Team size: Approximately 170 worldwide

What are the most significant cases, transactions or projects that your legal team has recently been involved in?

We are always conscious of our management and business contribution to the company, as well as the enhancement of corporate value and protection. We also actively contribute to management issues such as portfolio transformation and implementation, economic security measures and the strengthening of corporate governance. In the business area, we work together with our business divisions and other corporate departments to promote a wide variety of investment, financing projects, and various product sales. In recent years, the projects we are undertaking have become more complex and we are required to work quicker. Recent projects include large-scale overseas projects, M&A deals, acquisitions of listed companies and transfer of business deals. The legal department is increasingly expected to play a role in dealing with new cutting-edge areas such as ESG and AI-based businesses. There are increasing expectations from the company for the legal department to take a leadership role in dealing with complex disputes, while also managing relationships with numerous stakeholders.

Could you share an example of a time when your team came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

We have been using OneNote to promote knowledge management within the legal department. We are also improving our onboarding process using OneNote while actively promoting mid-career recruitment. We are accepting lawyers on secondment from top-tier domestic and international firms, as well as hiring specialised legal personnel from various backgrounds as general contract employees. We have been able to implement onboarding at a higher level across departments which has been received well by new recruits.

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values?

We at Mitsui & Co have established a group management philosophy of MVV. This consists of our mission, vision, and values, and we expected our stakeholders as well as external law firms to sympathise and share these values.

How do you suggest in-house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

It is important for in-house lawyers and partners to maintain multi-layered communication at all levels, not only when discussing project consultations but also on day-to-day affairs. This will ensure that the partner has a good understanding of the company’s business, and it will also help clarify the expectations of the legal department. This level of communication will help to build strong relationships and a sense of mutual trust between the two parties, it will allow the legal department to obtain important information when the time arises.