Our office's attorney fees are based upon the Fee Standards of the former Japan Bar Association standards and include types of fees including legal consultation fees, initiation and contingency fees, time charges, commissions, per-diems and consultant fees. The details of the various fees are outlined below, but the fee structure applied will differ depending on your case. Furthermore, we determine specific fee amounts after considering the nature of cases, the details of the clients' consultations, the difficulty of the case, the work load, the likelihood of settlement, etc. in advance with our clients, so please feel free to inquire with your attorney for details.
Also, if using bar association sponsored legal consultations or legal expense insurance the fee standards prescribed by the bar association or the Japan Federation of Bar Associations legal access center will apply.
Attoney's Fee
１．Legal Consultation Fees
The basic fee for initial consultations is 5,000 yen (tax excluded) per 30 minutes.
This is an attorney fee for hearing the details of your consultation and discussing legal analysis, settlement methods, and settlement prospects, etc. with you. Furthermore, initial consultations generally require an hour or longer.
■ Principle Case Examples
We primarily conduct initial consultations with individual clients
２．Initiation and Contingency Fees
The initiation fee is a fee paid to cover the work commissioned to the attorney when starting the process of taking on a case, etc., regardless of whether successful or not. Therefore, this fee is not returned even if the results are unsatisfactory to the client. In the case of lawsuits, initiation fees are charged at each instance.
The contingency fee is a fee paid to cover the work commissioned depending on the degree of success achieved when the case is completed (ruling in favor of the client, settlement, completion of arbitration, out of court settlement, etc.). The degree of success is determined by the ruling, consensus documents, etc. regardless of whether money is actually recovered.
The aforementioned initiation and contingency fees will be calculated by 1) a calculation of the amount of financial gain obtained from taking on the client's individual case, and 2) the calculation below based upon said amount of financial gain.
| Amount of financial gain | Initiation fee* | Contingency fee* |
|---|---|---|
| 3 million yen or less | 8% (minimum of 100,000 yen) | 16% |
| Greater than 3 million yen and not exceeding 30 million yen | 5% + 90,000 yen | 10% + 180,000 yen |
| Greater than 30 million yen and not exceeding 300 million yen | 3% + 690,000 yen | 6% + 1.38 million yen |
| Greater than 300 million yen | 2% +3.69 million yen | 4% + 7.38 million yen |
*These rates are calculated based on standard civil suits and may change in cases of arbitration or extrajudicial negotiations, etc. Furthermore, in criminal cases the fees will be determined based not on financial gains but on the type of and outcome of the case. Please confirm with your attorney for details.
■ Principle Case Examples
Various trial procedures for civil suits, civil cases, arbitration and enforcement of household affairs, preservation cases, etc., extrajudicial negotiations, contract drafting, criminal cases, etc.
３．Time Charge
The time charge is an attorney fee calculated based on an hourly rate for the time (including consultation time, time drafting documents, investigation time, travel time, etc.) required by the attorney to process cases the attorney is commissioned with.
The hourly rate of attorneys at our offices start at 20,000 yen (tax excluded), depending on the years of experience and abilities of the attorney. Please confirm with your attorney for details.
■ Principle Case Examples
Drafting and review of contracts, written opinions, various regulations and other legal documents, extrajudicial negotiations, general handling of legal affairs, various trial procedures, etc.
４．Commissions
Commissions are fixed attorney fees for the cases accepted by attorneys. Please confirm with your attorney for details.
■ Principle Case Examples
Real estate registration procedures, commercial registration procedures, procedures relating to trademarks and other intellectual property rights, petitions for guardianship of adults, bankruptcy filings, etc.
５．Per-Diem
A per-diem is a payment of a fixed amount made when an attorney, etc. travels on business to work on a case for a half day or longer. You may be asked to pay a court date per-diem for trial procedures depending on the nature of the case and the court of jurisdiction.
■ Principle Case Examples
Principle Case Examples: Being present for inspection procedures, appearing in courts in distant locations, appearing in courts for household affairs procedures, etc.
６．Actual Expenses
In addition to the aforementioned attorney fees, you will be charged actual expenses (cost of revenue stamps and postage stamps, photocopying costs, transportation and communication expenses, lodging expenses, security payments, deposits, and other actual expenses incurred in the handling of a case).
７．Consulting Fees
You can consult with an attorney at any time you wish by signing a consultation agreement and paying a fixed monthly consultation fee. Attorneys give priority to clients with consultation agreements, and depending on the case you may be eligible for a discount on the attorney fees.
As a general rule, the monthly fee is 30,000 yen (tax excluded) for individual clients and 50,000 (tax excluded) yen for corporate clients. Please consult with your attorney for details.