Abstract
Our image of Japan is one of an insular society which emphasizes informal consensus and where lawyers and the law do not play an important role. But deregulation and administrative reform initiated during Japan's economic malaise of the 1990s have led to surprising changes over the last decade - a new demand for corporate legal services, an increase in the supply of lawyers, the emergence of large corporate law firms, law firm mergers, and increasing activities by foreign law firms. At a recent conference at Creighton University School of Law a distinguished group of legal practitioners from the leading Japanese and foreign law firms in Tokyo engaged in a panel discussion which examined this brave new world of the legal profession in Japan.