Madoka Shimada is Partner at Nishimura and Asahi, one of the “Big Four” law firms in Japan. You might have heard some things about what it’s like to work there but Madoka shares some of the innovations and how she has carved out a unique career for herself with her interesting combination of qualifications.

Vivien Clancy has a wealth of experience in the legal operations space which she brings to her current position in the Tokyo office of Herbert Smith Freehills. Vivien’s adventures and zest for life have all contributed to her fascinating career experiences. It goes to show that all experiences lead you to that next iteration of your career. If you are considering a legal operations role and wondering where to start, then this is the episode for you.

If you have finished your law degree but are not sure if you want to work as a “lawyer”, you might consider going to an in-house role such as Tomoko Konishi has done. Tomoko has had a truly varied career so far and is now working in corporate governance. With a law degree you really are able to serve society from all kinds of angles, this time Tomoko is doing it her own way, listen to hear more!

Sawako Ogi is the General Manager in the Strategic Legal Unit at JERA Co. From living overseas in a variety of countries as a child to managing a team remotely from the UK, Sawako's story is one of resilience, leadership, and determination. Join us as we delve into Sawako's in-house career path, her advice for in-house counsels, and her passion for balancing work and personal life.

Kenji Tagaya joins Lawyer on Air as a very welcome male guest, fan of the show and ally of women working in the law in Japan. Kenji is General Counsel at Jera and shares his own lived experience of being a minority and how he uses that experience to help empower others. In addition to his career, Kenji is very active in volunteer activities and we hear about how he asks if he can join in and help and in doing this he has been able to use his skills for good outside of the office too.

Akiko Kikuchi is a skilled general counsel with over two decades of experience in the legal industry. In this episode, we delve into the challenges of creating a career at a time when it was unusual to hire university graduate women in Japan. Akiko shares the benefits of building a strong team and how to get through the career challenges that might crop up for a General Counsel. Get ready to be inspired and informed in this episode of Lawyer on Air.

Sayaka Ohashi, a legal counsel specialising in employment law, shares how her experience of raising three children and listening to what they have to say, has greatly improved her practice in employment law. She also encourages male lawyers to embrace child-rearing as it can make them better professionals. Her reasons are a little different from what you might be thinking (you will need to listen in!) Sayaka has had a varied career with big law firms and now running her own practice also makes time for new hobbies and even a side business!

In this episode, Aya Saito shares her journey from a kind of identity crisis to finding her style and authentic self in a unique role. Her career challenges became accomplishments that she even enjoyed! I’ve not heard of any guest so far in six seasons refer to their challenges in this way. Through the power of conversation, Aya uncovers these gems even though she didn’t know they were there! Join us for another fabulous episode from one of our own women in law in Japan.

You are going to love this episode featuring one of the biggest fans of Lawyer on Air and a successful lawyer in her own right, Akiyo Inoko Hewett. Akiyo got my attention with her thoughtful and insightful post on LinkedIn; little did I know that she was a big LOA fan! In addition to being an avid listener, she has forged a career for herself as a bilingual international lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia. If you are wondering about different places to start a law career, this episode is packed with great examples of how Akiyo achieved this.

Asako Ouchi takes us on an amazing journey through her career so far - you will need to hold onto your seat for this one! Tokyo, London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Asako created opportunities for herself to get what she wanted from her career and she did not let her circumstances get in the way of at least asking. Often this approach turned into an opportunity, so I highly recommend listening to this particular career journey for anyone who is thinking that what they want might not be possible because of a circumstance.