On June 14, 2018, Masuda Funai hosted its Legal Symposium addressing issues encountered by U.S. subsidiaries of Japanese multinationals. The Symposium is the only national platform where General Counsel at U.S. operations of global Japanese companies can exchange ideas and develop best practices. This year’s Symposium focused on General Compliance Matters, Crisis Management and Post-Merger Integration.
The program included a panel discussion on Compliance Concerns, including panelists Diane Knox – General Manager, Legal at Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Edmund “Ted” Baumgartner – General Counsel at Valent U.S.A. LLC and Brian Link – General Counsel at Marukai Corporation and Don Quijote (USA) Co., Ltd. Eric Laptook, the former General Counsel at Takata USA Corporation and Itochu International, discussed his experiences handling crises during his career. Post-Merger Integration issues were addressed by panelists Blake Thatcher – General Counsel at Omron Management Center of America, Kristine Iida – Senior Counsel, M&A Legal at Walgreen Co. and Michael Farley – General Counsel at Daifuku North America. The program ended with an update on Professional Responsibility by James Grogan – Chief Counsel at the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
The event was held at The Glen Club in Northbrook, Illinois and attendees included General Counsel, Corporate Legal Counsel and Legal Compliance Officers. The program was well received by attendees and several mentioned that it was an “outstanding program” providing real life examples in an engaging way, and they felt like everyone in the room was war buddies.
