Team size: 3 lawyers, 1 admin assistant

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past twelve months?

The termination of partnership between Abbott and Nihon Kohden was a key project. Nihon Kohden (NK) had been Abbott’s distribution partner for our electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management businesses for quite some time. NK’s role included not only distribution, but also servicing of our products and customer support for select customers. Abbott and NK mutually agreed not to renew the Distribution Agreement set to expire on December 31st, 2026, and our team supported the business in devising a comprehensive strategy for a smooth transition of the business from NK to Abbott.

Have you been in a situation where expectations between Japanese and global stakeholders differed? How did you resolve it?

We were in a situation in which we were going to cover the medical fees of a user of our medical device. Our US Legal team wanted the user to sign a waiver releasing Abbott from any and all legal liabilities in relation to the relevant incident in exchange for Abbott covering the relevant medical fees. This makes sense from a legal perspective and is also standard procedure in the US and other jurisdictions. However, our Japan business team insisted that raising the issue of a waiver and asking the user to sign it would trigger the user to ask more questions and less likely to agree to close the case, especially in Japan where litigation by consumers is uncommon. We resolved the case by convincing our US Legal team that in this particular case, we believed that we would actually lower our legal risk by not seeking a waiver from our user.

What are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

Understanding the business of the company: to provide legal advice that is effective and relevant to the business/company, understanding the business, product and services of your company is critical. This includes understanding the business model, revenue drivers and cost structure.

Managing legal risk, not necessarily by minimising it. Minimising or eliminating legal risk sometimes has associated costs. In-house counsel should be optimising legal risk by balancing the business circumstances and needs against the relevant legal risks by assessing the consequences of such risks and advising the business to assist the business make the optimal decision. Exception to this approach would be when there are ethical issues associated with the relevant matter in which case as a lawyer, ethical issues are not something that should be compromised.