Two Lawyers from Goldman Sachs Japan Win Outstanding International Corporate Counsel Awards

The 2017 Outstanding International Corporate Counsel Award was presented this morning at the ABA Section of International Law Spring Meeting to Naosuke Fujita and Hiroki Inaba of Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. They were recognized for their pioneering work on behalf of the LGBT community in Japan and for their advocacy on behalf of same-sex marriage in Japan. 

The Outstanding International Corporate Counsel Award is given to a member of the Section of International Law who is a practicing attorney employed by a company or other entity as an in-house counsel and who has demonstrated a significant contribution to the legal profession and the furtherance of the practice of law in an international context (but not a government or international organization). 

The two individuals recognized today in Washington, D.C. are Naosuke Fujita, Managing Director and General Counsel of Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. and Hiroki Inaba, Vice President and Senior Counsel in the Goldman Sachs Legal Department. Both men work in Tokyo.

(Pictured here from left to right are: Deniz Sadan Tamer (Co-Chair of the International Corporate Counsel Forum of the ABA Section of International Law); Hiroki Inaba of Goldman Sachs Japan; Sara Sandford (Chair of the ABA Section of International Law); Naosuke Fujita of Goldman Sachs Japan; and Peggy Kubicz Hall of Greene Espel PLLP in Minneapolis (Co-Chair of the International Corporate Counsel Forum of the ABA Section of International Law).

Messrs. Fujita and Inaba were recognized for their pioneering work on behalf of the LGBT community in Japan and for their advocacy on behalf of same-sex marriage in Japan. They created several research and policy documents on LGBT rights and marriage equality, including a survey of same-sex marriage. They were also responsible for drafting a request to the Japanese Federation of Bar Associations (日本弁護士連合会) asking that this important and influential association of lawyers make a statement in support of marriage equality in Japan.

More than 800 lawyers from around the world are attending this week's Spring Meeting of the American Bar Association Section of International Law. Messrs. Fujita and Inaba received a standing ovation from the audience of global lawyers for their work on LGBT rights and marriage equality in Japan.

This was the first time that the award was presented to two individuals. Previous winners of the Outstanding Corporate Counsel Award are: Christine M. Castellano (2011); M. Catherine Vernon (2012); Ingrid Busson-Hall (2013); Alan Crain (2014); and Getchen Bellamy (2015).

(mew)