Europe

Europe is one of the world’s largest economic regions. The European Union (“EU”) alone accounted for a GDP of approximately EUR 17 trillion (representing approximately one-sixth of global GDP). Europe is a highly developed and diversified economy that benefits from stable political and judicial systems, making it one of the most attractive destinations for business and direct investments. The EU – comprising 27 member states – has a significant impact on almost all areas of law. While each member state maintains its own national legal system, EU treaties, regulations and directives govern a wide range of matters such as consumer protection, product safety and data protection, competition law, state aid regulation, sustainability regulations (including sustainability due diligence and disclosure), environmental protection, and emissions trading. The influence of EU legislation is not limited to its member states. Many countries all over the world maintain bilateral treaties with the EU and adapt their own legislation to EU standards to facilitate international trade and economic exchange.

At Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu, we have a long-standing track record of advising Japanese clients on a wide range of Europe-related matters and projects, including acquisitions of European companies, joint ventures and business alliances with European partners, intra-group reorganizations in Europe, compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other regulations, dealing with competition law and trade law issues, dispute resolution, banking and finance, commercial agreements, employment and labour matters, and day-to-day legal issues faced by European subsidiaries. We have established a European Practice Group, comprising a team of more than 10 partners, including lawyers with practical experience in Europe and lawyers licensed to practice in European jurisdictions. This team monitors the latest legal and regulatory developments across the region to provide clients with specialized and comprehensive legal services addressing diverse legal challenges. In addition, we maintain excellent relationships and closely cooperate with leading law firms in each European jurisdiction to ensure that our Japanese clients receive seamless legal services for their European projects.

Similarly, we advise our European clients on their projects in Japan. As a full-service firm, we cover the entire spectrum of legal services that our European clients may require. This includes comprehensive legal and practical advice in connection with market entry. Based on our extensive experience in advising our European clients, we continuously strive to provide tailor-made and practical solutions that also take into account and address potential differences in business culture.

For further details on our services in specific countries and regions, please see the page below.