[Press Release] Atsumi & Sakai awarded the Daini Tokyo Bar Association’s "Family Friendly Award"

On 23rd March, 2015, Atsumi & Sakai was awarded the "Family Friendly Award" by the Daini Tokyo Bar Association; the July-August issue of the Association's magazine included an article about the award, a summary of which is set out below. “The "Family Friendly Award" is a new award created by the Daini Tokyo Bar Association's "Division for the Promotion of Gender Equality" as part of efforts to improve gender equality and is awarded to the member law firm that has implemented advanced policies to promote an environment that fosters an effective work-life balance. According to the Association's Division for the Promotion of Gender Equality, Atsumi & Sakai was given the first annual Family Friendly Award for the following three reasons.

The ratio of female partners at Atsumi & Sakai who are members of the firm's Management Committee is very high. The Atsumi & Sakai Management Committee is responsible for management and HR related decision making, and this high ratio of female attorneys on the committee reflects a family friendly office culture on the firm's management decisions.
Atsumi & Sakai has systems in place for maternity leave and child-care leave that also apply to attorneys, and the rules relating to these systems are published internally on the firm's intranet.
The activities of the firm are team based and built up around divisions and practice groups, which allows for flexibility in handling each individual's circumstances and support for child-care needs, etc.

Regarding the first of these points, Atsumi & Sakai has a high proportion of female attorneys and partners.

Out of approximately 100 attorneys*, around 30% are women
Over one third of partners are women, ten of whom have children
Nearly 40% of the members of the Management Committee are women

* including both Japanese and foreign attorneys

A number of features of Atsumi & Sakai were mentioned in the Association's article, including that:

Atsumi & Sakai has a solid IT environment that utilizes cloud computing and virtual private networks, etc., enabling attorneys to handle work outside the office and work from home while caring for children, etc.;
Atsumi & Sakai has an internal system for reporting of sexual harassment and power harassment, with multiple reporting options, in addition to which there are also annual training seminars regarding such harassment for attorneys; and
an occupational health physician visits the office once a month offering free consultations for attorneys and staff alike.

In selecting Atsumi & Sakai for the award, representatives of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association noted that law firms sometimes need an approach that is different from that used by corporations. It is not uncommon for lawyers to become overwhelmed with their work unless there are realistic rules and systems in place for child-care leave, and reduced working hours and other programs necessary for a proper work-life balance, particularly in the case of small law firms and sole-proprietorships, despite the flexibility that these may at first appear to have. A proper work-life balance requires both rules and systems, and the appropriate culture and will to implement them effectively.

According to representatives of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association, Atsumi & Sakai is remarkable for the fact that more than a third of the partners involved in decision-making relating to management and HR are female, and that Atsumi & Sakai has drafted and implemented thorough rules for maternity leave and child-care leave, and these factors were key in the decision to give the award to Atsumi & Sakai.

Over the years, Atsumi & Sakai has made considerable efforts to create an environment where its lawyers and staff alike, both Japanese and non-Japanese, can make a contribution and reach their full potential irrespective of gender, nationality or family circumstances. It is pleasing to see these long-term efforts being formally recognized by the industry with this award. Atsumi & Sakai is proud to accept the award and intends to work even harder to build a family-friendly working environment.

For more information, please contact the firm’s PR team at:

Atsumi & Sakai

E-mail：info@aplaw.jp TEL：03-5501-2111 FAX：03-5501-2211

(Representative: Mr. Hiroo Atsumi, Dai-ni Tokyo Bar Association)

About Atsumi & Sakai

Atsumi & Sakai is a multi-award-winning independent full-service Tokyo law firm, and the first major independent Tokyo law firm with foreign partners. In addition to lawyers admitted in Japan, our Firm includes Registered Foreign Lawyers licensed in Japan to advise on the laws of the US States of New York and California, the People’s Republic of China, England and Wales and the State of Queensland (Australia), United States and Australian Federal law, and the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany (in collaboration with Janssen Foreign Law Office). Operating as an integrated international team, Atsumi & Sakai advises a wide range of international and domestic companies and financial institutions on all aspects of finance and business law utilising our Japanese expertise and the international know-how of our foreign partners.

Atsumi & Sakai is organized as an integrated combination of certain Foreign Law Joint Enterprises as defined in the Law on Special Measures Concerning the Handling of Legal Services by Foreign Lawyers.