Asako Ouchi takes us on an amazing journey through her career so far - you will need to hold onto your seat for this one! Tokyo, London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Asako created opportunities for herself to get what she wanted from her career and she did not let her circumstances get in the way of at least asking. Often this approach turned into an opportunity, so I highly recommend listening to this particular career journey for anyone who is thinking that what they want might not be possible because of a circumstance.

Catherine O’Connell has the microphone spotlight switched on her in this episode. Hear more about what it has been like for Catherine has taken to get herself to where she is today on the Independent Audit & Statutory Board of Fujitsu and nominated as Independent Audit and Supervisory Board Member at Toyota Motor Corporation. Catherine shares how her “unglamourous” work experience as a lawyer at the coalface in manufacturing companies has now become a shining diamond that has led her to these exciting positions.

Mami Hino was enjoying her career in pharmaceuticals until it was made clear that she would need to leave the company after marrying someone from the same industry but a different company. This set Mami on a path to retrain as a patent lawyer, learn English to be able to study in the US to get to where she is today. It’s an astounding story of turning unfortunate circumstances into opportunities.

Tomo Greer wanted to be a professional athlete but came to find her way as both a lawyer and an athlete. It turns out you can do both! Tomo’s story of finding her way to becoming an Ironman competitor as well as a busy associate in a law firm in Tokyo, is so inspiring to anyone wanting to build their career as well as pursue a sport seriously. Even if you are not interested in becoming a triathlete, perhaps you might reconsider what you do have time for amongst your priorities after you listen to this episode!

Becoming a “Bengoshi” (Japan qualified lawyer), did not suit Yui Ota-Barclay so she took a chance to become a foreign qualified lawyer instead. In this episode, Yui shares her unique path to becoming an associate at Norton Rose Fulbright based in Tokyo. This is another diverse story of how things can work out for you even though it might not be on that 5 year plan you had in mind.

Carlotta Bruessel brings her fascinating experience of qualifying in both civil law and common law to Japan in the area of international arbitration. This is a story of an unusual career path in the law which is so important to hear. Carlotta is also passionate about connections and collaborations so it is exciting to see her idea to form a club to help bring young arbitrators in Japan together to share their expertise and have fun too.

We are thrilled to bring you Andrea Sanada Ng to share her unique story of becoming a lawyer and finding her own way to a happy career after pivots and turns. We don’t always have the perfect conditions or information when making choices about our careers but Andrea shows us that things can work out, even when you think they won’t.

From time to time I invite an ally of women lawyers in Japan onto the show, and someone I would love you to meet is Sam Inohara. Even though he did not graduate from a top 10 law school, he has created a unique career path in Japan, culminating in his present position as Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Tokyo office. In this episode, he explains why you should consider Japan in your international law career and what the situation is here now with the legal market.

Marose comes from a family of inspirational women and she will definitely inspire you with her outlook on life and how she has made the most of opportunities that have presented themselves to her. Marose shares with us how her outside activities are actually a way to improve her knowledge and network in her chosen area of arbitration.

Mindy Allen is sharing her knowledge of the Japan legal recruitment market with us in this episode. She has made a transition from lawyer to legal recruiter since we last spoke with her. We’ll dive into not only why she chose to move away from legal work for now and what it’s like to be a recruiter. She gives us her up to date insights for lawyers who want to know more about career moves in the near future.