Westlaw Japan K.K., as the leading legal solutions provider in Japan, has been providing not only our local legal content solutions, but also introducing Thomson Reuters’ global content and software solutions widely to law firms, companies, academic institutions, and governmental institutions. As we celebrate our 15th anniversary, we would like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere appreciation to our customers and business partners in the legal community for their trust, partnership, and support.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced a rapid change in the legal services market, and many organizations are seeing the rising need and importance of digital transformation. Digital transformation, which is pushed forward by technological innovation, review of working styles and business models, and focus on efficiency, has greatly impacted the legal industry, from education to research, practice, and the provision of services. The entire legal ecosystem including consumers, content providers, academics, governments, and the judiciary were also affected, and important challenges were raised in the past year.
As we see digital transformation accelerate in Japan, we are confident that Westlaw Japan can contribute to the legal community furthermore, through innovation and by responding to the needs of our customers and the market.
To address the challenges we are seeing, Westlaw Japan held an online symposium with the Advanced Business Law Program of the University of Tokyo, welcoming Professor David B. Wilkins from Harvard Law School as the keynote speaker. In the symposium titled “Reimagining Lawyering in the Global Legal Services Market Post COVID-19,” Professor Wilkins led the discussion on how lawyers at every level – from general counsels and managing partners to lawyers and law students just beginning their careers, to academics and regulators, and policy analysts responsible for law and legal institutions – need to respond to the changes as they serve clients, build successful careers, and preserve access to justice and the rule of law.
In the panel discussion that followed, titled “Driving Strategy and Alignment in a Changing World,” Professor Wilkins and leaders of Japan’s legal community actively exchanged insights from international and domestic perspectives.
Westlaw Japan acknowledges the need to make further efforts to increase awareness regarding the necessity of reform. By leveraging the knowledge and expertise we have developed in the Japanese legal industry, we will continue to provide services that meet the needs of our customers. To offer global and localized solutions to the market, we will largely expand our main services, develop online services with content strongly requested by the Japanese market and customers, and further deepen our relationships with parent companies. We believe our spirit of innovation will bring great chances to our customers, partners, and our business. We look forward to sharing our vision, finding further opportunities for growth, and continuing this journey together.
We look forward to contributing to the growth and innovation of the Japanese legal industry and supporting the entire legal community.
Sincerely,
Young Sun Bang
President & Representative Director, Westlaw Japan K.K.