termination matters, to actively representing clients before labor tribunals and district courts. In non-contentious matters, we assist our clients in connection with labor law compliance and human resource issues such as drafting:

• company work rules 
• employment agreements 
• executive compensation packages 
• employee invention assignments 
• confidentiality agreements 
• ethical guidelines

We also advise clients in relation to foreign corrupt practice laws and provide global companies with the Japan portion of global employee stock option plans, ERISA matters and company-funded global pension schemes.

Clients seek our guidance on: 

• Labor Disputes: Our frequent in-court experience enables us to advise clients on the risks associated with labor disputes, terminations and restructurings, as well as work place accidents and incidents. 
• Redundancies and Early Retirement Plans: We advise clients on how to comply with Japanese law while minimizing negative effects to the business when conducting layoffs and early retirement plans. 
• Confidentiality, Privacy and Data Protection: Our skill in intellectual property and data protection, including privacy and confidentiality, equips us to identify and provide effective solutions for the data management issues which are often inseparable from the client's employment issues. 
• Collective Bargaining: We frequently represent clients in negotiations with labor unions. 
• Tax, Benefits and Executive Compensation: Our tax specialists regularly advise on the tax consequences of employee benefits and executive compensation.

For more than 20 years, we have been providing legal services to major corporations and banks in Japan. Our team seamlessly offers a bi-lingual, bi-cultural and bi-legal solution, and can explain the legal situation in Japan to foreign executives and lawyers in a practical way to allow for quick and informed decision making.