Lawyer on Air

This episode taught me that if there is someone out there you want to get to know more, then you should just reach out to them and book in an e-coffee or meet up if you can! Mindy was one of those people and I’m so glad this episode was a chance for us to get to know each other better. Mindy has done so much in her legal career already and she’s just revving up. If you are someone wanting to find out how to get started working as a lawyer in Japan or how to have a varied legal career then this is definitely a great episode for you.

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to LinkedIn, and tag me and Mindy. Or leave us a message here!

In this episode you’ll hear:

About Mindy

Mindy is originally from New York. She graduated with a JD from Stanford University in 2010. She also completed a BA in East Asian Languages and Cultures, and an MA in East Asian Regional Studies from Columbia University in New York. Through her father’s encouragement to learn more languages, she started to learn Japanese and arrived in Japan in 2001 for a homestay in Tokushima. That culture shock did not deter her from interning in Japan for six consecutive summers and she was able to move to her New York firm’s Tokyo office in 2014.  In 2019 she joined the boutique law firm southgate where she practices today whilst also teaching a legal writing class at Keio University.

Connect with Mindy

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindy-allen-8391107/

Links

Mindy’s local restaurant: Tetote Apartment: http://tetote-apartment.com/

Working as a Sole Practitioner in Tokyo - Panel discussion hosted by Women in Law Japan (WILJ): https://www.catherineoconnelllaw.com/blog/working-as-a-sole-practitioner-in-tokyo-panel-discussion-hosted-by-women-in-law-japan-wilj

Full Release with Samantha B  Podcast: https://www.earwolf.com/show/full-release-with-samantha-bee/

Contract Teardown Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/contract-teardown-show/id1552795073

Smitten Kitchen Blog: https://smittenkitchen.com/

Life after Law Book: https://www.amazon.co.jp/Life-After-Law-Finding-Work/dp/1138469955

The Pastry Chef’s Guide Book:  https://www.amazon.co.jp/Pastry-Chefs-Guide-Secret-Successful/dp/1911641514

My guest today has really carved a niche for herself and a career in the area of compliance and regulatory. Her career is fascinating. It is inspirational to hear how so much can actually happen in your career as a lawyer. You don't have to do just one single thing. There are many ways to lead your life as a lawyer, and the world really is your oyster. Listen and find out how Robyn aced it.

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @lawyeronair or find me on LinkedIn or Twitter.

About Robyn

Robyn is originally from Australia but has lived in Tokyo for the past 20 years working with international law firms and financial institutions. She started her career in the area of cross-border securities offerings but in recent years has focused on FINTECH regulation. She is married and has two grown children and one dog.

Connect with Robyn

If you would like to contact Robyn, please connect with Catherine to be introduced.

Links

Cicada in Minami Aoyama https://www.tysons.jp/cicada/

Casefiles Podcast: https://casefilepodcast.com/

Conning the Con Podcast: https://shows.acast.com/conningthecon

Connect with Catherine

Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catherine.oconnell.148

Twitter: https://twitter.com/oconnelllawyer

As a woman in the law, have you ever pondered if you are managing your career as well as you could be? I heard Hitomi Komachi speaking on finding a niche and her own strategic career management at an online presentation for FEW Japan, and I just knew that her ideas had to be shared with far more than just the 20 or so people who attended.

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me and Hitomi, @lawyeronair and @hitsnaps or find us on LinkedIn. Or leave us a message here!

Haven’t left a review yet? We’d love you to! Go to Apple Podcasts and thanks for your support of this show!

In this episode you’ll hear:

About Hitomi

Hitomi specialises in development and financing transactions in the energy, natural resources and infrastructure sector. She regularly advises government agencies, multilateral institutions, financial institutions, developers and sponsors on large-scale, cutting edge and first-of-a-kind projects in emerging markets, including in Asia, Middle East and Africa. She started her career at Allen & Overy’s London office, and after qualifying in the UK, spent 4 years in Allen & Overy’s Paris office, working primarily on power, renewable energy and natural resources projects. She came back to Japan in 2014 and spent time on client secondment at Japan Bank for International Cooperation. From 2016, she is part of Allen & Overy’s Tokyo banking team working closely with Japanese investors on outbound transactions in this field. She is part of the firm’s renewable and sustainable energy efforts and is a leading member of the hydrogen interest group.

Hitomi is recognised as a “Rising Star：Gaiben” by Legal 500 (2020). She speaks English, Japanese and French.

Connect with Hitomi

LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/hitomi-komachi-03144333

Allen & Overy: https://www.allenovery.com/en-gb/global/people/Hitomi_Komachi

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hitsnaps/ 

Connect with Catherine

Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catherine.oconnell.148

Do I have a bumper episode for you this week. You might think it’s “lengthy” but I prefer to say “packed full with nuggets!” During the recording, I had tingles on my skin hearing how this week’s Lawyer Extraordinaire, Aramide Fields, uses her career in the law in service of others and how her curiosity and interest in learning continues to lead her to new challenges in her life in Japan now as Associate General Counsel for the Asia Division of Autoliv.

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, I’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me, @lawyeronair or find us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

In this episode you’ll hear:

About Aramide

Aramide Fields is the Associate General Counsel for the Asia division of Autoliv, a Fortune 500 company and the world’s largest automotive safety supplier. She provides strategic legal and business advice to colleagues in sales, purchasing, supply chain, compliance, and other functions throughout Asia, including Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Before joining Autoliv in November 2020, Aramide was in BigLaw for 15 years at Morrison & Foerster. She spent about half of that time in the firm’s San Diego office, and the other half in the firm’s Tokyo office working in litigation, internal investigations, and compliance. Aramide earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School, and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Virginia. She lives in Tokyo with her husband and three children.

Connect with Aramide

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aramide-fields

Links

Mel Scott’s Podcast:  Counsel Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/counsel/id1516422327

#Networked  https://www.amazon.com/Networked-Distancing-Connections-Cultivate-Businesses-ebook/dp/B08MB98HNX

Connect with Catherine

Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catherine.oconnell.148

Twitter: https://twitter.com/oconnelllawyer

Akiko is our first Japanese female lawyer guest on Lawyer on Air. She knocks it out of the park in this episode giving us a great insight into her life working in Employment Law as a Partner in her own firm which she set up with two co-Partners in 2017. It was especially interesting to hear how she views her own firm, as a platform for the next generation to use to do their best work in the law into the future as well as her advice for good management of employees in a fair and competent way. Excellent advice for anyone working in Japan as well as managers in any industry. I hope you will listen and hear from this fun, savvy and strong Japanese female lawyer!

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me, @lawyeronair or find us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

In this episode you’ll hear:

About Akiko

Akiko specialises in employment law and dispute resolution. She provides day-to-day employment advice to various multinational clients on matters including preparing rules of employment, employment contracts, and wage systems, dealing with a large number of employment-related disputes including dismissals on the grounds of poor performance or misconduct, redundancies, overtime pay, retirement benefits, or harassment issues. She also provides training on matters such as harassment, employee performance management, and time management. She has also led numerous teams as they conduct internal and regulatory investigations. She also has extensive experience in representing clients in court proceedings on employment and labour issues. Akiko’s clients hail from a broad range of sectors including financial services and multi-national corporations.

Connect with Akiko

Website:https://www.vl-tokyo.co.jp/en.html

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akikoyamakawa/

Connect with Catherine

Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/catherine.oconnell.148

Twitter: https://twitter.com/oconnelllawyer

Have you ever wondered what it looks like to lead a large legal team at a top international company? Today I welcome my good friend who is Associate General Counsel & Legal Director of Amazon Japan, Angela Krantz, to reveal what life is like as a senior foreign lawyer of a large team.

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me and Angela, @lawyeronair and @angelakrantz or find us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

In this episode you’ll hear:

About Angela

Angela has more than 25 years' experience working in Tokyo, Japan, in private practice and as a General Counsel. Angela joined Amazon Japan in May 2016 as Associate General Counsel & Japan Legal Director, where she oversees legal, compliance and regulatory matters for the company and serves on the management team for the consumer business. Before joining Amazon, Angela took 2+ years’ off work to surf, renovate a flat and pursue other interests. Angela’s previous legal job was a Managing Director at Accenture Japan for 5 years, and prior to that, her first in-house role was as the Director of Legal Services for Mitsubishi UFJ Merrill Lynch PB Securities Co., Ltd. (Tokyo), formerly Merrill Lynch Japan's private banking business. She started her career in private practice in Tokyo for more than 10 years, working at the Tokyo offices of Morrison & Foerster and Clifford Chance. Angela has served as a member of several Board of Directors and management committees. Angela speaks English and Japanese.

Connect with Angela

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-krantz-5938b311

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angela.krantz.9

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelakrantz/?hl=ja

Links

Angela’s favourite wine bar in Tokyo: Apero https://apero.co.jp/en

Her podcast recommendation: https://www.estherperel.com/podcast

Law jobs at Amazon Japan: https://www.amazon.jobs/en

Women in Law Japan: https://womeninlawjapan.org/

Connect with Catherine

Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawyeronair

Hi everyone! 

I’m Catherine the Host of Lawyer on Air - where I pour you a glass of wine at my favorite virtual wine bar in Tokyo while you listen to inspirational inside stories from my guests, as we relax and talk about what it’s like in life, and in the law, for women lawyers in Japan.

On this Podcast, you are going to hear stories from all different types of women lawyers, who are challenging the legal space in Japan, in private practice and in-house. They’ll inspire you by re-telling the path that brought them to the Land of the Rising Sun and they will share behind the scenes tales of passion and resilience, leaving you with a guidebook of gems, to help you lead your best lawyer self, in life, and in the law. So, pull up a barstool, slip in your EarPods, and let’s get started!