H A R VA R D L A W S C H O O L P ROGRAM ON THE L EGAL P ROFESSION law.harvard.edu/programs/plp T HE J APANESE L EGAL P ROFESSION © 2011 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Disclaimer These reports reflect research done by students at HLS in the Spring of 2011, and are based on secondary sources, as noted in each report. While we believe the information reflected in the re‐ ports to be true, the information has not been independently verified, and the reports are not meant to be complete with respect to any particular topic, and particularly as regards the legal system in its entirety, or in political or constitutional context. Readers should also recognize that terminology may vary from country to country, which may make naïve comparisons misleading. For example, the concept of a “lawyer” varies from country to country, and data on “lawyers” may include practicing and non‐practicing attorneys. No one should rely on the information con‐ tained in the reports for any purpose. Japan Legal Education Structure of legal education The Japanese legal education system has been in a state of flux during the past decade. Before March 2004, prospective lawyers typically completed a four-year LL.B. degree.i However, no degree was required to sit for the Bar Exam.ii After passing the very difficult Bar Exam (2-3% passage rateiii), students were required to participate in a one-and-a-half-year apprenticeship program at the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court.iv In April 2004, the “law school system” was introduced. Qualification for legal practice now requires a graduate J.D. course that lasts two years (for students who have already completed an LL.B.) or three years (for those with non-law undergraduate degrees).v Forty to 50 percent of law school graduates pass the new bar exam (passage numbers are capped by a quota) and participate in a one-year apprenticeship program at the Legal Training and Research Institute of the Supreme Court.vi Typical age of starting lawyer Status hierarchy of law schools As of 2011, the system will change again to allow nonlaw-degree holders to once again sit for the bar exam, after first having passed a separate initial examination.vii Before the introduction of law school system lawyers were typically admitted to the bar between the ages of 23-27. (Begin the four year LL.B. course at 18, graduate at 22, pass the bar exam in the third or fourth year of undergraduate or one to three years after graduation, attend apprenticeship program, and then be admitted to the bar.) Average starting ages varied quite a bit because applicants often had to take the bar exam several times. Under the new law school system, most applicants are admitted between the ages of 26-29. (Begin the four-year LL.B. course at 18, graduate at 22, begin the two-year J.D. course at 22, graduate at 24, pass the new bar exam after graduation, attend one-year apprenticeship program, and then be admitted to the bar.) After 2011, when nondegree-holders will again be allowed to sit for the bar exam, typical ages of starting lawyers may begin to vary more. There are 74 law schools in Japan that offer the J.D. degree.viii National universities such as University of Tokyo, Kyoto University and Hitotsubashi University, and private universities such as Keio University, Chuo University and Waseda University are regarded as top-tier law schools.ix Rough size of top law schools How professional (vs. academic) is the law degree? Professional regulation: basic licensing Length of study for licensure Rankings systems will be instituted in the future, with bar passage rates being one criterion.x Tokyo: 300 students, Kyoto 200 students, Hitotsubashi: 100 students, Keio: 260 students, Chuo: 300 students, and Waseda: 300 students. The class size in other schools ranges from 30-200 students. Traditionally, law professors have no practice experience (including clerkships at courts), nor did they pass the bar exam and obtain a license to practice.xi Recently, along with the introduction of the new law school system, many law schools have started to hire law practitioners, such as lawyers from big law firms or judges, as professors or associate professors.xii Historically, legal education was strictly lecture-based and theoretical;xiii however, students received practical education during their apprenticeship at the Legal Training and Research Institute. The new law schools offer discussion-based seminar classes as well as clinics, externships, and moot courts.xiv This “American-style” model has been criticized as ineffective in civil law countries.xv Pursuant to the Lawyers Act, those who pass the Bar Exam and participate in the apprenticeship program are eligible to join the Bar Association and become licensed. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations and Bar Associations in each prefecture perform oversight functions and lay down standards of professional conduct. Under the old system, students typically studied for the bar exam for several years.xvi “Cram schools” were common and often took priority over university classes for many students.xvii Passage on the fifth time was quite common, with only 0.1% of first-time test-takers passing. Under the new law school system applicants study for about one year, devoting the final month before the exam to full-time study. Applicants are now limited to taking the exam only three times and within five years of graduation.xviii Due to quotas governing maximum bar 2 Requalification Lawyers per population and lawyers per working population Size of law firms Share of attorneys at top firms Compensation structure Law firm retirement age Law firm governance Type of legal system Punitive damages in civil cases Juries in civil cases Rules on contingent fee litigation Rules on attorney’s fees and other costs in litigation passage numbers, approximately half of law school graduates will never be admitted to practice. Cram schools are expected to remain popular, as law schools do not teach the test-taking techniques required for the Bar Exam.xix Lawyers from any jurisdiction who pass the bar exam may qualify to practice in Japan.xx There is approximately one lawyerxxi for every 4419 people, and one lawyer for every 2823 working population.xxii Law Firms Over 60% of all law offices are solo practitioners, however urban areas are seeing an increase in the number of joint offices involving several attorneys.xxiii There are seven firms in Japan with over 100 attorneys.xxiv There were 28,789 attorneys in Japan as of 2010.xxv The top five firms have a total of 1622 attorneys.xxvi Thus, approximately 6% of attorneys work at one of the top five firms. Compensation may be lockstep, performance based, or a combination of the two. First-year attorneys make under $10 mil. yen ($124,359) while those with up to three years of experience generally make under $15 mil. yen ($186,513). Experienced attorneys can make up to $30 mil. yen per year ($373,039).xxvii There is no set retirement age in Japan as a whole; however, most companies do set a retirement age, usually between 60-65. Law offices are mainly managed by individual attorneys.xxviii Law/Legal procedure Japan has a civil law system.xxix There are no punitive damages in civil cases.xxx There are no juries in civil cases. A citizen judge system, which is similar to the Anglo-American jury system, was introduced in May 2009, but only for certain criminal cases.xxxi Contingent fee litigation is permitted in Japan.xxxii There is no binding regulation relating to attorney’s fees except for a Bar Association rule setting out information and disclosure requirements.xxxiii In litigation, only fees payable to courts and miscellaneous expenses are usually borne by the losing 3 party. Attorney’s fees are not compensated. Under Civil Procedure Code, a party may use a document Rules on discovery submission order to compel the adverse party to submit specific document. Judges closely oversee the discovery process. There is no class action system.xxxiv Rules on class actions Prevalence and prominence Shareholder suits are quite prominent, to the extent that shareholders’ suits are broadcast on TV and of “plaintiff’s bar” and advertisements in buses and trains publicize how to bring class actions brought on a suit.xxxv behalf of shareholders or consumers against large companies i Hisashi Aizawa, Japanese Legal Education in Transition, 24 WIS. INT’L L.J. (2006). Id. at 144. iii Mark Reutter, Japanese legal education system undergoing radical transformation (2003), University of Illinois News Bureau, http://news.illinois.edu/news/03/1113japanlaw.html. iv Aizawa, supra note 1 at 146. v Id. at 137-138. vi Id. at 148-149. vii Japanese Federation of Bar Associations. http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/en/about/attorney_system.html viii Aizawa, supra note 1 at 135-136. ix Information from interviews with Japanese LLMs. x Takahiro Saito, The Tragedy of Japanese Legal Education: Japanese “American” Law Schools, 24 WIS. INT’L L.J. 197 (2006). xi Aizawa, supra note 1 at 141-142. xii Id. xiii Id. at 139-140. xiv Id. at 141. xv Saito, supra note 10 at 199-200. xvi Ramseyer, Mark. Japanese Law: An Economic Approach, at 11. xvii Aizawa, supra note 1 at 145-146. xviii Id. at 148. xix Saito, supra note 10 at 202. xx The Law Society of England and Wales. How to practise in Japan (2007), http://international.lawsociety.org.uk/ip/asia/592/practise xxi Japan Today. http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/number-of-lawyers-in-japan-to-top30000-soon xxii The Statistics Bureau and the Director-General for Policy Planning of Japan. http://www.stat.go/jp/english/data/handbook/c02cont.htm xxiii Japanese Bar Federation, supra note 7. xxiv Japanese Federation of Bar Associations, White Paper on Attorneys (2010), http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/en/about/whitepaper.html xxv Id. at 1. xxvi Id. at 18 xxvii Id. at 35. xxviii Id. at 25. xxix The Law Society of England and Wales, supra note 20. xxx General Act Related to the Application of Laws § 22(2) (2006). ii 4 xxxi Japanese Federation of Bar Associations. Justice System Reforms, http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/en/about/justice_system_reform.html xxxii Herbert M. Kritzer, Risks, Reputations, and Rewards: Contingency Fee Legal Practice in the United States (2004), 258-259. xxxiii Japanese Federation of Bar Associations, Rules Concerning Attorney’s Fees, http://www.nichibenren.or.jp/en/about/regulations.html. xxxiv Ikuo Sugawara, The current situation of class action in Japan (2008), http://globalclassactions.stanford.edu/content/current-situation-class-action-japan xxxv Carol A.N. Zacharias, International Developments in Executive Liability (2010), http://www.aceusa.com/News/Pages/ACEProgressReports.aspx 5