What is Preventive Legal Services? Differences from clinical and strategic legal affairs, and specific examples of what we do.

This session will explain in detail the specifics of Preventive Legal Affairs, one of the legal services in a company, and the qualities required of a Preventive Legal Affairs staff member. The seminar will also provide information on the difference between Preventive Legal Affairs and Strategic Legal Affairs and Clinical Legal Affairs, as well as specific examples of Preventive Legal Affairs work, to help you develop your career and skills in the future, and to give you tips on how to consult with an attorney.

Preventive legal services are legal activities that take measures in advance to avoid disputes

Preventive legal work is legal work that aims to prevent a company from getting involved in legal disputes or problems before they cause serious damage to the company. The mission of preventive legal affairs is to anticipate various problems that may arise in the course of business activities, such as contracts, labor, intellectual property, and violations of laws and regulations, to prevent them from occurring, and to be prepared to resolve them promptly in the event that they do occur. Preventive legal activities include checking contracts before they are concluded, strengthening compliance systems, and taking necessary measures in advance to deal with disputes, scandals, claims, and other legal risks that may arise in the future.

Importance of Preventive Legal Affairs

Preventive legal affairs to prevent disputes and hedge risks are considered to be one of the most important legal activities. This is because it avoids disputes before they arise, thereby avoiding the need to devote company resources to resolving disputes, and minimizes damage to the company in the event of a dispute.

Companies that do not have a preventive legal system in place are forced to deal with problems after they occur. The amount of effort that must be devoted to resolving disputes in a hurry is enormous. There is a large possibility that an optimal outcome will not be reached in the limited time available if an attorney is retained after a dispute arises. If a case goes to trial, it will take a long time to resolve, and in some cases, a large amount of compensation may be demanded at trial, not to mention legal fees. Preparation in advance can lead to early resolution of disputes and the best possible solution.

Difference between Preventive Legal Services and Clinical/Strategic Legal Services

Legal affairs related to corporate activities are classified into three categories: "clinical legal affairs," "preventive legal affairs," and "strategic legal affairs. This section describes each of these tasks and explains the difference between Preventive Legal Affairs and Clinical Legal Affairs.

Clinical legal affairs are legal activities that deal with disputes and trials that have already occurred

In contrast to Preventive Legal Affairs, which is designed to prevent disputes, Clinical Legal Affairs deals with disputes that have already occurred. We work to solve problems by examining legal approaches based on various cases as well as legal theories and principles, and proposing specific proposals. The main objective is to minimize the company's losses. The longer and larger the dispute becomes, the greater the damage. We aim to resolve legal disputes and problems promptly by appropriately collaborating and sharing roles with outside attorneys.

Strategic Legal Affairs is legal activities that apply legal knowledge to business strategy.

Strategic Legal Affairs supports a company's business strategy from a legal standpoint. Our mission is to lead the company's business strategy to realization in a legally sound manner. These important legal activities include many complex tasks such as launching new businesses, expanding overseas, and supporting M&A and business-to-business alliances. In cooperation with management and business partners, Strategic Legal Affairs contributes to the creation of new value that leads to the growth of the company.

Specifics of Preventive Legal Affairs

This section introduces the specific duties of Preventive Legal Affairs, such as drafting contracts and regulations, and developing internal systems. Preventive legal affairs duties are mainly divided into two categories: externally facing and internally facing.

Preparation of contracts and legal checks

Typical duties for external parties are those related to contracts. When conducting transactions with other companies, it is essential to conclude contracts in advance. Preventive legal work includes reviewing the contents of contracts prior to conclusion in terms of transaction terms, risk distribution, and trouble-shooting, as well as creating contracts from scratch.

Preparation for and handling of shareholders' meetings

One of the duties of Preventive Legal Affairs is to manage shareholders' meetings in an appropriate manner. We prepare for the meeting itself to proceed properly in accordance with laws and regulations so that resolutions, which are the purpose of the meeting, can be carried out smoothly. It is also important to prepare a list of questions and answers to prevent the proceedings from being disrupted by confusion at the general meeting of shareholders.

Examination and preparation of internal regulations

The objective is to reduce the risk of misconduct by establishing internal regulations that are appropriate for the company. Each company has a variety of in-house rules, but recently we have heard a lot about harassment rules, social media usage rules, etc. Harassment rules define harassment and specify prohibited items in order to prevent various types of harassment within the company. Social media use rules are designed to prevent unintentional social networking flame-outs by employees by clearly stating prohibited items on social networking sites, and other rules are created to anticipate and prevent various kinds of problems.

Establishment of Compliance System

We will create an internal environment for compliance by making employees aware of the importance of complying with various laws and regulations, providing legal education opportunities, and establishing a double-checking system for internal approval flow.

Preliminary investigation of intellectual property rights

Preventive legal work also plays an active role in the area of intellectual property rights, such as trademarks, patents, and copyrights. To prevent lawsuits from other companies, we check in advance whether our products and services infringe on their intellectual property rights. It is also important to obtain intellectual property rights for your own brand to prevent other companies from acquiring rights to your important technologies before you do.

Qualities Required of Legal Professionals for Preventive Legal Work

What qualities should a person in charge of preventive legal affairs, one of the most important roles in corporate legal affairs, possess? The following is a description of the experience and qualities required.

Extensive legal knowledge and experience in corporate legal affairs

Preventive Legal requires a broad range of legal knowledge, including skills in reviewing, drafting, and managing contracts, an understanding of legal regulations and standards, and an awareness of compliance. The ability to detect risks as well as an understanding of the company's business is also essential. A person with extensive experience in corporate legal affairs would be suitable for this position.

High level of expertise in the area of responsibility

In addition to legal knowledge, a high level of expertise in the area of responsibility is also required. The right candidate will have in-depth knowledge of the laws and regulations of the area and industry. Communication skills are also required to convey legal issues to non-specialists in an easy-to-understand manner.

Ability to analyze risks and propose solutions

Keep abreast of industry trends and legal changes to identify and analyze risks that may affect the company. The ability to anticipate potential legal risks while proposing appropriate solutions is required. The right candidate will be able to propose solutions that support business growth while avoiding legal risks.

Improving one's own skills and consulting with lawyers are important for proper preventive legal work.

The purpose of preventive legal work is to avoid future legal problems and support the sound operation of the organization. When consulting with various departments within the company, legal risks within the company must be identified and examined as soon as possible. Avoiding or minimizing problems and troubles will lead to cost savings for the company. To achieve this, it is necessary to keep abreast of the latest information and improve your skills on a daily basis.

On the other hand, it is also important to ensure an environment in which you can consult with specialized outside counsel in complex matters from an objective and professional standpoint with sufficient knowledge. Seeking advice that takes into account cutting-edge legal issues will help you obtain timely answers. In many cases, it is difficult to handle a huge amount of research in-house alone, so the support of outside counsel is indispensable.

The FRONTEO Legal Link Portal (FLLP) provides free access to numerous instructional videos on legal and intellectual property issues, supervised by leading attorneys and experts. By being exposed to various examples of problems and proposed solutions to cases, you will have the opportunity to learn about the risks your company faces in advance. Once a legal problem occurs, it is difficult to regain public trust and the damage to the company can be enormous. Why not use the explanatory videos of "FLLP," supervised by professional attorneys and experts, as a hint to improve your skills and update your knowledge of preventive legal affairs?