Team size: 7

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

QVC Japan operates a television shopping business in Japan while also responding actively to customers’ digital shift through initiatives such as live commerce and social media. In this environment, the legal function must both enable innovation and ensure strict compliance with broadcasting regulation, consumer protection laws and data privacy laws.

As general counsel, I led the legal and compliance team and delivered results across the guardian, partnering and innovation dimensions of the in-house legal function. Over the past twelve months, three areas were particularly significant. First, I led the identification and elimination of a serious latent regulatory risk, thereby strengthening the company’s regulatory and governance position. Second, my team played a central role in identifying business opportunities, preparing the necessary groundwork in advance, and helping several important cross-functional projects succeed. Third, I independently developed a low-cost in-house matter management system for the Japan legal team and helped expand that model across the wider global group, contributing to more efficient legal operations at both local and global levels.

These achievements led to the QVC Japan Legal & Compliance team winning both the Grand Prize, the highest distinction, and the Guardian Function Award in the JILA In-House Legal Award 2025. This followed our success in the previous year’s awards, where the team won the Grand Prize, the Partnering Function Award and the Innovation Award, marking a second consecutive Grand Prize win for the team.

Please describe a situation where your advice had a significant impact on business outcomes or objectives.

A core part of the in-house counsel’s role is to assess legal risk accurately and, wherever possible, help the business move forward by identifying legally sound and practical solutions. That is also when an in-house counsel feels the greatest sense of fulfilment as an in-house lawyer. There are, however, situations in which a careful legal assessment leads to the conclusion that no acceptable solution exists and that the business should not proceed in the way originally envisaged. If we are serious about protecting the company’s long-term growth, there are times when we must say “no.” In those situations, the real challenge is how to persuade management and business stakeholders and help the organisation take the course that is right for its long-term interests. It is precisely in those situations that my advice can have the greatest impact on business outcomes and objectives.

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

In my view, one of the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel is the courage to move beyond a narrow conception of legal work. Today, the real value of in-house counsel lies not only in legal knowledge, but also in the ability to bring logical thinking, sound judgment and problem-solving skills to wider business challenges. As AI and other technologies expand what professionals can achieve, in-house lawyers have more scope than ever to contribute beyond pure legal analysis. The key question is whether they are willing to step into adjacent areas, use those capabilities well, and help the organisation move forward in practical ways.

What is a cause, business or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

I am passionate about helping lawyers build their careers and lives more strategically. Many lawyers work with great dedication for their organisations or clients but may have fewer opportunities to think seriously about how to make their own careers and lives better. In my view, if lawyers are to continue contributing sustainably to society and their organisations through their expertise, their work must also support their own happiness and long-term fulfilment. This is why I care deeply about supporting lawyers, including my own team members, in building the future and the lives they truly want.