Since its establishment, TMI has been proactive in assisting EU and US companies expanding to Japan and Japanese companies expanding into the EU and US.  Especially, since the early 2000s, TMI has been pursuing alliances in equal footing with many EU and US law firms, which is a significant feature no other major law firm in Japan has.  In order to bridge the gaps among legal systems in Japan and abroad and provide prompt and precise advice, attorneys and patent attorneys in TMI and foreign law firms collaborate closely on a constant and daily basis to provide our client with the best suited service, supported by a well-organized system.

For North America, we are structurally organized to provide local legal advice in alliance with “Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP” (US).  In addition, we have networks with other law firms in the US through the handling of individual cases and the exchanging of personnel.

As for EU countries, we are structually organized to provide local legal advice in alliance with “Simmons & Simmons” (UK) and the “ARQIS Foreign Law Office” (Germany), as well as other law firms in EU countries, responding to clients’ needs depending on the individual case.

Through these close alliances, we support clients operating internationally in a wide variety of aspects as follows:

•        Various domestic and international business transactions;
•        Various domestic and international handling of employment issues;
•        Various domestic and international protection of intellectual property;
•        Various domestic and international M&A transactions;
•        Various domestic and international handling of compliance; and
•        Handling of disputes such as international cartels or international arbitration.

Furthermore, in areas where the expansion of Japanese companies are accelerating such as India, Indonesia and Brazil, we are advancing the formulation of a system to promptly provide local legal information to clients through the secondment of attorneys and patent attorneys of TMI to local law firms.  We also provide legal advice in a wide range of fields, starting from the establishment etc. of branch offices or local corporations, obtaining of approvals and licenses for starting business, granting of licenses to local companies, transactions related to the procurement of materials and raw materials on site, procurement of sites and construction of factories on site, up to local employment.

TMI will continue to make every effort to further strengthen the system to provide legal support for the Japanese companies expanding overseas.