Dispute Resolution

Dispute resolution, including litigation, mediation, arbitration and conciliation, constitutes one of the most important practice areas of Iwata Godo.

We handle a wide variety of civil and commercial disputes, ranging from the ordinary to the large and complex. We have successfully represented clients in a number of lawsuits and other disputes concerning interpretation of contracts, violations of the principle of suitability and duty to explain at financial institutions, and other claims based on breach of contract and tort. We also have extensive experience in litigation that has significant impact on corporate management , including shareholder derivative suits, lawsuits to invalidate shareholder meeting resolutions, dismissal of officers, injunctions against the issuance of new shares, and stock pricing.

We have a strong tradition of representing listed companies including financial institutions, manufacturing companies and electric utilities. As such, we have represented our clients in air pollution and other large-scale environmental lawsuits, claims following an industrial fire and airplane crash, various large-scale product liability claims, and a lawsuit seeking an injunction to stop nuclear power plant construction. We also routinely represent insurers and other financial institutions in civil litigation and support the debt collections of financial institutions and accounts receivable collections of businesses.

We provide one-stop legal services for dispute resolution, not only in lawsuits but also in out-of-court negotiations, provisional remedies, and enforcement procedures.
In addition to successfully representing corporations in large-scale litigation where the number of plaintiffs reached several thousand, we have experience with new types of litigation such as class actions and citizens' lawsuits against municipal authorities for malfeasance such as bid-rigging. Further, we continuously represent our clients in complex cases that require specialized knowledge and expertise such as product liability, administrative litigation, the Antimonopoly Act and intellectual property.

In addition to our services in litigation, we also represent clients in mediation and arbitration, which are increasingly utilized these days since the establishment of an ADR regime in the financial services sector.

In international dispute resolution, Iwata Godo has not only been involved in international commercial arbitration but also has substantial experience with litigation and arbitration outside of Japan, in collaboration with our lawyers practicing foreign law and foreign law firms.. Through these cases we have accumulated the experience and know-how necessary to quickly settle international disputes, by such means as filing litigation in parallel in Japan if the case so requires.