Easy Introduction to Cocone 9th Period: Legal

Hello, this is Momoko, an HR recruiting intern!
Cocone has developed various applications such as ” Pokecolo ” Pokecolo Twin “Hello Sweet Days.
Each is a team effort of various employees in planning, design, and development.
This is a project to introduce the work of Cocone in a simple and easy-to-understand manner.
Easy Introduction to Cocone is also in its 9th period!
In this issue, you will learn about legal work!
It is Ms Gentsu who teaches us!

What kind of work does Legal do?

The law is the absolute rule of society, and the department that deals with it is legal affairs.
Although it is sometimes thought that legal affairs is the department that monitors transactions and planning to ensure that the company is not guilty or disadvantaged in any way, that is actually only part of legal affairs’ job.
The actual legal work is a two-step process: the first step is to check contracts and plans to protect the company and identify legal risks.
The second step is the one we should focus on. How can we avoid risks and still realize the project? or “How far can we go with this project while avoiding the risks? I believe that the true role of legal affairs is to find a way out of a risky situation.

You find the risk, and then you deal with it.

What exactly do you do?

Routine work includes drafting and reviewing contracts and providing legal advice on planning.
What we do in both cases is basically the same. First, we interview the client to properly understand the content of the consultation, and once we understand the content, we check for any legal violations, while incorporating the desired conditions into the contract and considering breakthroughs that suit the purpose of the project…. …To put it in a cool way, we work to brush up the image in the client’s head and put it in writing (laughs).
Other main tasks will be to handle the procedures for the legal existence of the organization called Cocone Group. This includes organizing board of directors meetings and general shareholders’ meetings, establishing subsidiaries, mergers and acquisitions, and stock transfers. Since this work is related to the foundation of the company and requires accuracy, precision, and speed, we often consult with outside professional organizations such as the Legal Affairs Bureau and judicial scriveners in order to proceed.

[Legal work description.

What are some of the interesting aspects of your work?

Legal problems are often tough to overcome when you face them head-on, but sometimes a slight change in perspective or a tweak in one area is all that is needed to clear the problem.
The legal loophole …… sounds kind of backward, so it’s more like a sense of accomplishment when you find the hidden command.
Also, as legal, we don’t want to lose a project that our members have worked so hard to come up with, if possible, so we call them to let them know that we found a solution and say, “I’m glad to hear that! That’s a relief! I am happy when I hear back from them that they have found a solution and they reply cheerfully, “That’s great!

But it can be tough, right?

Of course! Because we are a department that deals with the absolute rule of law, we are constantly under pressure that the slightest mistake can be fatal. The fact that a slight modification can open the way to solving a problem means, on the contrary, that a single mistake in one area can break the law and destroy the company’s credibility.
In a company like Cocone, where decisions are made quickly, it is not unusual to receive a sudden change of direction, such as “Yesterday I was thinking of going with proposal A, but I want to change to proposal B from a long-term perspective,” so it is a challenge to instantly switch your thinking and respond perfectly to the new proposal.

I see! How are you going to deal with this?

In the world of law, “I didn’t know” is not an excuse, so I think one key point is to share knowledge among the members, split up and search the literature, and not neglect acquiring knowledge so that we can find problems and solutions as quickly as possible when we receive a consultation.
Also, since we are human beings, it is impossible to eliminate mistakes, so double and triple checking within the team is also a must. You may ask, “Is it safe to spend so much time checking when speed is required? You may think so, but if you summarize the main points to save time for the next member of the team to check, the sentences and thoughts will be refined and unnecessary exchanges will be reduced, which will result in saving time.

It is still a difficult job, requiring a constant amount of knowledge and accuracy… I am sure it is a very difficult job….

However, I believe that what is needed is not so much a wealth of legal knowledge, but a sense of being able to think about things from various perspectives.
To put it bluntly, unlike a test, you will not be offended if you draw up a contract or review a consultation while looking at a book, so as long as you have a willingness to learn and a reasonable understanding of the subject matter, I don’t see much of a problem with following up on your knowledge.
What is important is not to stop thinking when you run into a problem, but to be flexible and keep thinking, for example, thinking from a different angle, or from the customer’s point of view, it may be possible to push the envelope.

Flexibility is the key!
I know all companies have a legal team, but what makes Cocone’s legal team unique?

I think it’s about everyone helping each other. There is a culture of active discussion within the team, and even if I am not primarily in charge of a project, I will get an overview of it, and if I have any questions or clues, I will proactively share them with others.
Since there are some issues that the person in charge alone may not be aware of, I think one of the strengths of Cocone Legal is that all members work on other members’ cases as if they were their own, and follow up with each other in an effort to provide more complete answers.

Speaking of helping each other, I understand that everyone in the legal department is involved in an in-house initiative called the Legal Clinic.

What is this about?

It is like an irregularly scheduled counseling room where legal members can verbally discuss their concerns.
Each session lasts 15 minutes (maximum 30 minutes) and can range from simple concerns such as “Is this a legal issue in the first place? or “I would like a brief explanation of copyright law…” to “I would like you to tell me the best legal path to take after understanding the purpose of my project.

It is convenient to have a casual place to consult! How did you get started?

After all, a small difference in conditions can change the conclusion of a legal issue, so whether it is a request for the drafting of a contract or a legal consultation, it is very important to align the client’s and the legal department’s perceptions at the initial hearing.
However, many members of other departments are not good at reading long sentences or conveying their concerns in writing. We decided to set up a legal clinic after discussing the limitations of e-mail and Slack communication and the fact that there are some things that can only be understood through open and frank discussion.

It is true that we live in an age of remote communication, but there are still things that are difficult to convey unless you talk directly to the person.

Also, legal affairs is a department that tends to be seen as scary, and if you only communicate with them through letters without knowing their facial expressions, you can’t shake off the cold feeling. I don’t think it’s healthy to have a relationship with a person who, when a problem arises, must summon up the courage to consult with the legal department! I wanted to let people know that the legal department is not scary, and to build a relationship at the clinic where people can feel free to consult with us on a regular basis (laughs).

I can certainly understand why you might feel a little intimidated when you hear the word “legal affairs.

I am grateful that everyone in legal understands this and is here for us!

What are you particularly conscious of in such work?

Not to create misunderstandings in words, right?
I said that one of the tasks of legal work is “to put the client’s image into writing,” but this does not mean that we should write beautiful sentences, as is required in novels.
It is important that legal writing “only read the same no matter who reads it. While it is necessary to write a well-organized text in the sense that it can be understood in a single reading without having to be reread several times, beautiful expressions that leave room for the reader’s imagination are rather distracting.

It’s the opposite of a novel, which requires the opposite kind of writing.

That’s right. If the contract were open to various interpretations, then even in a court of law, the court could say, “I thought this,” or “But it could also be read this way,” and there would be no rules at all. Vague wording that could be used against Cocone should be deleted, and conditions favorable to Cocone should be clearly stated in a way that cannot be denied by anyone who reads it. I think the legal team needs to be conscious of creating language that is free of such misunderstandings.

How did you become interested in this job, Gentsu?

Perhaps it is because I have been responding to my sisters’ reckless behavior for so long that I realized that I am the type of person who somehow likes to be depended on by others and to come up with solutions to problems (laughs).
I had a vague idea that I wanted to work in a job that “solves problems,” and since I am not afraid of reading long sentences and have often been told that I write easy-to-understand sentences, I thought that the field of law, which emphasizes words, would suit my skin, and I became interested in a job that solves problems with the law.

If you want to be useful through words and writing, this is the perfect job for you!
Finally, what are your goals?

In relation to the “digital world” and “metaverse” that Cocone is aiming for, legal affairs have recently been receiving consultations on areas where legal systems and customs have not yet been established.
Until now, legal work has been about “finding solutions within existing rules,” but from now on I feel a sense of crisis that we will not be able to keep up with the speed of Cocone’s growth unless we are on the side of creating new rules.
Our first task is to gather materials for the production of new rules by consulting similar cases and precedents in adjacent fields.

Let’s review again this time… ♪

I had an image of legal work being difficult and stiff…but I thought that legal work was absolutely necessary for the company and that the good thing about Cocone’s legal work is that other employees are doing things that can change such an image!

※This article is machine translated.