Hi, currently studying an LLB in European and international law. Basically, after many workshops I decided I want to work as an in house legal advisor (compliance officer). Japan is an option for me since my partner is from Japan. I have been checking the job offers in internet for similar positions and I realized some of them ask for registered lawyers from Japan or English speaking countries for an in house position. My question is if it’s possible to take the oath in the Japanese bar without completing law school there (probably just an LLM). I’m asking this since I also have the option to qualify in a French speaking country or Spain and I don’t know if it would be too beneficial to spend all the time and effort qualifying requires. Probably I would attempt the Japanese bar after a considerable time working in Japan since I know that it’s a super difficult exam.
Thanks in advance
by [deleted]
3 comments
Yes but obviously it’s all in Japanese. The bar exam is called 司法試験, which in order to qualify for you must complete a law degree in Japan or pass the preliminary exam 司法試験予備試験.
There is also something called [外国法事務弁護士](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_at_foreign_law) or 外弁 for short which I guess is what those “English speaking countries” are in the job listings you’re looking at.
Technically yes, but realistically no.
You don’t necessarily need to go to a law school in Japan to take the 司法試験 (bar examination) to become a lawyer. There is another exam called the 司法試験予備試験 (pre-bar exam), and you are allowed to take the actual 司法試験 if you pass this pre-exam.
However, you need to be extremely fluent in Japanese, much more fluent than almost all native Japanese speakers.
The Japanese system is really different from European ones, and finishing an LLB is literally nothing. You have to pass the exam written in Japanese and answer in Japanese.
You may want to look into becoming an attorney at foreign law. Search this sub for gaiben for some previous discussions on the topic.
Also check out wikipedia here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attorney_at_foreign_law