PUBLISHED:March 07, 2011

LLM students, visiting scholars discuss Japanese legal system

Duke Law visiting scholars Takeshi Sunago and Ryohei Oda and LLM students Naokuni Kuwagata ’11, Zentaro Nihei ’11, and Hideyuki Sato ’11 spoke about the practice of law in their home country of Japan as part of a series of spring luncheons featuring international students discussing the practice of law in their home jurisdictions.

The March 1 talk covered a broad overview of the Japanese legal structure and issues of interest to students who are thinking of practicing in Japan or dealing with cross-border issues involving Japan.

Sunago, a family court judge in Sapporo, Japan, opened the event with a brief introduction to the Japanese legal environment, discussing the structure of the judicial system, the training and certification of Japanese lawyers since recent reforms, and the role of foreign lawyers in Japan. The remainder of the talk was open to audience questions, which ranged from the policy behind the Japan’s new quasi-jury system to the role of a Japanese lawyer in corporate decision-making.

This event will be followed by luncheons on the practice of corporate law in China on March 15 and Israel’s legal struggle against terrorism on March 29. The series is jointly hosted by Duke Law’s Asian Law Students Association and the Office of International Studies. See the Duke Law calendar for more details, or contact Vivian Chow at vivian.chow@duke.edu.