Europe and the EU

Atsumi & Sakai, as a Japanese law firm with offices in London, Frankfurt, and Brussels, provides real-time legal services to clients in Japan and the EU for both inbound and outbound economic activities through cooperation among our experienced lawyers and foreign lawyers at our European offices and our Tokyo office. 

Our EU law practice has expanded with the development of EU law, based on contacts with EU institutions, local information, and networking and collaboration with local law firms that we have cultivated over many years. Our main areas of practice include the following: 

-      EU competition law (advice on cartels, business combination regulations, regulations on abuse of dominant positions, horizontal or vertical restraints, state aid, foreign subsidies regulations, etc.)

-      Europe-related M&A

-      Digital regulation compliance including AI, data and cyber security

-      EU trade laws (advice on customs law, advice on the EPA negotiations, economic sanctions, foreign direct investment regulations, etc.)

-      Import control regulations

-      Intellectual property protection

-      Personal information protection (GDPR, etc.)

-      Human rights, ESG, Supply chain management, etc.

We further provide advice on financial regulations in Europe by leveraging our firm’s expertise gained from many years of experience in financial services.

The number of lawyers in our firm with work experience in London, Frankfurt, and Brussels has also increased enabling support to clients based on our knowledge of local conditions in Europe. Through collaboration between our Tokyo office and our various European locations, we have established a Europe/EU team, UK team and German team composed primarily of personnel specializing in European projects to create an advanced, borderless framework between Europe and Japan.

We are also engaged in studies in order to accurately comprehend the unique nature of EU law and its relationship with the complex laws of the member states. Many of our lawyers are members of study associations, which offer opportunities to consult the opinions of prominent scholars and practitioners from around the world.