Our Philosophy
We believe that the most critical aspects of an attorney’s practice are communication and results.
These aspects form the foundation of client trust.
Listen diligently to what clients say and then stand by them.
Clearly communicate with clients in the midst of changing situations.
In this way, clients are able to entrust cases to their attorneys with confidence.
At the same time, it is indisputable that results are highly essential.
With that in mind, we are entirely devoted
to defending and achieving our clients' rights and goals
by uniting and applying our expertise.
Attorneys
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Keiji Aramaki
Keiji Aramaki is a co-founder of Aramaki & Goto which was founded in 2016 for the purpose of providing high-quality advice and expertise to clients. At Aramaki & Goto, Keiji deals with a broad range of legal areas, including litigation, HR/labor, corporate, real estate and inheritance. Before practicing law, Keiji worked for the Yomiuri Shimbun where he conducted incident coverage, investigatory journalism, editing and planning on a variety of articles. Before founding Aramaki & Goto, Keiji belonged to Asahi Law Offices (formerly Asahi Koma Law Offices, Domestic Division) following his admission to the Daini-Tokyo Bar Association (Japan) in 2003. Keiji received his B.A. in Political Science from Waseda University, School of Political Science and Economics in 1989, and studied English poetry under Kenneth Koch, a prominent poet of the New York School of poetry, at Columbia University, School of General Studies in 1990. He completed his legal training at the Legal Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan in 2003.
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Shingo Goto
Shingo Goto co-founded Aramaki & Goto where he provides legal advice and representational services mainly in corporate matters, including corporate governance, financial regulations, fund-related businesses and ventures. Shingo started his career at Asahi Koma Law Offices, International Division (currently Nishimura & Asahi) after finishing his legal training at the Legal Research and Training Institute of the Supreme Court of Japan in 2003. During his period at Nishimura & Asahi, Shingo acted as legal counsel for a number of corporate entities in a wide variety of areas such as general corporate practice, M&A, finance, real estate, intellectual property and litigation. In 2009, Shingo joined Jones Day, a US-based international law firm, to focus on international deals. At Jones Day, Shingo advised clients in a number of corporate deals such as foreign acquisitions of Japanese companies and joint ventures between transnational companies. Shingo received his LL.B. from Waseda University, School of Law in 2000 and his LL.M. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 2013. Shingo was admitted to the Daini-Tokyo Bar Association (Japan) in 2003 and New York State Bar in 2014.
Practices
Litigation, HR/Labor, Real Estate and Inheritance
Litigation
Lawsuits before a court are a final dispute resolution measure and are the most critical procedures as the last resort for protecting rights and benefits. We have accumulated practical know-how through our experience with a diversity of cases, including large-scale and complex matters. We make persuasive arguments before courts of law by properly formulating what our clients want to say as legal statements and collecting proper evidence. We also render advice on the path to dispute resolution by assessing the probable outcomes of legal proceedings. We also handle other court procedures, including mediation, trials, provisional remedy proceedings and execution proceedings.
HR/Labor
Businesses are built by individuals, and it is clear that working life is an important part of human fulfillment. We provide advice on labor matters based on a great deal of expertise in dispute resolution, including labor trials and lawsuits. We also offer legal services concerning the frequent amendments of labor regulations, investigations and supervisions made by labor authorities as well as collective bargaining with labor unions. We advise not only employers but also employees and labor unions.
Real Estate
Real estate transactions – including purchases and sales, leases, intermediary services, contract construction and trusts of land and buildings – are one of the areas where disputes often occur because such transactions are subject to complex legal regulations and considerable amounts of damages often occur. We have been engaged to advise on real estate problems and disputes as well as transactional practice, including real estate liquidation deals on behalf of real estate companies of various sizes and business categories. With such expertise, we are able to provide legal advice and documentation services and also represent clients in circumstances where disputes occur.
Inheritance
Japan is a country facing the challenges of an aging society. Although matters involving aging and death can be complicated, we believe that preparing for and carefully considering such matters is prudent and can inform our thinking about how we should live. Inheritance proceedings including the preparation and execution of wills as well as partition of estates is one of our major practice areas. We can provide our services in coordination with tax advisors if needed.
Corporate Legal Counseling, Compliance, M&A, Finance and IP
Corporate Legal Counseling
Companies' development of their businesses is inherently linked with building their legal relations with others. These types of multifaceted legal questions which occur in the course of business usually cross two or more legal areas which can be closely related with multi-layered interactions. We have been expanding the range of our practices by consistently approaching new and challenging practice areas in a proactive manner. By uniting all of the expertise held by each of our attorneys with our strengths in different practice areas, Aramaki & Goto offers representational and advisory services as a standing legal counsel to our clients with regard to every aspect of corporate activities. Through long-term relationships with our clients, we provide effective and strategic legal services based on our accumulated knowledge and experience regarding industry trends and trading practices.
Compliance
Regardless of a company’s size, it is essential that a mindset of effective compliance takes root in corporate officers and employees for their companies to grow soundly. We provide advice and proposals regarding the establishment and examination of compliance systems based on the analysis of the legal risks surrounding our clients. In cases of corporate misconduct such as breaches of laws and regulations, we collect evidence, recognize facts and render legal evaluations from a fair and objective standpoint as attorneys. Based on such activities, we are able to provide advice on the improvement of corporate compliance systems.
M&A
It has become common practice in Japan for companies to enter into mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in their efforts to unlock new business possibilities. Additionally, M&A has recently been in the spotlight as an option in cases of the succession of family businesses. When corporate entities consider M&A options, careful legal analysis regarding the transaction scheme and structure, due diligence of targets and preparation of contracts is essential. We provide cutting-edge legal services in the M&A field based on our variety of transaction experience, including mergers between listed companies, tender offers for listed shares, management buyouts where corporate officers have acquired the company's businesses, and foreign funds' acquisitions and exits of Japanese companies.
Finance
Funding is clearly a crucial component for business developments. Our attorneys had spent time working at financial institutions and have dealt with a broad range of finance-related practices, including equity and debt transactions. We also provide services regarding fund organization, capital raising, investment execution and exits.
IP
In our modern society, the significance of intellectual property rights such as patents and copyrights has been an increasing factor in creating corporate value. Due to rapid progress and developments of science technology, it is increasingly necessary to properly administer and preserve such rights. In this legal area, we provide practical day-to-day legal services, such as review of IP-related contracts including licensing agreements, and we also deal with emergency situations such as cases of intellectual property right infringement.
Ventures and Startups
Aramaki & Goto was founded with a fundamental spirit of active venture and new growth. We believe in the unlimited possibilities of venture and entrepreneurial businesses and we strive to support them. Although venture enterprises have become driving forces that can profoundly change the world through their fresh energy and momentum, such ventures can also sometimes fail to avoid legal issues that can affect and even determine their fates. In our role as counsel to new ventures, we efficiently supervise and manage ventures' risks so that they are able to exercise their “adventurous spirit” and develop their businesses to the fullest extent. We also provide strategic consultations appropriately tailored to the growth stage of our clients’ ventures.
Foreign Enterprises' Expansion into Japan and International Legal Affairs
Due to rapid developments in information technology, foreign businesses' forays into Japan are not limited to big companies. In the current business environment, it is common for mid-sized and even smaller overseas companies to make business bets on the Japanese market with their international services. However, due to language gaps and differences in legal systems, foreign companies often encounter unexpected legal risks as they enter new markets. We are able to provide legal advice on Japanese regulations to foreign companies in English and prepare English legal documents when they do business with Japanese entities. One of Aramaki & Goto’s founding attorneys is admitted to the New York State Bar and is able to effectively and efficiently address foreign companies' legal needs in Japan.
Firm Information
| Name | ARAMAKI & GOTO |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 1, 2016 |
| Address | Kinsan Building 8F, 1-21, Nihonbashi-Muromachi 4-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0022, Japan |
| Phone No. | ＋81-3-6214-3361 |
| Fax No. | ＋81-3-6214-3362 |
| info@aglo.jp | |
| URL | www.aglo.jp |
