Japan Lead Employment Lawyer, Japan Legal

Amazon Japan's Legal Department is looking for a talented senior lawyer to fill the position of Senior Corporate Counsel, Employment Law, leading the provision of all of Amazon’s employment law advice across all Amazon entities in Japan, including all of our Japan Retail and Operations businesses (including Fulfillment Centers), Amazon Web Services, Studios, Books, Audible, Twitch, and others.
The successful candidate will report to our long-term Japan Legal Vice President, Angela Krantz, the most senior Amazon lawyer in Japan.

S/he will also work very closely with our Seattle-based global lead employment lawyer and Vice President, Zane Brown, and his broader global team consisting of 30+ team members based in Seattle, Washington D.C., Asia Pacific, Europe, and elsewhere.
This position will have access to some of the world’s most advanced AI Tools and training, and the opportunity to use AI in his/her daily work.
The successful candidate will be based in Amazon Japan’s new headquarters in Azabudai Hills and also spend time in our Meguro offices, where some of our key businesses are based, as well as occasionally working from our Shinagawa office or visiting our Fulfillment Centers.
Compensation is competitive and will be based on experience and will include equity compensation in the form of restricted stock options (RSUs).
Key job responsibilities
The successful candidate will have substantial autonomy to manage all employment law-related matters for all Amazon entities in Japan, working with our country manager and other C-Suite management team members, HR professionals, senior business leaders and other Amazon attorneys inside and outside Japan.

S/he will negotiate with individual employees, outside counsel and Unions. S/he will also attend Court, draft and review employment policies and agreements and other employment law-related documentation, support global projects and provide daily employment legal and compliance advice and training, amongst others.
A day in the life
Every day will be different in this role, and no day will be 'typical.' Your daily work will include everything from touching base with the Japan legal Vice President on hot topics, attending meetings with Japan-based clients or outside counsel, jumping on a call with Amazon employment lawyers working in other locales, advising on an urgent case or new matter, working with our HR teams to update policies, preparing training for clients, or attending Court.

The person stepping into this role will have autonomy to manage his/her own schedule and priorities and have real influence over all areas of employment law management for all Amazon Japan entities.
About the team
Our team is comprised of more than 80 lawyers and legal professionals supporting all of Japan's businesses. The Japan Legal Vice President has been working for Amazon Japan for 10+ years, and many of the senior lawyers and legal professionals in the team have been working at Amazon for even longer.

The team is a true blend of genders and nationalities, and our lawyers are admitted in Japan (Bengoshi), the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, China and Korea!
Read our "Meet the Amazon Japan legal team" LinkedIn post series!
Hiromi
Yuki
Marie
Sho

Basic qualifications

- Native level fluency in Japanese and fluent English.
- Law degree from a leading University inside or outside Japan.
- Licensed to practice law in Japan (Bengoshi) or a common law jurisdiction such as the United States or United Kingdom.
- A minimum of 12+ years’ legal experience, including experience at a leading global law firm and/or in-house at a major multinational corporation.
- Substantial experience managing employment law matters.
- Japanese law expertise required, with familiarity regarding U.S. and/or other common law legal systems preferred.
- Excellent communicator with a broad range of stakeholders, confident, proactive, organized, and practical, and be proven to have sound judgment even in ambiguous situations.
- Interest in using AI in daily work.

Preferred qualifications

- Broad corporate and commercial legal experience.
- Compliance experience.
- Experience managing litigation and disputes.
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