[Second Office Information Session Report - Part 2] Information Session Q&A
- The firm's systems, career development opportunities, and future prospects

Mimura Komatsu Law Office was established in 2019 by attorneys Ryoichi Mimura and Shunya Komatsu.
Initially starting as a small firm with five lawyers, we expanded our business focusing on intellectual property, dispute resolution, corporate law, and international affairs, and as of April 2026, we have grown to a team of 30 lawyers.

On April 7, 2026, Mimura Komatsu Law Office held its second firm information session, which was attended by approximately 30 legal apprentices, law school students, and undergraduate students, both in person and online. The program included an introduction to the firm's history and areas of practice, a panel discussion, a Q&A session, and a social gathering, fostering a lively exchange of opinions.
This article, based on a panel discussion by lawyers Naoki Sugimoto, Miyuki Ebisawa, and Masashi Miyazawa, introduces how these lawyers, who have followed different career paths, have built their expertise, as well as how they build relationships with clients and engage with the industry.

Click here for a list of reports from the office information sessions.

Office systems and work styles

Could you tell me about the hiring schedule for newly graduated lawyers?

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Following this open office and information session, we plan to upload recruitment information to our website and other platforms around the summer of 2026, and proceed with the recruitment process through interviews, document submission, and multiple interviews.
Our firm does not have a policy of hiring many people at once. We prefer to take the time to get to know each other well before making a decision, so the final notification of the results may take a little longer than at other firms. We also plan to post on AtLegal and other sites, so please check there for updates.

Could you please tell me your firm's stance on participating in committee activities of the bar association?

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We would very much like you to participate actively. Our co-representative, lawyer Mimura, has also encouraged you to actively participate in committee activities.
Committee activities will broaden your network with lawyers outside the firm and may lead to opportunities for joint representation. Our firm does not prioritize only firm cases, so we encourage you to freely and actively participate in committee activities of your local bar association, including legal development support, international activities, and research activities.

Please tell me about the annual salary and compensation system.

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For the first year, we are planning to guarantee a minimum monthly salary of 50 yen, or 600 yen annually, with bonuses adjusted based on actual working hours and the employee's motivation. We want to create a system where those who work hard can receive a fair bonus.
For your first year, we'd like you to prioritize the projects and work you want to do, so we'll adjust the schedule to allow you to work on projects that match your preferences rather than focusing on earnings. We anticipate a faster pace from your second year onward, but since there's no precedent for new graduates in their second year, we'll start by sharing our approach.
From the third year onward, compensation varies considerably depending on performance, ranging from approximately 80 yen to 300 yen per month, as stated on the firm's website. This highlights how directly individual discretion and performance impact compensation, so please keep this in mind.

Are there any support programs for studying abroad?

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As more lawyers from Mimura Komatsu Law Office are going to graduate school abroad, we have designed a support system. While it is difficult to fully cover all living expenses and tuition fees, we have prepared a form of support that can subsidize living expenses.
When providing support for studying abroad, the amount is adjusted based on the period of time you have worked at Mimura Komatsu Law Office before studying abroad and the period during which you will be able to utilize your study abroad experience after returning to Japan. The details and amount may change flexibly after consultation with the lawyers currently planning to study abroad, but the firm aims to create a system that can support various career paths, including studying abroad.

How are project teams formed and policies decided?

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Our team members are primarily chosen based on their physical workload, and generally, we ask those who volunteer. For example, lawyers who joined the firm because they wanted to work in fashion are assigned fashion cases, and those who want to work in entertainment are assigned entertainment cases. In addition, for cases where expertise in related fields would be beneficial, we try to reach out to the most suitable person.
If multiple opinions are expressed, we will decide through discussion. Our firm has several lawyers who are former judges, and they are very fond of debate. Rather than having superiors impose their opinions, we adopt a style where the entire team contributes their opinions and decides on a course of action together.

How to broaden your career and develop your area of ​​expertise

How did you develop a business perspective without prior industry experience?

Miyazawa
I'm the type of person who can't function without tasks, so the best way I learn is by being involved in a variety of projects. Using each project as a starting point, I expand my knowledge in related fields, and I've collected books at home on topics unrelated to law, such as system development, startup finance, and various business models, so that I can delve deeper into them whenever a related task arises.
In addition, I make it a point to attend social gatherings and industry events to talk with people who are actually involved in the field. By discussing things like, "What is the going rate?" and "What impact would changing the service in this way have?", I can absorb real-world insights that I can't get from literature. To be honest, I've gradually developed my business perspective by combining the knowledge I gain from books with the knowledge I gain from conversations with people on the ground.

What kind of experience is required of legal apprentices and young lawyers in order to become generalist lawyers?

(I.e.
I believe that gaining broad experience in general civil and family law cases, such as divorce, inheritance, traffic accidents, and criminal cases, is the shortest path to becoming a generalist. While our firm has plenty of corporate law cases, we also strongly encourage you to actively engage in general civil cases. The best way to learn is by working on cases. Furthermore, we have senior staff members with experience in general civil cases, so I believe one of our firm's strengths is that you can easily consult with them about things you might not be able to ask at a corporate law firm.

杉 本
In my first year, divorce cases were the most frequent. From there, I gradually shifted towards corporate law. I think it's better not to narrow your field from the start. Having experience in general civil cases often broadens your perspective later in your career.

If you aspire to become a fashion lawyer, what should you focus on during your studies abroad?

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Fordham University, where I studied abroad, is the university that established fashion law, so I had a very fulfilling learning experience there. Fashion law covers a wide range of areas, from company formation and debt collection to trademarks, M&A, and company closures.
What surprised me most about studying abroad was the abundance of unique financial systems in the fashion industry. In the cycle of presenting products six months in advance at a collection, receiving orders, manufacturing, delivering, and collecting payments, a six-month financial gap occurs. To resolve this, banks have loan programs and factoring companies purchase the receivables, and in Fordham's classes, the representative of a factoring company gave a lecture. In Japan, it's more common for banks to provide loans or trading companies to get involved, but I had never had the opportunity to hear about various financial systems from the representative of a specialized company, so I gained some valuable insights.
Furthermore, Fordham has a partnership with FIT, a school specializing in fashion, which provided an excellent environment for directly exchanging ideas with aspiring designers. I recommend that you prioritize practical experience and live exchanges of ideas with people working in the industry when you study abroad.
The knowledge I gained during my studies abroad has been invaluable in my current work, allowing me to share it with fashion designers and industry professionals. I also receive inquiries and requests for collaborations regarding fashion law from lawyers in other Asian countries.

Are there any advantages to obtaining a patent attorney qualification?

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We have had lawyers who have completed practical training and registered as patent attorneys in the past. Our firm handles a very large number of trademark applications related to fashion and venture businesses, so having a patent attorney qualification that allows you to file trademark applications is a great advantage.
Furthermore, when establishing a company, the first time people consult with a specialist is often either a tax accountant or a trademark expert, and trademark applications often serve as an entry point for building relationships with clients. For those who want to be involved in the entire intellectual property strategy, obtaining a trademark is definitely worth considering.

杉 本
Our attorney, Mr. Kurokawa, also holds a patent attorney qualification, so his broad range of expertise is definitely different.

Please tell us about the rewards and challenges of working in the entertainment industry.

杉 本
The most rewarding part of the job is definitely seeing a project I've been involved with released to the world. When my name appears in the film's credits, or when a project I worked on from start to finish, watching the monitor alongside the director and discussing it, is completed and released, it's a deeply moving experience because I know the process that went into it. I also find it very rewarding that these experiences are useful in other projects, allowing me to communicate more deeply with the people on set.
The conflict I face is that even if things are legally clarified, on the ground, people sometimes say, "That's irrelevant." Especially when box office results are unsatisfactory, blame can be shifted, and even if there are records of prior communication, emotional misunderstandings can occur. In such situations, I'm constantly thinking through trial and error, keeping in mind the finer points of the issue: what should be written in the contract, or whether this topic, where nuance is important, should be communicated verbally. I think the conflict will probably never disappear completely, but that's precisely why I find it enjoyable, as there are new challenges every time.

Do you also handle criminal cases?

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I actively accept cases. Personally, I find criminal cases to be a field I am very fond of.
Our firm has Attorney Kosasa, who has many years of experience at a firm specializing in criminal cases, and we are equipped to handle criminal defense in cases of corporate misconduct. For those who are interested in taking on criminal cases, we have an environment where you can learn from experienced colleagues, so we encourage you to take on this challenge.

Future prospects

Please tell us about the areas you would like to focus on in the future.

杉 本
Aside from entertainment and performing arts, I have long been interested in the food industry and primary industries. I believe that entertainment, regional revitalization, and food are quite closely related fields, and I envision working on them as a team.
Another area of ​​focus is AI and Web3. I believe these will become indispensable infrastructure going forward, rather than just a passing trend, so our firm wants to establish a system to handle AI and Web3 projects.

Ebisawa
I don't think I'll ever stray from the fashion field, but within that, I'd like to delve deeper into environmental laws and regulations. Greenwashing regulations and sustainability-related laws and regulations in the EU, France, and other countries are being rapidly developed, making it a very important topic for fashion companies considering overseas expansion. Even in the company where I serve as an outside director, discussions about sustainability management are unavoidable, and because the situation in each country is fast and complex, I find it to be a very interesting and rewarding field.

Miyazawa
One area is intellectual property strategy. Leveraging my broad experience as a generalist, I want to deepen my knowledge in areas such as open and closed strategies, which utilize intellectual property as a business strategy.
Another area I'm interested in is sports. I've been involved in sports ever since I was a student, so I've always wanted to work in the sports field someday.

(I.e.
Sports is an area I'd like to work in, and I'm currently handling several negotiations with overseas partners.
Furthermore, we want to cultivate architecture and design as a new pillar alongside fashion and art. We're also seeing an increase in business consultations regarding the global expansion of food, so we'd like to make this field another pillar as well. If there's anyone who's interested in taking on this responsibility, let's work together.

Here are the Q&A from the first office information session.

【2026.6.12】