Ep. 09: Corporate Success to Legal Entrepreneur in Japan with Catherine O'Connell.

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The Business Karaoke Podcast, sponsored by Design Thinking Japan, modernizes the dialogue around doing business in and with Japan for the modern global leader. Through sharing stories of both failure and success, we give global leaders with a passion for Japan, and Japanese leaders with a passion for the global market, the tools they need to operate more effectively and with impact.

In this episode we are joined by the first foreign female to set up her own law practice in Tokyo, Catherine O’Connell. Catherine O’Connell is Principal Founder and CEO of her own boutique, secondment-based flexible NewLaw firm, Catherine O’Connell Law which she founded in 2018. In this conversation, she takes us on her journey from success as an in-house lawyer for companies such as; Panasonic, Olympus and Mitsubishi Motors to her now role of entrepreneur and CEO. We explore her innovative contributions to the business community. We’ll dive deeper into the concept of a legal health check and her belief that a healthy lawyer makes a happy lawyer.

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as did!

Below is the list of our conversation so you can quickly navigate to find what is most relevant for you.

💡 07:35 | Catherine's initial connection to Japan.
💡 12:50 | Gaining trust as a foreign lawyer in Japan and becoming more than a Japanese speaker.
💡 16:30 | How to drive effectively drive the business perspective as an in-house lawyer when there is no rule book
💡 23:35 | Essentials for doing business in Japan and how mistakes may not be as bad as initially thought.
💡 27:30 | Recognizing a gap in the market and delivering an innovative service in Japan
💡 41:10 | A legal health check and how businesses of all sizes benefit of knowing their "legal health."
💡 49:05 | Regulation as barrier to business development and the shift when Japan's hand is forced.
💡 56:42 | Getting involved in a community and re-designing the workplace.

A big thank you to Catherine and a big thank you to you, the listener!

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Read more about Catherine below or over at her website.

Catherine O’Connell is Principal Founder and CEO of her own boutique, secondment-based flexible NewLaw firm, Catherine O’Connell Law. In 2018, she not only became the first foreign female to set up her own law practice in Tokyo in 2018 but also was a finalist in the British Chamber British Business Awards in the Entrepreneur of the Year category. Catherine has been in Japan 17 years working primarily in In House roles at Panasonic, Olympus and Mitsubishi Motors as well as a Senior Associate at Hogan Lovells Law Firm in the Tokyo and London offices and 10+ years in New Zealand in private practice. Catherine is passionate about giving back to the community and serves as the Vice-Chair of the Australian & New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of Japan and Chair of the Legal Services & IP Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan as well as an active Entrepreneur member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan. Catherine also mentors law students and lawyers, speaks on panels and to students embarking on law careers. She believes healthy lawyers make happy lawyers and is focused on lawyer wellness and flexible working. Catherine has double degree in Japanese and Law, and is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand (1995) and England & Wales (2009). She is a Foreign Registered Lawyer in Japan the Tokyo Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association.