Eriko Matsuno

This firm was established in 2011 by Japanese attorney, Eriko Matsuno, who has substantial experience in one of the top three law firms in Tokyo.

In 2000, Eriko joined Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu (NO&T), a prestigious firm for young Japanese lawyers, where she worked on general corporate matters, the formation of Japanese real estate funds (J-REITs), and IPOs.

Eriko left NO&T to create a specialized firm providing high quality and friendly legal services for English speakers who conduct business with Japanese or live in Japan, for a reasonable fee.

According to Eriko’s experiences and motto, high quality legal services must include the provision of risk-related information for clients. Some firms earning fees on an hourly basis simply provide legal services without informing clients of the risks associated with the result if the client is not satisfied with the outcome.

In particular, if the legal services are related to a judicial procedure in Japan, the outcome may not be fully known. While litigators normally do their best for clients, the outcome sometimes depends on the judge’s conclusion based on complicated legal interpretation under a lack of case precedents, or on the quality of evidence the clients provide to the court.

Accordingly, prospects are very important for clients, especially for those drafting new contracts. If the lawyer works on drawing up contracts with the counter party of the client, he or she must understand the future risks associated with the planned future business. It should be the new idea for clients from legal professionals with knowledge of disputes. The contract should clarify the obligations and rights of both parties to prevent future disputes, which can be overlooked by business people when they are very optimistic about the business relationship. However, the future of the business is usually unknown and the relationship may change over time or with the introduction of new business operators.

Accordingly, the quality of legal services depends on the lawyers’ ability to foresee the company’s prospects and allow the clients to seek the optimal choice for ongoing disputes and/or prevention of future disputes.

We are located in Tokyo, Japan to satisfy the legal needs of English speakers and to provide high quality legal services for a reasonable fee.

We offer e-mail consultation or telephone conferences for legal matters with clients. However, our clients must not be located in Tokyo.

For an hourly fee, we support the organization of your corporation in Japan if you are yet to have an entity in Japan, if you seek offices to lease for your business in Japan, or if you need help with VISA arrangements. We also provide legal guidance regarding Japanese laws.