The digital pressures generated by the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated implementation of legal technology and legal operations around the world, shaking up the status quo of corporate legal departments. The effects of this event on major players in the West are well-documented, however, information about Japan remains limited. Aiming to generate intelligence about the current state of legal departments in Japan, Epiq surveyed legal department professionals at multinational and leading local companies in Japan, with the goal of determining the latest developments and compare them to those in North America.
 
The findings of this study will be discussed and analyzed in a three-part white paper series. The first will focus on external legal expenses; the second on the implementation of legal technology; and the third on the implementation of legal operations. To provide context and enrich the findings, we have included the opinions of thoughts leaders from Japan and overseas.  
 
This first paper reached the following conclusions: 
 

• Legal departments have low pressure to reduce expenses
• Costs is the top factor when selecting external providers
• Law firms are the primary external provider choice for legal departments
• A high percentage of tasks are performed manually 

 

 

To learn more about Japanese corporate legal departments, fill out the form below to receive your free copy of The State of Japanese Legal Departments – Part One.