Meet our HR Legal Clinic's Panel of Experts

Atty. HIDEKI THURGOOD KANO
Partner, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune

Profile
Hideki Thurgood Kano is a partner of Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, which is one of the largest and most diversified full-service law firms in Japan. Thurgood has been practicing exclusively in the area of labour and employment since 1995, assisting employers and companies (as opposed to employees and workers), and leads the practice. Thurgood acts on behalf of both non-Japanese multinational companies and Japanese companies, advising them on all aspects of labour and employment.

Specialism: Labour and employment

Atty. JIRO OYAMA
Principal, Yokohama Partner Law Office

Profile
Atty. Oyama is a graduate of The University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law and Washington University in St. Louis Law School. He worked in the Legal and IP Departments of various multinational companies in Japan for 16 years before establishing his private law practice specializing in labor/ employment matters as well as providing legal counsel services to his clients.

Specialism:  Corporation laws; intellectual property laws      

Atty. YOSHIKAZU SUGINO
Partner, Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu

Profile:
Yoshikazu Sugino is a partner of Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu. He graduated from the Law Faculty of Tokyo University, and obtained an LL.M. at Columbia Law School in 1994. He worked at Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts (currently, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP) in New York from 1994 to 1995 and Allen & Overy (London) from 1995 to 1996. He is also a member of the Daiichi Tokyo Bar Association.

Specialism: General corporate area, including asset liquidation transactions, advice on general labor issues and financing transactions.

Atty. VICKI BEYER
Professor of Law, Hitotsubashi University
Graduate School of Law
(Business Law Department)

Profile
Professor Vicki Beyer teaches employment, corporate and business law at Hitotsubashi University. Prior to joining the university, she worked 17 years as an in-house lawyer, specializing in employment law and employee relations, much of it covering not only Japan but other Asian jurisdictions as well. She is also an active leader in the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan and does occasional consulting work on employee relations and employment policies. S he holds a J.D. from the University of Washington and an LL.M. in Corporate and Commercial Law from Bond University, as well as Bachelor's and Master's degrees in International Studies.

Specialism: Employment relationship from recruiting/hiring to termination/retirement; employee relations matters; discrimination/diversity; non-competition; investigations/disciplinary matters.