ABOUT OUR FIRM

History

YUASA AND HARA is a leading law firm in Japan.  The firm’s expertise covers various business legal issues, seamless intellectual property protection and accounting.  We have established a strong international reputation on the basis of our comprehensive services. We provide legal services, intellectual property protection in prosecution, enforcement and other transactional deals. Additionally, our firm also combines efficient accounting and auditing services. Utilizing a strong and closely cooperative partnership system, we have been able to successfully unite the professions of Attorney at Law, Patent Attorney, and Certified Public Accountant within one firm.

Our Firm was established by Judge Toyotaro Yuasa in Osaka in 1902. After retiring from his judgeship, Judge Yuasa began and developed a successful private practice in Osaka in the 1920’s with his son, Dr. Kyozo Yuasa, in international business transactions and intellectual property which continued to thrive after the office was moved from Osaka to Tokyo in 1947.  

Although our firm underwent several name and office location changes up until the mid-1960s, our firm was finally named YUASA and HARA after Judge Masuji Hara joined our firm in 1967.  Judge Hara contributed to the development of an Industrial Property Division at the Tokyo District Court and Tokyo High Court. His extensive experience and expertise in this area enhanced considerably our firm’s practice and reputation. The Accounting & Auditing Division was added as a third division to our firm in order to assist our clients with auditing and taxation matters during this era. 

ORGANIZATION and EXPERTISE

YUASA and HARA is organized into four divisions: Law, Patent, Trademark & Design and Accounting & Auditing.  Building on its strong tradition of multi-professional discipline, technical expertise and international vision, our firm has been at the forefront of cutting edge areas such as: Antimonopoly & Competition, Business Method Patents, Computer Software Protection, Corporate Transactions & International Investments for Venture Businesses, Cross-border transactions, Cyberspace Transactions, Domain Name Disputes, M&A, International Litigation & Alternative Dispute Resolutions, International Brand Protection of Trademarks/Designs, IT & ICT matters, and Patent Protection in Biotechnology, Mechatronics, Computer Sciences & other Advanced Technology.  More details relating to the diverse range of expertise of our firm are introduced under the profile of each division：Law Division, Patent Division, Trademark & Design Division and Accounting Division.

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK & ASSOCIATION

Since the early days of YUASA and HARA, the provision of an international service for both Japanese and foreign clients was at the core of all our legal and intellectual property expertise.  To sustain and enhance this capacity, we maintain various international networks for our clients.  TerraLex and Unilaw are both international alliances for qualified business law firms.